You are right, Satyadeva. Osho said of himself that he is lazy. Then he said of others that they should work. Then he said that some can be lazy while others work. I love the contradictions!

“In fact a commune that does not have lazy people will be a little less rich than other communes which have a few lazy people who do nothing but meditate, who do nothing but go on playing on their guitar while others are toiling in the fields. A little more human outlook is needed; these people are not useless. They may not seem to be productive of commodities, but they are producing a certain joyful, cheerful atmosphere. Their contribution is meaningful and significant.” Osho, The Golden Future, ch.#24

Kabir1440 has always been one of the lazy ones…all my life.

Yahoo!

Beloved Shantam, no, not exclusively through books (I have since thrown my books into the fire), but thank you for the “bookish” compliment! Our Master was the quintessential bookman who took great care to see to it that hundreds of books of his words were published. Those books are still, today, invaluable as an invitation from Osho to those who never had the opportunity to walk with Osho when he was alive. Osho was both bookish and beyond bookish.

I thank existence I had the opportunity to walk with Osho when he had a physical presence. But any way to imbibe Osho’s nectar is a gift. I love the apparent “contradictions” found in Osho’s books, and I loved being with Osho in different physical venues, too.

One sannyasin is not superior because he sat with the Master, and another sannyasin is not inferior because he missed Osho in the physical body. As I said before, even sitting in the front row you could miss Osho. But if you are consumed by the flame of love as a result of reading Osho’s books, Sannyas is possible. Osho’s books are still very important because people fall in love with Osho through them and become sannyasins.

In any event, bookish is the perfect word for Osho. Thank you, Shantam!

“My old books are immensely important. Unless you understand them, you will not be able to understand me. But remember, it is a constant flow and change, so don’t be bothered with inconsistencies, contradictions.” — Osho, From the False to the Truth, ch.#11

Bathe in borrowed book knowledge! Surrender to the apparent “contradictions”! Enjoy the Mystery of it all! Tat Tvam Asi!

The elephant story is the perfect example of how no one really has the whole picture. Thank you!

What we have is one Great Mystery that is wonderful! I enjoy the Mystery!

I’m afraid for me this sort of comment alone is enough to convince me that you’re just too hooked into the basic mindset of the traditional Indian, respecting and even revering the outer practices, the surface show, rather than what it’s supposed to be all about (eg ‘the flight of the alone to the alone’).

For a start, there is a quote I have read – but exactly where, I don’t know, perhaps from a Darshan Diary – where he speaks approvingly of “the glow” on the faces of older people who have worked hard during their lives, demonstrating that such a way of life is desirable, not, as you say, something to be denigrated.

Furthermore, I also clearly recall him saying that simply idling around, without focus, without putting one’s energy into something, leads to an atrophy of one’s energy and is definitely not to be recommended.

Then of course, the examples of the work regimes at his very communes, both in Poona and America. I mean, what further evidence is required?Perhaps you’re so stuck in the ‘Acharya’ of 50′s and 60′s that this has eluded you?!

I also recall him telling one or two people in darshan that their current lifestyles weren’t “good” because they weren’t using their energy for anything much, just ‘hanging around’.

And I myself, when authorised to edit a book of his discourses, was urged – in a most friendly way – to “work hard!”

But really, isn’t all this just a matter of common sense? Citing 60 hours a week in an office job is being disingenuous, missing the point.
Most people thrive more easily when involved in work of some kind, even if they’re officially retired or unemployed, and they spend their time on other pursuits rather than nothing much. While others, a quite small minority I think, are genuinely ok in a more passive lifestyle, “lazy”, if you like (at least outwardly). And maybe those close to a major spiritual breakthrough tend to slow right down, sometimes for lengthy periods, even to a virtual halt?

I recall one English guy I knew from London, for instance, being advised by Osho to go on the dole when he got back to London. (Eventually, the chap in question did a remarkable about-turn, renouncing sannyas and taking up a very conventional lifestyle, a ‘proper job’, wife, kids etc. Interestingly enough, one evening in Pune he told me that he’d been totally freaked out by the third stage of the Kundalini meditation, felt he was dying, and vowed to never do it again. I had a vaguely similar weird experience once where I felt I might be “going mad” and that I might faint, but in darshan Bhagwan simply said, smiling , “Ok, just faint – it’s not madness, it’s something else.” That never occurred again).

And I can relate to what you wrote in the longer response. (And have an inner correction or better adjustment).

Madhu