The Great Path - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 9. RIGHT SEARCH, WRONG DIRECTION
Nowhere else in the world has there been such extensive research into death as in Tibet. Until his
last breath a dying man is made to listen to the suggestions. Even after his death, the instructions
continue, for to the monk who is giving the instructions the man is not dead although the body has
been left. The monk knows that death has made no difference to the dead man; he is still listening.
Now the monk influences and directs his next rebirth. It is a very good moment to give directions, for
the man who has just died can be freed from the attachments of his past life. In these moments he
can be reminded and made aware of the fact that he is not the physical body; otherwise, this is very
difficult to accomplish. Now he can see clearly that he is, while the body lies inert on the ground.
Now the monk tells him; ’See, you are above while the body lies below. ‘Look carefully! This is the
very body with which you identified yourself. Now your dear ones, your friends, will take the body to
the burning ground. Follow them! See the body burning, see it burning to ashes; yet it has made no
difference to you. Remember this is your onward journey. Do not be involved with the body again.
In your next birth from the very first moment remember that you are not the body. Everyone will tell
you that you are the body, but keep your remembrance alive; let it not be smothered by any outside
suggestions.’
If you can only succeed in throwing off all external suggestions, then spiritual knowledge is not far
away.
In this century none equals Picasso as a painter, yet he was not spared by people. There was no
shortage of people coming to him with free advice. The truth is that only a feel gives unsolicited
advice. The wise have to be approached. You have to beg and entreat them for advice. You have to
work hard for it. Only the fool gives free advice.
People would come to Picasso, people who did not even know the ABC’s of painting, and say:
’Perhaps a little more color here would help’ or ’Perhaps a different angle would have conveyed your
meaning better’. Picasso was tired of them. Finally he hit upon a plan. It would be good if you
also followed the same plan. He made a beautiful basket and printed the words ’Suggestion Box’
on it. Everyone who came was direction to bring his suggestions on paper and put them into the
box. People were thrilled to think that he valued their opinion so much, but there was a slight snag –
the basket had no bottom. Instead there was a hole that held a dustbin. Every day the dustbin was
emptied by his servants. You should do likewise!
If you want to be freed from society – and that is what sannyas means – then free yourself from other
people’s opinions. They are outside of you, and their opinions have to do with the outside world;
they can only be a hindrance on the path of inner knowledge. Do not listen to them. If you want to
hear the inner voice then shut out all outer sounds. Shut all the doors through which they come, for
these sounds are so terrible, so sharp, that they will smother the soft wound within and you will not
be able to hear it. This inner voice is always calling, but you are lost in the sin of the marketplace.
The first layer is the body, and there is only one key to open it. It is a master key, for it opens all
locks. All locks are alike. The key is: become fully conscious of the body. When walking be aware
that the body walks, not you. When you are hungry, know the body is hungry, not you. When thirst,
know the body is thirsty, not you. Let this awareness always be with you. Gradually you will find that
this consciousness creates an abyss between you and the body. As the awareness increases, the
distance between you and the body will become greater and greater. There is an infinite distance
The Great Path 165 Osho