Very Purpose of Being Here

OSHO said, "I am showing the moon with my finger---but they are catching my finger! "

Dalai Lama: one of the mose beautiful teachers

Dharmadeep :  In Dalamsala, in 1992, I met Dalai Lama who is surely one of the most beautiful teachers. He is an enlightened being. There is no doubt about that. I, myself, don't consider him as a spiritual master, but as far as Tibetans are concerned, he is their spiritual guide, guru(means master in Hindi)----everything for them. I saw him very closely and enjoyed every bit of him. I found him very aware and at the same time very meditative. I saw him full of compassion, lively and not serious. When I felt him closely, I am convinced that he is enlightened. There is no doubt. So, Dalamsala, where is the center for Dalai Lama is quite something. This place is charged by this person.

In Dalamsala, I also met another teacher.

     When I visited Dalamsala, I also met one teacher from Buddhagaya, who was initiated by some big Lama in California. I was impressed because he used to sit under a tree. He was a young man, an Indian. His name was Drani. He was born in an Muslim family, used to be a Muslim himself and he had gone to America for the higher studies of botany and biology. As he was hanging around California in some park---he was sitting---, he saw a lama, Lama Rinpoche. So he went close to him and Rinpoche looked into his eyes-----and something happened. Then Rinpoche asked him a few things and talked with him for a while. Then he said, "Young man, although you have come here to study biology and botany, Destiny wants something else for you." Rinpoche invited him to his place. Drani went to his place. Rinpoche told him, "Do you know what Destiny has for you?" He answered, "I have come here to study biology and botany, but still I have not come here by myself." Rinpoche said, "Yes, that is what I mean by Destiny. You haven't planned it but you are here. You are here because Existence wants you to be here." Then Rinpoche initiated him and Drani became the disciple of Rinpoche. Lama Rinpoche told him, "You will spread the teaching of Buddha. Do it in your own way. That's my expectation from you."

Self inquiry

     Drani left America and he stays all the time in Berumi's monestry in Buddhagaya. Whenever he gets time, he travels around the world and teaches, in his own way, the philosophy of Buddha. When he comes to Dalamsala--every year in summer time he comes, he conducts the workshop called "Self Inquiry". When I was in Dalamsala, in some restaurant I saw a sign says "Self Inquiry: session talk with Drani". So I went to see him. There I was surprised to see 20 to 30 western people sitting there. He was speaking very ordinarily. For example, he would say, "Just as you have come inside here, what was your last thought before you left and come this place?" Then he would start talking on thought process: how do thoughts develop, where is the origin of thoughts, what actions do thoughts lead you to-----so forth and so on. Although he was speaking very ordinarily, we were all impressed by his talking.

The 10th candle

     One day, what impressed me was----. On that day, it was raining. Dalamsala has most uncertain climate in whole of India. You can experience winter, summer, and rainy season all in one day. It started raining at 5 o'clock in the evening. So everybody went into a small hut, which had 2 story, ground and 1F. Some people sat on the ground floor and some sat on the 1st. I was sitting up with a few friends. Then Drani came up. It was getting a little dark. He said, "Ok, let's do something." and lit ten candles. Then he gave a big blow to those candles. First effort to blow off the candles resulted---out of 10 candles 5 blew off. This is the score of his first effort. Again he did it for the second time. Second effort blew off 3 candles. So 2 was still left on. He did it again for the third time. The third effort, he did it more strongly and one candle blew away. One was remaining. Then he did it again even stronger but the last one didn't blow off. Finally, he made a very strong, really strong effort and it blew off.
     He said, "I did 5 efforts to blow off these 10 candles. 1st effort, 5 went off. 2nd effort, 3 went off. 3rd effort, 1 went off. 9 candles went off in 3 efforts. But for the last candle I did 2 efforts. They were very strong efforts. The last candle took 2 efforts to blow off. Suppose if I tell you the first candle represents lust, the second greed, the third power, the forth ambition, the fifth something else and on and on, then what does the last candle represent? It represents some intrinsic quality in us which requires lots of effort. What, do you think, is that?"
     He put us all sitting there into a big question. What that can be? A little surprise was that all 25 people sitting there including me could not answer the question because he put it in such a way that nobody could answer it. He said, "Last quality, last thing in us which take lots of effort to go away is ego. Ego is one quality which takes maximum effort to get rid of."

     Become egoless is a big success in your spiritual life. It's the ego which stops us from our inner progress. In the outer world, it is everything. Your ego can lead you to anything. It can make you most powerful man in Japan. If you want to become more powerful than Bill Gates or Bill Clinton, no problem. First your ego should be there. If you ego is more stronger than Gates or Clinton, then it can be achieved. Energy called ego has such a potential. Over night you will see Clinton is replaced by somebody.
     But in the spiritual life, ego can be very harmful because it obstacles. Ego means to be something and in spiritual life, whole effort is to be nothing. There is a saying in India, "Nadi nadi", means "not this not this". You don't want this. You don't want that. You just want to be. To be egoless is so important but many people missed.

