From Rishikesh to Chitrakoot Via Dubai
By Swami Chaitanya Keerti
It is quite hot in Delhi these days, and it may get hotter. But whether it is hot or cold, it does not stop Osho lovers to travel anywhere, because it is not that four letter word “work” or “duty’. It is really another four letter word–”play”.
Whenever it becomes unbearable in Delhi, I find myself packing for Dharmshala, some times to conduct a meditation camp at Osho Nisarga, and other times to just be there–to feel the cool breeze and view the beauty of snow-clad Himalayan peaks of Dhauladhar. Dharmshala is also famous for Buddhist people- the Dalai Lama and other Buddha-lovers are living there. In fact, they have created a very spiritual atmosphere in Dharmshala.
I do not stay there too long, and often the very next week I find myself returning to Delhi for editing Osho World magazine or facilitating another meditation camp at Oshodham.
When travelling I notice a current aspect of human greed. The travel to Dharamshala by air has become as expensive as flying to Dubai because there’s only one airline flying to Dharmshala. Exploitation by monopoly.
Comparing the airfare, I got an idea: Why not fly to Dubai and have a meditation camp there for some Osho lovers in the Middle East. It is really mysterious that you wish, and then things start moving in that direction. After having a camp on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh, I started planning my trip to Dubai. And in the last week of March I found myself in Dubai conducting a meditation camp. This was the first camp there and organised without any publicity. And it is true maybe that one cannot publicise openly there, though I am sure there are thousands of people reading Osho books and listening to Osho discourses in Dubai, and waiting for the taste of meditation. It became quite clear when I was there that more and more people will join in meditation workshops in the future. It was a good start.
After a gap of two days, and after Dubai, where Arabic and Islamic culture has been flourishing, I travelled to Chitrakoot. And as a matter of fact, it is easier to travel to Dubai than to Chitrakoot, though not that expensive. This real tiny town is in the heart of Hindu religion and culture. Dubai and Chitrakoot are such a big contrast! And into such opposite extremes, Osho is entering in a mysterious way. As Dubai does not have a large number of Osho lovers, so is the case with Chitrakoot, though the people there are knowledgeable about meditation and Samadhi. While in Dubai, I noitced even the people from India living in Dubai have only gone there to make money. But who knows, those who are intelligent and sensitive, their prosperity may create boredom, and they may be able to look for something more meaningful beyond it. They may turn to meditation.
This way the Zorba – the outworldly rich person – may get attracted to Buddha, the spiritual richness. And at this point people may turn to an holistic vision, which Osho offers to the whole humanity.
Osho says In Messiah, Vol. 2: I have been proclaiming the New Man as Zorba the Buddha — which is a meeting of East and West, which is a meeting of science and religion, which is a meeting of logic and love, which is a meeting of the outer and the inner. Only in these meetings will you find peace; otherwise, you will remain a battlefield. If you are miserable, remember that the misery is arising out of an inner battle that goes on day in, day out. There have been great Zorbas in the world. “Eat, drink and be merry” is their simple philosophy. “There is no life beyond death. God is nothing but an invention of cunning priests. Don’t waste your time on unnecessary things; life is short.” In India we have a whole philosophy, the system of the Charvakas. Perhaps a charvaka is the most articulate Zorba, and if you try to understand him he is very convincing: “There is no evidence, no eye-witness of any God or of any life after death. There is no evidence or proof that you have an immortal soul. Don’t get caught in these words, which have been created just to create a conflict in you so you can become Christians, Hindus, Jainas, Buddhists, Mohammedans.” India has also known great Buddhas. They say the world is illusory; all that is true is inner, and all that is untrue is outside. So don’t waste your time in desires, in ambitions; they are nothing but the same stuff as dreams are made of. Use the small time that you have in your hands to go as deep inside as possible so that you can find the temple of God — your godliness. If you listen to the Buddhas, they seem to be convincing. If you listen to the Zorbas, they seem to be convincing – and then you are in trouble, because you have both within you.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti
Thank you so much Keerti Swami for writing such a beautyful article.Now come soon to UK n conduct the camp here n give us a priviledge to join yur camp.
Love Surabhi ma.
It’s difficult, one cant help admiring a man who gives so much and for so long like Keerti. And yet… there is always the St Paul syndrome about him, and Arun, and other messengers for Osho.
That ready touch of disguised dogmatism, and the need to somehow lay down the law.
When I have read St Paul i always feel he is so far short of mysticism, and the mysticism of his dead teacher… and the Keertis and Aruns in their laudable sticking to the roads of modern Jerusalem to Rome, and back again etc, sadly tainted with the same “missing”.
