The Great Path - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 7. MEDITATION IS THE SEED
you are watching a rowdy mob on the road, as if you are seeing the clouds passing by in the sky.
Observe indifferently. Be absolutely neutral.
First let the body become tranquil. This state comes gradually in the course of three weeks. The
mind takes about three months. It may be a little more or a little less. All depends on your
seriousness and sincerity of purpose, but within a period of six months this state of ’just sitting’
can be achieved. Now neither the body indulges in activities nor the mind.
Do not fight the mind. Do not suppress it. Do not order it not to think, for remember, this too is
thinking. Even this much of a thought can keep the mind going. The mind will stir up a great deal of
chaos, but don’t fight it. Your reactions will show that you are still willing to give in to it, that you have
failed to ignore it.
Indifference is the key. Just watch. Say nothing. It is going to be difficult, for the habits are old and
deep-seated. It has always been your habit to talk with the mind, to answer it back. Gradually, by
and by, if you persist you will reach a stage when by constant observation there is only you, and
nothing is happening – neither in the body nor in the mind. When all activities of the mind and body
become quiet, that state is called the state of ’just sitting’.
Here the word ’posture’ does not mean some intricate yoga posture. If you do yoga asanas it will be
helpful, for it will give you the power to sit longer, but this is not necessary. If you learn merely to sit,
that is the supreme asana. Also, it is not necessary that you should sit on the floor; you can even
sit on a chair. Only one thing must be remembered: you have to keep the same posture through the
given period.
Sit comfortably so that the body has no cause for complaint. Make all arrangements for the body’s
comfort: if it is cold take a blanket, if it is hot switch on the fan. Arrange for the body’s comfort. Don’t
take pleasure in torturing the body, for that is just cruelty Whether you torture another body or your
own, both are acts of violence, and nobody has ever attained God through violence. This body is
also His there is no need to torture it. When once you have settled down, don’t listen to the body’s
demands. Keep sitting! Ignore the mind, be indifferent toward it. It will create chaos, it will indulge in
all kinds of rowdiness, perhaps more than ever before.
People come to me and say: ”When I was not meditating my mind was never this restless. Now it is
a hundred times more restless than it used to be. Now there is great noise and tumult.” It has always
been so, only you were not aware of it, for your mind was always outside you. You were so involved
in the outside world that you did not notice the tumult within. Your sitting in silence does not create
it. In fact, when you are tranquil this chaos can only die down. It cannot possibly increase. But you
were so involved in the outside world, in your house, your family, your business, your wealth, that
you could not hear what was happening inside. Now that you have closed your eyes to the outside
world all your attention has gone within, all the focus, all the light is now concentrated within. Then
in this first experience, when the light falls within, you discover what chaos reigns there.
But remember: be indifferent! You have to remember one thing: except nothing from the mind. If you
hold on to the slightest hope you will not be able to disregard the mind. Leave all desires; nourish
no hopes and sit in total indifference; be neutral and unbiased. However difficult you may find it in
the beginning, it will become easier if you persist. Don’t worry about the time – today, tomorrow or
The Great Path 130 Osho