The Great Path - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 2. THE STARS MIRRORED
He who is the experiencer of all three states – waking, dreaming and deep sleep – and who is apart
and separate from them; he who passes through them, but does not identify himself with them; he
who goes beyond the three and considers himself different and apart – he is a warrior, a conqueror.
Viresha means the warrior of warriors, the conqueror, the supreme hero. Viresh is one of the names
of Shiva. Mahavir also means the great warrior. We have called ’Mahavir’ only those who attained
samadhi. We do not call a person a conqueror just because he has scaled Everest or reached the
moon, it is a courageous act but these are not the ultimate heights to be reached. We call him
a Viresh, a Mahavir, who has attained the soul. What Everest can be higher than God? He who
attains the ultimate is a Mahavir, a great warrior. We accept nothing less. What if you have reached
the moon? It has merely opened new vistas for exploration: Mars, Jupiter, and so on and so forth.
The universe is boundless!
We call him Mahavir who has reached where there is no further to go. Why do we refer to him as
Mahavir? Because there is no act more courageous than the act of attaining one’s own self. There
is no journey that calls for such courage and fearlessness as the journey to the self. Because the
path is full of difficulties that are encountered nowhere else. It requires the maximum austerity.
The journey to the self is the most difficult journey. It is like walking on the razor’s edge. This is
perhaps why you run away from the self and get involved in mundane things. And this is perhaps
why, even though knowledge of the self attracts the mind you do not have the necessary courage.
Some fear grips you.
It is very difficult. You will have to walk alone. The most difficult part of it is that in this world,
everywhere you can go with others. However, there is one place where you will have to go alone.
No wife, no brother, no friend, not even the guru, can go along with you. At best the guru can show
the way. Buddha shows the way. That is all! You must go alone!
We are afraid to be alone. There are so many people around us, so many dreams. Some of these
dreams are very pleasant, very interesting. A few outstanding people break this web of dreams and
set out on the path. Of these, many turn back halfway. One in a million proceeds on the journey, for
it is an arduous, difficult path. Among all of these, perhaps one person reaches. That is why such a
one is called Viresh, warrior of warriors.
The fourth, that lies hidden beyond the three, and within you, is the Everest. That is where you
have to reach. And the way to reach it is to be wakeful in your waking state. Right now you are in
a lukewarm state. Become a burning flame of awareness so that its heat enters your very breath.
Be awake in dreams so that dreams may break. Be so alert in the dreaming state that a ray of your
awareness pierces the state of deep sleep. The day you enter deep sleep, with this little flame of
awareness, you will have opened the doors of the state of Viresh; you will have given your first knock
on the temple door.
The bliss is infinite, but you will have to cross the path in between. You must pay the price. The
greater the bliss, the greater the price. There are no bargains.
Many look for bargains (compromises?). They seek short-cuts, and they find the gurus to exploit
them. The guru tells them to wear this amulet and everything will come to pass, or that it is enough
The Great Path 42 Osho