Yes, one has to admire Keerti for so much to so many. Beautiful to see how life channels yet another beautiful message to help those who are ready. And those who are ready for what is offered will be attracted. Rules are useful for such a camp…. what’s the problem, can’t hack it? The mind can’t stand a little discipline?
Thank you beloved Heraclitus, may be you are right. I will continue examining this within me the “St Paul syndrome” if there’s any. and I request you never to feel shy about sharing your observations about others.
Love to you
I think from all the high profile sannyas figures, Keerti will come in my top of the list. He is taking meditation camps but not giving “Satsangs”. He goes on writing about Osho in the broad Media and it is a big achievement of his disciple hood that Osho World magazine published under his editorship has surpassed circulation to the official magazine long before, so much so that Osho Times will stop the paper edition in the coming months. it is not because they care about the rain forest but because readers can feel the power of the free press.
and he is keeping the fire alive by confronting the crown prince, when most of the others have taken the road of indifference.
Yes, “I leave you my dream” was not a sentence uttered by Osho for one person, it was for His people.
I always find Heraclitus being negative about everything Sw. Arun, Sw. Keerti does. What’s up man? As OSHO says a negative mind can create a great argument with everybody but inside it is a battlefield and the negative mind reaches nowhere, his life becomes meaningless. To reach the ultimate positivity is a must. A positive mind is creative.
All good words are OSHO’s. Thank you for reading
Completely off topic, but I found this striking extract from Krishna : The Man and his Philosophy, chapter 2…
“In a way, the world is facing nearly the same situation India faced during the Mahabharat war. There were two camps, or two classes, at the time of the Mahabharat. One of them was out-and-out materialist; they did not accept anything beyond the body or matter. They did not know anything except the indulgence of their senses; they did not have any idea of yoga or of spiritual discipline. For them the existence of the soul did not matter in the least; for them life was just a playground of stark indulgence, of exploitation and predatory wars (the West?, alok john’s interpretation). Life beyond the senses and their indulgence held no importance for them.
This was the class against which the war of Mahabharat was waged. And Krishna had to opt for this war and lead it, because it had become imperative. It had become imperative so that the forces of good and virtue could stand squarely against the forces of materialism and evil, so that they were not rendered weak and impotent.
Approximately the same situation has arisen on a worldwide scale, and in twenty years’ time a full replica, a scenario of the Mahabharat will be upon us. On one side will be all the forces of materialism and on the other will be the weaker forces of good and righteousness.
Goodness suffers from a basic weakness: it wants to keep away from conflicts and wars. Arjuna of the Mahabharat is a good man. The word ”arjuna” in Sanskrit means the simple, the straightforward, clean. Arjuna means that which is not crooked. Arjuna is a simple and good man, a man with a clean mind and a kind heart. He does not want to get involved in any conflict and strife; he wants to with draw. Krishna is still more simple and good; his simplicity, his goodness knows no limits. But his simplicity, his goodness does not admit to any weakness and escape from reality. His feet are set firmly on the ground; he is a realist, and he is not going to allow Arjuna to run away from the battlefield.
Perhaps the world is once again being divided into two classes, into two camps. It happens often enough when a decisive moment comes and war becomes inevitable. Men like Gandhi and Russell will be of no use in this eventuality. In a sense they are all Arjunas. They will again say that war should be shunned at all costs, that it is better to be killed than to kill others. A Krishna will again be needed, one who can clearly say that the forces of good must fight, that they must have the courage to handle a gun and fight a war. And when goodness fights only goodness flows from it. It is incapable of harming anyone. Even when it fights a war it becomes, in its hands, a holy war. Goodness does not fight for the sake of fighting, it fights simply to prevent evil from winning.
By and by the world will soon be divided into two camps. One camp will stand for materialism and all that it means, and the other camp will stand for freedom and democracy, for the sovereignty of the individual and other higher values of life. But is it possible that this camp representing good will find a Krishna to again lead it?
It is quite possible. When man’s state of affairs, when his destiny comes to a point where a decisive event becomes imminent, the same destiny summons and sends forth the intelligence, the genius that is supremely needed to lead the event. And a right person, a Krishna appears on the scene. The decisive event brings with it the decisive man too.
It is for this also that I say Krishna has great significance for the future.
There are times when the voices of those who are good, simple and gentle cease to be effective, because people inclined to evil don’t hear them, don’t fear them, blindly go their own way. In fact, as good people shrink back just out of goodness, in the same measure the mischief makers become bold, feel like having a field day….”
And this is from chapter 15 of Krishna : The Man and his philosophy
“A great deal of research has been conducted in the fields of telepathy and clairvoyance, and they have yielded good results. Without the help of any technical aids, I can communicate with a person who is thousands of miles away from here, which means that astral communication, communication without the help of any physical instruments is possible.”
