The Great Path - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 4. TO BE DEAD DO NOTHING
others profit from you as much as they have suffered from you. Savor the taste of compassion. Do
not punish yourself for your wrongdoings. Treat yourself to a good deed; do not reproach yourself
for your misdeeds. If you have abused someone, go and sing somebody’s praises; make a list of his
virtues. You have enjoyed cursing people, now enjoy appreciating the merits of others.
Don’t get involved with the thorns; just let them be and concentrate on the flowers. If you are involved
with the thorns you will never reach the flowers. There are so many thorns and you will be so badly
bruised that, when you find a flower it will not give you any pleasure. You will be so filled with wounds
that even the caress of the flowers will not soothe you. It will hurt!
Do not pay any attention to the thorns, focus on the flowers. Be drowned in the charm and the
pleasure of the flowers, and you will find that the thorns no longer prick you. He who is overwhelmed
by the beauty of the flower will not be affected by the thorns. The real thing is to drown in the
essence of the flower. Be struck dumb by its beauty. Be enchanted by it. The real thing is to drink in
the essence of God, and then the wines of the world will lose their charm; otherwise you will keep
fighting worldly pleasures, and you will be defeated by the same pleasures.
He who fights the evil is defeated by evil, for such a mind makes a mantra of the evil because mind
is mantra. Try to understand the process of the mind: it repeats and repeats and repeats!
Observe your mind for only seven days. Write down everything that the mind repeats. You will find it
moving in a circle. If you observe carefully you will find that just as night follows day, just as mornings
and afternoon and evening move in rotation, so also your anger, your love, your sex, your greed;
they all have their allotted periods. Greed catches you exactly at its appointed hour, just as hunger
grips you at the same time every day. You have never observed your mind closely. You can even
make a calendar of your various moods; then you can warn your wife and children: ”Beware of me
on Monday mornings!” Then they will know that they should stay out of your way during the difficult
periods. If you begin to observe yourself during these particular periods you will be able to locate
the points around which the changing moods of your mind revolve. Not only is the body circular, but
the mind also moves in a circle.
All movements in the world are circular. The moon and stars move in a circle; the earth moves in
a circle and so do the seasons. Even the seasons of your mind go around in a circle. Scientists
have discovered recently that there is a cycle of chemical reactions in the male body which is similar
to the menstrual cycle in females. You must have noticed that women tend to become cross and
irritable and restless during their menstrual periods. The Hindus were very clever. They evolved
the custom of segregating women form the rest of the household during this time. A great many
chemical changes occur in a woman’s body at this time, and it is difficult for her to remain alert and
aware of herself.
Exactly the same things happen to men. There is no outward flow of blood, but there is an internal
flow from certain glands. If you observe carefully you will find that a man is also depressed, restless
and in a black mood every twenty-eight days.
Observe closely and you will see that your mind revolves in one complete cycle every twenty-eight
days. As you become more and more familiar with your cycle, you will be able to predict with great
accuracy what moods you are going to have and when you are going to have them. You will be
The Great Path 71 Osho