This response from Osho below is from very early days. It occurs in a little known collection of responses called ‘Lead Kindly Light: Some enlightened moments with Osho’, published by Osho’s first publisher, Jeevan Jagruti Kendra, and put together by Osho’s widowed cousin Kranti . Kranti left Osho in 1974.
Osho’s cousin, Kranti.
Kranti: IT DOES NOT ENHANCE HUMAN DIGNITY TO CREATE FRICTION BETWEEN FAITHS — AND THAT TOO IN THE NAME OF RELIGION! THERE SHOULD BE NO CONFLICT AMONGST VARIOUS FAITHS; BUT, COME TO THINK OF IT, THE WORLD HISTORY OF FAITHS IS FULL OF STRIFE AND WARS. NOT ONLY THAT, EVEN IN ONE AND THE SAME FAITH THE VARIOUS SECTS MALIGN ONE ANOTHER AND QUARREL AMONGST THEMSELVES! WHY?
Osho replies: Ego is the root of all evil. There can not, and need not, be any friction between faiths. The differences lie only in the egoism of so-called followers of faiths. It is ego that is militant. And it is ego that creates frictions and factions even amongst followers of one and the same faith. Actually, not only in religious matters, but in all spheres of life, the underlying cause of conflict and disharmony is ego; and the solution to these fissiparous tendencies is dissolution of ego; because love – which is the opposite of ego – creates a common meeting ground for divergent groups of human beings.
Ego is irreligion. Religion is not the cause of quarrels or battles or so-called holy crusades; these are caused by the lack of religion in the so-called followers of religion. And this will continue to be the state of affairs so long as religion is predetermined at birth, and has nothing to do with the life lived. The trouble is that without having to be religious, people inherit a ready-made religion.
The History of mankind would not have been so gory, if religion were not familial or hereditary by birth. Those for whom religion is not a living experience create chasms between the various faiths. No faith is ever harmed by irreligious people outside its folds so much, as by people within it. The harm comes from the inner group that is irreligious. The ignorant believe that the danger to faith is from outside the group, whereas, in reality, the risk is always from within.
People mistakenly try to safeguard their religion from outside assault, completely disregarding the risk from within. It is my observation that there are no enemies of any faith outside that faith; faiths are destroyed by the foes within the fold. These inside groups do not consider religion a way to self-realisation, but as an association or alliance, which can be given a distinct social or political colour. And, unfortunately, if they succeed in creating a distinct
association, religion fails; yes, sad but true it is, that if they succeed, religion fails. And the reason of this failure is simple; it is that religion is not an association.
All associations are in opposition to somebody or some-thing; the life-force of all groupism is hatred of other groups; without opposition and acrimony, groups can neither exist nor function. Religion implies self-realisation; religion is the science whereby one’s life can be bettered.
Religion, in reality, has nothing to do with any group or society; it is concerned only with the individual. Therefore, the various religions — better to call them faiths as we have done so far — are in opposition to one another, only when viewed as separate groups; but the same faiths, if they are understood to be the diverse ways of self-realisation, are found to he paths converging towards the same truth.
What is in your mind, Mr. Editor to choose this excerpt?
It must be fitting with your own convictions.
” …religion is not an association.
Religion implies self-realisation; religion is the science whereby one’s life can be bettered.
Religion, in reality, has nothing to do with any group or society; it is concerned only with the individual.”
Which is what you’ve never appeared to have understood, Shantam, seeing a lot of trees but little, if any, wood (as it were).
You make the mango shake and then claim it is hanging on the trees.
I hate people with their superior definitions, most of such people are socially incompetent, dry as lemons of last year and full with junk.
Show me any dictionary where definition of religion is like your mind projection. Surely, if mass of people believe in certain kind of definition of religion, it becomes religion.
Whether group of people believe in enlightenment or the heavenly baby dolls wearing G-string, Belief is the main element and therefore both classify as religion.
You and countless millions can believe whatever you and they wish, Shantam, but it doesn’t make your beliefs true. In fact, the more ‘common’ a belief in these matters the more likely it is to be false.