I have never seen him say this explicitly before.
winston churchill meets lobsang rampa?
hare krishna, harry truman…….?
hi john,
as you are probably aware,oppenheimer,working on the atomic bomb project leading up to hiroshima and nagasaki believed exactly this about good and evil,having translated and studied bhagavad gita himself.
he saw the use of atomic weapons as being in line with krishnas teachings.
maybe poisoning a few oregonians,(which is pretty lightweight by comparison) was a neccesary action in the larger scheme of good vs evil?
Frank,
Basically I don’t know. I believe Osho describes the atom bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki as a great crime.
I have always leaned towards pacifism, but perhaps, as Osho says in this book, pacifism is a sign of excessive materialism (“My body must be preserved at all costs.”)
“Krishna : The Man and his Philosophy” is an interesting read and made me question some of my beliefs.
Osho is a beautiful teacher.. and the energy of what he communicated can be enhanced by attending Satsang…. if you haven’t given it a try,,, do so… if it didn’t do anything for you, try again,, you might find it very useful,,, eventually we transcend the need… and then that very same energy we may share with others… perhaps keerti shares satsang informally….. I enjoyed very much watching Osho videos and reading his books. Nobody comes close to Osho’s expression and comprehension of the totality of spiritual thought. But I did this while taking in the powerful Satsangs of Poonjaji.. Now there are many who share strong and useful energy of Satsang…. the source of energy didn’t go away because the master’s bodies are gone… in fact energy reaching us globally has dramatically increased… do you feel it? if you are awash in it without the need to attend satsang, fantastic. If not, if negativitiy is strong, go for it, full heartedly….. whether it be satsang or going to poona. I heard many stories of transformation and spiritual experiences still happening even in Poona after they tore out the master… no one can stop the transformation taking place all over….
When the light powers down let the St. Paul shine …. that’s when the gift to help is greatest….., after the ego work is finished…. then there’s no throne to sit on either…… thrown stones can’t stop it ….no matter….everybody reaches somebody……. touching somebody today with positivity is a beautiful thing
St Paul hides the light, and his mark has a fascist ring like all converts, which he was.
All this talk of positivity is actually a mask for fascism. The world is incredibly complicated, and beautiful in that complication, nothing is ever back and white, just a myriad of colour which the human eye cannot even fully see.
yes but what do you wish to add to it? root out the negativilty in yourself through awareness and understanding then you can not help but to add more positivilty or light then what you do now…. This is what Osho is talking about…. otherwise you are playing with philosophy,, transformation comes with intention… you don’t have to be stuck…. it’s just that you enjoy it and that’s fine. till it’s not….. then something can happen…. best wishes
Though I don’t know who Heraclitus is ( May be I will know if I see his photo) but I am enjoying the debate started by him about me and people like. I find it quite hilarious thati am compared with St. Paul. I donot know St. Paul, so I checked into Osho CD-Rom, and Osho talks about him as the most dangerous politician.
“Who founded Christianity? A very strange man — it has nothing to do with Jesus. His name was Saul, and he was very much against Jesus and against Jesus’ teachings. He lived far away from Jerusalem. When he heard many rumors reaching there that the messiah has come, and he will redeem the world — and he was a very orthodox Jew…. So he started moving towards Jerusalem, to kill this man if he finds him, and to destroy all his important apostles, as he calls them, and finish this whole thing in the beginning; otherwise later on it will become a difficulty, it will become too big. And he was continuously thinking how to destroy Jesus, how to destroy these apostles — Matthew, Luke, Thomas, etcetera. His mind was thinking only one thing, focused on one thing: How to destroy these people and Jesus? And it happens sometimes when you are so obsessed with one idea, you can come to such extreme obsession that it turns around, one hundred and eighty degrees. That is a psychological phenomenon, it happens every day.
Saul, walking in the hot sun, in the dust, towards Jerusalem, only one thought moving in his mind… the hot sun… and one thought: how to destroy, how to destroy…. Suddenly he saw Jesus in the sky! That was just a projection of a madman obsessed with a certain idea. And when he saw Jesus’ figure appearing, naturally he was dumb. He fell on the ground, asked to be forgiven, to be just cut off from his old life, and become converted. Now he was converted, because Jesus had appeared in the sky. He became Paul; from Saul he changed his name to Paul. This man Paul, this maniac, this murderous type of person, is the founder of Christianity.
It is Paul who founded Christianity. He was the first pope. That’s why you will find many popes, when they become pope, using Paul’s name in their name. That is the most glorious name, the first founder. So you will find many popes… somebody is John Paul, somebody is something else, but they use Paul, because Paul is the most glorious person in their history. In fact they are not connected with Jesus.