You want to get enlightened? This is an ego, too

     It happened in the time of Buddha. One of his disciples wanted to "become" enlightened. So he was always sitting near Buddha to become enlightened. There was another disciple who was sitting at the Buddha's feet. One day what happened was: Buddha ordered both of them, the one who just wanted to become enlightened and the one who wanted to sit near Buddha, to sit far away from him. But the one who just wanted to sit near Buddha became enlightened first. Buddha called him and asked, "Why are you crying?" He answered, "Master, I am crying because I did not want to become enlightened, I just wanted to sit at your feet." Another disciple who wanted to become enlightened got restless and left.
     In the evening, all the disciple gathered. Buddha said, "Really this one, who became enlightened and I want him to leave now. He is not wanting to leave, just wants to sit at my feet." He was the egoless disciple of Buddha and the other disciple was having ego. He wanted to become enlightened. But it is an ego just like you want to become Bill Gates.

OSHO said, "I am showing the moon with my finger---but they are catching my finger! "

     These people running the commune, at least in this life, enlightenment may happen to them, because the first thing they should realize is that they are there for the work. They should do it totally. But if they really want to become enlightened, they should realize this life is not enough.
     It can only happen when you don't have any power trips. Just to get rid of your power trips, OSHO gives you responsibility, gives you a chance. First thing they should realize that they are fortunate because OSHO put them there. OSHO knows what they have deep down in them: the power trip is there. So to get rid of that, OSHO gave them a chance. OSHO said, "I am showing you with this finger. My finger is pointing to the moon. Instead of looking at the moon, they are catching my finger."
     These people who are in power in the commune: OSHO is showing them the moon but they are holding his finger! They become so serious, instead of becoming playful, becoming loving, compassionate, they became serious. They have taking whole thing in their head. What is going to happen? They will miss something very beautiful in their life. They are going to miss playfulness.

Very purpose of being here

     I think most blessed person in this whole commune, according to me, is the gardener, Mukta. Once OSHO gave her a responsibility. Then she said, "Master, I don't think you are doing right thing." OSHO asked, "Why?" She answered, "Master, if you ever want to give me some responsibility, give me such responsibility without any power trips. Give me such work where I am so close to you." He said, "What can be the work which can make you less power trip, more loving and close to me? " She said, "Master, you know!" OSHO said, "Yes, you are right. You be my gardener." By being the gardener of OSHO, she is away from power. She loves nature. She talks to trees. To be with nature is to be natural. So Mukta got it.
     Either you don't accept power or if you accept power, learn the art of playing with power, not using the power but playing with power. OSHO gives us a chance specially to those people who are in power in the commune. They should realize they may become like a politicians. They may become obsessed. Ego may become strong. They may become serious. They may forget very purpose of being here. They are here to be meditative, to transform their life. They are here to be playful. They should not miss this.
     When OSHO went to America, Sadar Gurudia Sin was given a watch by Him. Sadar got a watch, but didn't understand why OSHO gave him a simple watch. He could not figure out why He gave him a watch. He heard that OSHO gave other people other thing---. So when OSHO came back from America to Poona in 1987, Sadar asked Him a question: "OSHO, you gave somebody this and that. Why did you give me a watch?" OSHO answered, "I gave you a watch to be watchful!" Sadar said, "Oh, Master. I didn't realize. I am so unfortunate." OSHO said, "I have given you a watch but you didn't realize. But still it is not too late. From today, you start to be watchful. Watch yourself, and watch others at the gate of Laotsu."
     So every opportunity OSHO gives us whether you are just visiting, you are working or you are in some power in the commune. All should realize there is some purpose behind: OSHO's purpose, and we should never forget that purpose: purpose to be watchful, watch yourself, and watch others.

---Spring, summer, autumn and winter and again spring come and whole cycle----. Life is like that. You have to accept it in its totality.

    Sometimes it happens that dark cloud comes. But it is like a famous saying of OSHO: "This too will go." It is like that. When a peak comes, a valley will come. When a rise comes, a fall has to come. Then depth comes and then again a rise will come. This is a whole energy phenomenon. OSHO said, "Peak of a mountain is understood by the valley of the mountain. Don't separate valley from peak. Higher the peak, deeper the valley." That's how it is and this too will go.
     I used to say that when OSHO went to Oregon, America, season went off in Poona. Leaves were falling. Poona became autumn or even winter for us. We thought it was the end of it. But at that time, flowering was happening in Oregon. Rajneesh Puram in Oregon flowered so fast but felt apart very fast, too. It was so fast that I could not imagine. In Poona, it started slowly, and it fell slowly. Whole 7 years when OSHO was in Poona from 1974 till 1981, it blossomed very slowly and very beautifully and fell slowly. It took one year and still today I can feel the old Poona because it happen slowly. But one day the end came also. It didn't go for eternity and eternity. I have seen spring, summer, autumn and winter and again spring come and whole cycle----. Life is like that. You have to accept it in its totality.

See you again!
"Dharmadeep's Spontaneous Talk" will continue.