Moreover, you do realise that in fighting me on this point you’re also up against your own master and indeed, any other master worth his/her salt?
I’m afraid you’re unfortunately just the type to wilfully dilute and thus essentially destroy any genuine master’s truth, in favour of what happens to suit your mediocre little self, its mediocre, self-ish concerns and its mediocre little mind.
This is how the masters’ truths become corrupted – by well-meaning fools like you, Shantam.
And now, in your confusion, you can “hate” me even more, can’t you?!
It is wonderful master’s truth gets corrupted. It means they are not in refrigeration and also it means there is always scope for new entrants to create better truth apps.
Have I written “I hate you”? I hate the people with superior ego is a general statement to stress upon the point. It is like I love you and love you are from two different continents.
P.S:
SD, do you remain sitting before the computer waiting for my posts? Please write something of your own rather than sitting ideally like a school teacher waiting for student’s text. It is really a wonderful job to do corrections. I like to correct teachers!
“SD, do you remain sitting before the computer waiting for my posts? Please write something of your own rather than sitting ideally like a school teacher waiting for student’s text. It is really a wonderful job to do corrections. I like to correct teachers!”
Yes indeed, Shantam; as I said earlier, I’m right on your case, watching you most carefully….
“Show me any dictionary where definition of religion is like your mind projection. Surely, if mass of people believe in certain kind of definition of religion, it becomes religion.”
All that would indicate is that the “mass of people” don’t have a clue what real religion – call it ‘religiousness’ – is all about, not a single iota do they know.
Why? Because the orginal masters’ teachings are always corrupted by often (but not always) well-meaning, spiritually ignorant fools (like you, Shantam). Or by dangerous and selfish people on a power trip.
Shantam, you wrote:
“I hate people with their superior definitions” – while severely criticising my definition of ‘religion’ in response to your thoroughly inadequate one.
It doesn’t take a degree in philosophy or logic to rationally infer that therefore, in that context anyway, you “hate” me.
While it does take more than a degree of sophistry to pretend otherwise and imagine you’d convince anyone. All it takes is a consummate stupidity, of which you are an example par excellence.
Kranti left Osho in 1974. This is an interesting fact from history.
Official foundation in the name of Osho has scrapped each and every connection of Osho as human being. My feeling is their idea is to leave that Osho for future who has no shade of being human, no fragility of being human; another Jesus-like phantom figure. One is projected as only son of God, another as never born, never died.
And people still think there is no Osho Religion.
Osho Religion has two main offshoots: Osho Resortiya and Osho Sannyasa!
Well, what to expect if Osho wanted to be remembered as “a nobody”?
However, there’s plenty of material about Osho’s earlier life, easily accessible for those inclined to investigate.
And Shantam, likening the Christians’ literal interpretation of the “Son of God” epithet to “never born, never died” is a flawed, typically lazy piece of thinking. I’ll leave it to you to see why (if you can be bothered – which I doubt).
Moreover, you’re supposed to be all in favour of a new ‘Osho Religion’, aren’t you? So why the pejorative feel to such remarks? I’d have thought such a description would be right up your strasse.
Unless, of course, you’re simply getting confused…
Nah, surely not!
The fifties and sixties in Osho’s life is not much documented. BUT he was very busy, and in a way that startles me. Travelling all around India by train in second class…I’ve done a bit of that myself and it wasn’t much fun. All by way of bringing his discourses to as many as possible.
One of the people supporting him at that time very much, but not heralded, was his cousin, Kranti. A sincere, devoted and elegant woman who was his early caretaker. She was even involved with him prior to his enlightenment and helped to restore his health after he had spent his famous night reading Tertium Organum (by Ouspensky) – all one night under a Jabalpur lampost.
Kranti is also credited with drawing Osho’s story of his enlightenment out of him in 1972. Prior to that time, Osho, for whatever reason, had fought shy of telling the story and was actually called Acharya for most of the previous 20 years, meaning ‘teacher’, but not Master (recorded in Satya Vedant’s book ‘The Awakened One’.