And this Paul who was going to kill Jesus and his friends, now turned towards the enemies of Christianity. He declared that Christ would come again — just the old Jew he was, his whole life waiting for the messiah, although now he has become a Christian…. But you can change only the clothes, you cannot change those ideas so easily. Now he projects the whole philosophy, and he says Christ will come again, and he will redeem the world. This time he could not do it, because Jews crucified him, betrayed him. But now when he comes he will find his own people, Christians, who will support him in every possible way, and help him to redeem the suffering of the whole world, and to transform everything that is ugly into a beautiful phenomenon.”
Then as a fun, I started looking about what Osho says about me or to me. There were 14 references, so I picked up the last one in the last book of Osho. It was about a debate the readers of certain newspapers in Madhya Pradesh were having about Osho. Here’s the quote:
“But the difficulty is that the lower, the masses who have never known anything of the higher — they decide things. They decide who is enlightened, who is not enlightened. It is so hilarious….
One newspaper from Indore has written an editorial, and asked its readers to vote whether I am enlightened or not. So I have informed Chaitanya Keerti to write to them, “How many of your readers are enlightened? And first you should think about yourself: Are you enlightened? Can you recognize an enlightened person without being enlightened?” But this kind of stupidity goes on and on.
The people who had the experience were naturally respected by the younger generation, because they knew all the parts of life; they had been through all the stages, and they had passed beyond. Now they have become again innocent like a child; they are getting ready to enter again into existence.”
Osho: Zen Manifesto # 1
This is the job of communicating with media that Osho gave me, and I continue doing that, I enjoy it. And conducting meditation camps is not a guru trip for me.
I do not put myself on any pedestal, holier than thou etc. I like travelling and meeting my fellow travellers anywhere.
Love to Heraclitus, I may meet him one day on my travels to UK
hi keerti,
if unelightened people cannot recognise enlightened people,then
how do unenlightened people recognise enlightened people?
i guess you need a bit of luck?
Hi Frank
I am not an enlightened person.
And there’s no question of seeking any recognition.
Even though I am not enlightened, I could feel Osho’s enlightenment in full glory when I met him for the first time on the evening of 4 Sep, 1971.
This is the mystery–an unenlightened person seeing the enlightened person. This is Darshan.
Such grace and glory I have never seen in any other person, except Osho, though many have claimed their enlightenment.
There are quite a few blokes continuously asking for recognition that they are enlightened and they have been issuing certificates to others also.
I ridicule all those who pretend to be enlightened and playing some kind of Guru trips.
Those who read my editorials in the Hindi magazine Osho World are fully aware of it.
Love
Well I could see Osho’s enlightenment in sannyasins returning to London from Pune.
But I agree with Keerti; since Osho everyone I have heard of who claims enlightenment seem a fool or fake to me
To Keerti, Alok, Heraclitis, and anyone else interested,
It may or may not be true that none of you have experienced enlightened energy since Osho. First you would have to be open to the idea that others since Osho can pass on this experierience to others or it probably won’t happen. In other words, your beliefs may be a big barrier to this. A natural tendency is for the ego to place itself up on pedestal, and then claim that anyone who gives Satsang must be placing themselves on a pedestal. This is funny. And not everyone needs to attend Satsang to connect to source. But how beautiful that so many are providing such beautiful energy. Its easy to see who’s authenitic giving Satsang and who’s not.
I am not of scholar of Saul alias Paul. However, my simple interpretation of having read the story fifteen years ago, was a beautiful story of transformation by source……In a single energetic pulse of light…. source turned the biggest enemy of Jesus into his biggest supporter…. beautiful… (Of course the mind can always construct a psychological explanation: The scientists and pychologists are very busy reducing all spirtiual experience to brain chemicals and other mechanisms they feel more comfortable with….)
Fortunately we don’t have to be stuck in flatland… but for most of us its not a single act of God that does it but instead requires our looking at our own ego protection mechanisms…. and removing masks….. including the mask of being a “true believer” in Osho or anything else… On this point I’m sure Osho would agree!
st paul spent his whole life writing letters,obsessed with `satan`and warning people against `fornication`,laughter,women etc etc.
god zapped the one jewish guy he could find who had absolutely no sense of humour to start his biggest religion of all time…….
nice one god!
Frank, that was beautiful man…. thankyou for that perspective and the good laugh
Pranam Keerti Sw Ji !
Lots of love to you.
Rishi
very nice artical swamiji. prem and pranam
At the resort they are removing each and everything through which one could have connected to Osho heart-to-heart. I still remember the days when ‘Heart Dance’ in Budhha hall used to melt the frozenness of energies.Unless that energy gets thawed I can’t imagine how one can move inwards!!