The Great Path - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 5. THE KNOWLEDGE THAT IS SELF KNOWLEDGE
one even looks at me, there is no flicker in anybody’s eyes, as if I don’t exist, then my ego receives
a blow.
The ego desires attention from others. Now this is very interesting. The ego has no desire to pay
any attention to others, but it certainly wants the attention itself. It wants to be the center of the
world.
A religious person is not worried whether others look at him or not. He is more concerned about
looking into himself because it is that self that will ultimately remain with him. It is childish! It is
natural for children to be eager to impress their elders; they bring a certificate home from school and
show it off to everyone. But if you are still seeking certificates in the old age, then you have missed
life altogether.
The desire for occult powers is part of the desire to impress others. It has nothing to do with the
religious quest. It is essentially worldly.
This sutra says, the yogi who is caught up in his attachments, attains occult powers but is devoid of
any self-knowledge. No matter how great his attainment is – he may raise the dead, he may cure
illnesses, he may turn water into wine – but this has nothing to do with self-knowledge. In fact, the
truth is that the more power he acquires, the further he drifts away from self-realization, because
as the ego becomes larger and larger, the soul becomes more and more empty. And as the ego
is emptied, the soul becomes richer and richer. You cannot enhance both ego and the soul at the
same time.
Give up the desire to impress and influence others or your yoga will be corrupted. In that case, even
if you practise yoga, it will have a political, not a religious motivation. And politics is tricky. In politics
you want to influence other by hook or by crook. You don’t mind using right or wrong methods in
doing that. And the reason why you want to influence others is that you want to exploit them.
I have heard: Elections were in progress and, three people were taken to jail. It was quite dark
inside when the three introduced themselves to one another.
One of them said, ”I am Sardar Sant Singh. I work for Sardar Sirfod Singh.”
The second said, ”That is strange! I am Sardar Shaitan Singh, and I work against Sardar Sirfod
Singh.”
The third said, ”Amazing! I am Sardar Sirfod Singh!”
Leaders and followers of ruling party or the opposition, all – are fit only for jails. That is the right place
for them. The roots of sin lie in the desire to influence others. Ego knows neither good nor bad; it
only knows how to fulfill itself. How it fulfills itself is secondary. The ego’s only aim is to nourish itself
and grow strong; but, since the ego is emptiness, it always remains empty in spite of everything. As
life advances, a man’s ego turns more and more insane. He realizes that life is passing by, most of
it is gone, and yet the ego is unfulfilled.
This is the reason why the old people are so irritable. This irritability is not because they have been
unsuccessful in their lives. They become irritable because they could not fill what they wanted to.
The Great Path 95 Osho