With the growth of the Sannyas movement and westerners coming in increasing numbers, she felt pushed out, according to biographers; and also according to them, Osho encouraged her to leave and allegedly set up a boyfriend for her.
She is said to have left Osho in 1974 and never returned.
Parmartha, I heard she had come to the Commune in Poona few months back, first time after she left in 1974.
Thanks, Kavita. Interesting.
It could be another Kranti, as I heard that in fact she is no longer in the body.
Parmartha, thanks for correcting me.
Actually, I had gone for lunch with a friend from the commune recently & while talking, this friend mentioned that Ma Yoga Kranti had visited Poona Commune & I misheard that she was here during this/last winter.
So I called this friend few minutes back to confirm about it & she said “Kranti-ben was here after Osho’s death & she also visited his Samadhi.” She does not remember the year, but that Kranti ben died of cancer in Jabalpur.
*ben means sister.
Thanks, Kavita.
I only have the well-researched ‘Osho Source Book’ to go on: Footnote 12 of the Bombay section.
“25.07.2006. Kranti met Sw. Krishna Kabeer in Woodlands, they shared a room and later got married. Sw. Krishna Kabeer, aka Chirantan Bramachari, started in 2003 as a columnist to write weekly columns on Osho in a Gujarathi newspaper, and Kranti died in 2006.
Together with Arvind Kumar Jain, she has recounted her memories from her days with Osho in Jabalpur. Kranti and Arvind Jain’s manuscript was typeset and made ready for printing in 2006, with Osho’s photo on green background from Woodlands.”
I have no idea whether this manuscript was ever published. It would interest me greatly if it was, and I would appreciate it if you could ask of your Indian friends who were close to Osho at that time whether it ever was.
Maybe you know Sw. Krishna Kabeer or Arvind Kumar Jain?
The relationship between Kranti and Sw Krishna Kabeer was said to have been encouraged and even engineered by Osho, as he and Kranti were said to share a bedroom when she was his caretaker.
She clearly felt very hurt by the time she exited Woodlands in 1974, as it is said she never had anything to do with Osho personally after she left, and set up house with Sw Krishna Kabeer.
I also heard the same about them .
No, Dear, I don’t know Sw. Krishna Kabeer or Arvind Kumar Jain, but yes, I did hear that Arvind Kumar Jain is Ma Kranti’s real brother who lives in Jabalpur (he appeared in one of the Osho World tv interviews sometime back. & Swami Krishna Kabeer & Ma Kranti lived in Ahmedabad/Gujarat after their marriage.
If I do get any more information about this book I shall let you know.
Kavita, can you please phone to one gutsy Gujarati Ma who is always there in the ashram – whether it is mandir, commune, resort – about the whereabouts of Kranti?
This Ma knows every single detail of everybody from Jabalpur to Mehsana!
Shantam, this Ma is an existential treasure trove for Osho’s well-spread, World-wide Mystery School, like many others who have been around him in his lifetime!
Here we go, Parmartha(s)…
Loved your pic so much, underlined…changed ´t h e i r´ profile – Hallelujah, song of JOY without sounds….
I escaped to River Isar today for a little gap or two, and read to River Isar two chapters loud from out a fairy tale written by Amos Oz.
It´s a fairy tale about a village which lost all living companions serving the so-called humans. I don´t know how it will end (the story from Amos Oz, I mean) but I trust that this fabulous Israeli author will have had to share a good climax as ending, because it´s a fairy tale after all (also for the ´sane´ child in us).
Yes, Parmartha, I loved your changing profile(s).
Love,
Madhu
P.S:
There is something about ´editing´ and its mysterious ways, one can never know, neither about ´servers´and ´streams´. But to BE at the River today was great, and love to share that too.
‘Lead, Kindly Light’ is an English hymn based on a poem by the Victorian theologian Newman.
Interesting that Osho/Kranti used it to title this small book. The hymn was sung by Betsie ten Boom, sister of Corrie ten Boom, and other women as they were led by German S.S. Guards to the concentration camp Ravensbruck during the Holocaust.
“Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.”
Yes indeed, “lead kindly light…amidst the encircling gloom” – I recall John de Ruiter advising to hold on to whatever little bit of Truth, however tiny or apparently ‘insignificant’, that one can find within while facing up to difficulties, crises, the inevitable hardships of living.
Meaning that “kindly light” is within – as is any “encircling gloom” – although both also commonly appear outside us, of course, eg dramatically so in the case Parmartha mentions here.
Aha! After Meera comes John de Ruiter. I think we need to coin a new word. Nymphomaniac is a woman with abnormal sexual desires, religiomaniac is a person who is never satisfied with one master.
For both categories I don´t say it is a psychological disorder. Different people have different appetite.
You assume far too much, far too readily, Shantam. Instead of being so lazy, why not bother to check the facts, at least now and then?
Use your common sense. Quoting someone does not by any means imply that person is one’s ‘master’, ‘teacher’, or anything other than someone who’s said something worthwhile.
So instead of trying to score a cheap point, why not look into the statement and see if there’s any truth in it, anything worth remembering for personal practical use?
Unless, of course, you suffer from ‘master-phobia’, or, ‘Truthophobia’…
Or already know it all….
Here is a good rendition of the hymn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fNjEgbsNmI
It gives me the creeps….
Nice vibes coming from beautiful people…
For Information as there were some enquiries:
Jeevan Jagruti Kendra was Osho’s first self-publishing house in 1965. He selected the name, which translates as ‘Life Awakening Centre.’
When one reads names in Osho books, in the beginning it creates the impression, “These people must be the blessed ones.” If one does not get the chance to meet them, the impression will remain for ever and one will remain in the state of adoration and constant missing.
Kranti, Neelam, Anando, Maneesha, Zareen, Sadhna, Veena or Shunyo; like every sentimentalist, i feel touched by Kranti´s photo. Reason is simple, i have never seen her living, working, relating.
Power of the Names is much more powerful than Power of Now!
P.S:
Now I write the response of Satyadeva:
Again, Shantam, you are wrong. Like every stuck Sikh, you have no experience what is Power of Now.
To feel the power of Now you need to be here and now. This you cannot be. You are still holding the past.
Mmmm, excellent P.S., Shantam, at last you appear to be making a little progress. I trust you’re taking great care to transfer the words into practical action though – are you not?
However, the rest of your post was the usual sentimental codswallop.
Next step is to realise that such sentimentalism is pure bullshine, a ‘worldly’ and ignorant characteristic, unfit for a spiritual person’s purpose. But I suspect that’s too much to expect from someone who is already planning his own, utterly pointless funeral!
Always remember, Shantam, I’m watching you very, very carefully….
Yes, Kavita, I know that Kranti is often referred to as “Sister” or “Sister Cousin” (‘ben’ in Hindi?), but she clearly was not.
She was his cousin. Maybe you could explain this, as the customs of the Indian (Jain?) communities and their naming is sometimes lost on me.
Parmartha,
If you don´t become free from the wheel of life and death in this very life, most probably your fascination can take you to India in a Jain family(lols).
Somewhere I think it is a fair trade, one cannot have simply the Indian names and not get birth as an Indian. Many times invoice comes few days later after delivery of the product.
Actually, ‘ben’ is sister in Gujarati; in Hindi it’s ‘behen’.
Osho’s father & Ma Kranti’s mother were siblings, so they were first cousins & in the olden days in Indian families such relations/marriage was legitimate or in fact natural choice made by parents at the birth of their child.
“Yes indeed, Shantam; as I said earlier, I’m right on your case, watching you most carefully….”(Satyadeva)
Satyadeva,
It is so more than obvious that, while imagining being
“right on other one’s cases”, as you put it,
we are right sitting in and on our own, isn´t it?
Looking at a web-chat like this one these days, ever again, even though when two buddies are stuck into each other, occupying all the space with their contempt for each other, reminds me especially on the following lines of the given topic issue:
“No faith is ever harmed by irreligious people outside its folds so much, as by people within it.”
It´s the deterioration issue, Satyadeva, you quite often liked to mention, and rightly so.
And for good reasons, I presume, as we are all part of it and have ever been and will ever be, if that kind of stuff is happening. And a contemporary (?) Sannyas website is a good example for it, as we also can explore it in any apparently much bigger stuff.
It´s a painful experience, isn´t it?
Also, when just being a watcher, or pondering about, to just escape and look for better places and so on and so forth, quite often – when escaping – to find same…same…
It´s delusion, I feel, to imagine we could in a virtual chat area of printed bits and bytes, we could copy the ‘real thing´, to sit and feel and exchange with each other, the way meditators in a sangha do, or better said, let it happen.
Take the invitation for a meeting. Words rarely connect, words may connect if a mystic uses words, a poet, a songwriter.
These days, Osho News reminds of our old sons: Nothing is said…nothing is heard, yet the heart is singing…
Call it romantic rubbish as some like to do, but even if once experienced such Peace in all its diversity of forms, we get hooked to find that inner space and place again, don’t we? And also would like to share it with others, wouldn’t we?
The best, maybe, that can happen on a website like this is to get reminders
of experiences we have had, shared, and know of inside. One of these reminders in this topic, issue has been for me:
“…better to call them faiths as we have done so far — are in opposition to one another, only when viewed as separate groups; but the same faiths, if they are understood to be the diverse ways of self-realisation, are found to he paths converging towards the same truth.”
A beautiful dream, that we could share such an understanding. And I know we did.
So different the expressions of an apparent loss, and I would like to say, the loss is a delusion too; that´s the good side of seeing through a loss.
Good morning, Everybody.
Madhu
Well, yes, Madhu, of course this sort of one-dimensional, ‘out-of-body’ communication is limited! And yes, disputes can be ‘blown up’ out of all proportion, even to an utterly absurd level. Who could ever disagree that ‘real life’ meetings are invariably very different and here is just a comparatively ‘artificial’, ultimately unsatisfactory version?
And yet…how often in daily life do we get the chance to so swiftly peel away external ‘niceties’ and find what lies behind the façade? At least here we get a chance to examine our and others’ beliefs and values, and their origins, ie those elements that largely determine how we see the world, ourselves, others, and even, ‘life itself’…
Sometimes it’s quite shocking to see others’ (and even our own) relative, ie person-al, self-ish, so-called ‘truths’. And how doggedly we hold on to them, like ‘grim death’…
But it’s still good that such a place as this exists, whatever levels of ignorance and stupidity we expose here. As a few ‘jewels’ now and again emerge from the mire, perhaps occasionally greater understanding, or even, compassion (for ourselves and others)?
While turning the webpages at facebook just came across a rare photo.
Swami (Anil Vora) who has this photo in his collections writes the year 1951. I think picture is of few years later.
In any case, Osho with his relatives. Second from left is Kranti.
“It gives me the creeps….” (Tan).
Understandable, Tan-ia.
Madhu
A Ma reached heaven.
She could not see Swamis and Mas. During breakfast through the hall was full with people of other beliefs.
She asked waiter, “I never thought such kind of people also come here.”
Waiter answered politely, “Madam, here come all kind of people booked by all kind of travel agencies.”
To help, the Osho Source Book (if it is to be believed) gives a little more detail of Kranti as follows:
” “Kranti was married at a very young age, but unfortunately her husband died just one year after the marriage.” (Joshi, 1982, p. 49).
Ma Yoga Kranti was the elder sister of Arvind Kumar Jain and left her body on 22.04.2006. Following her death, a cd for private circulation (not for sale) was published by Chirantan Brahmachari (Kabeer): “In Loving Memory of Smt. Kranti Chirantan Brahmachari (Ma Yog Kranti).”
A Discourse by OSHO on Mahavir Sutra (Jaraa-Mrityu). A profile of Swami Krishna Kabeer is presented in ‘Sannyas’, 1972:2, p. 46.”
Does any SN reader know Krishna Kabeer? his story might well be interesting. One SN contact says he is still alive.