From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com
From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com
CHAPTER 19. RELIGION IS REBELLION fullness, who has achieved the ultimate. It is not a descendant of anybody; it is a growth. It is from the roots, it grows like a tree. The avatara is upside down, the messiah is upside down, hanging from above, coming downwards; they are a kind of fall. A tirthankara is man risen up to his full potential. Mahavira thought... and that was the concept of Buddha, the same – they were contemporaries, and they both thought, ”This way we avoid the priesthood, God, because we have made man the central point.” One Baul poet of Bengal... Baul means mad, and they are really mad people – madly in love with existence. One of the most important of the Bauls is Chandidas. His famous statement is, ”Sabar upar manush jati, tahar upar nahin: Above all is the truth of man, and above that there is nothing.” Now man becomes the ultimate truth. It was a great revolution – to throw God from His throne and put man on His throne. But a cult still came into being. They forgot something, but we can remember it. They were experimenting; they were the first people, and they have done a great deal. They have cut out almost half the possibilities, but the other half of the possibilities are enough to create a cult: they made the tirthankara an extraordinary man, a superman. They had to, because the question was of continuous comparison – Hindus have avataras; they are all supermen with divine power. The ordinary people would like to follow a man who has divine power, rather than only a man. Naturally, when you are going to shop, you shop for the best and the cheapest. Now, Mahavira was neither. He was the costliest because his discipline was very difficult; that was the price you had to pay if you were to follow him. If you were to go on that path of austerity, that was the price you had to pay to become a superman – and still you would be a man. So much trouble, so much fasting, living naked... the Jaina monk cannot even use fire. In the night when it is cold, winter, he cannot use a blanket, he cannot even use fire. There are naked Hindu monks also but they are not troubled: they do two things which are very inventive of them. First, they always sit with a bonfire in front of them, so they are warm. And second, they go on rubbing, all over their body, ashes from the fire. So all the pores in the body which breathe are closed – not completely, otherwise they would be dead, but closed enough so that their body heat does not go out. Then there is also the heat from the outside which prevents them from being cold. The Jaina monk is also naked, but with no heat, with no ashes rubbed on his body. He shivers. Shivering is the only method, the natural method to create a certain heat. Shivering is a natural protection against cold. You shiver, the body starts shaking; that creates a certain movement, exercise in the body, and creates heat. That’s all they can do the whole night. In the summer they are naked under the sun. They are completely burned up, with little food to eat and a small quantity of water to drink. So the path is arduous... and what do you gain? You are just following a man who is not even a descendant of God, who is not even a relative of God, who is not even a messenger of God. Who knows whether he is mad, sane, insane? He is just a man, just like you. While, in comparison, there are messengers of God, messiahs of God, avataras of God, God Himself coming down.... From Ignorance to Innocence 266 Osho
CHAPTER 19. RELIGION IS REBELLION So in the market it was a difficult thing to sell. Hence they had to raise the tirthankara to the same status as the avatara, the messiah, even higher. This is simply the market economics. The tirthankara is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent; he has the qualities of God. The messiah is only the messiah, the messenger is only a messenger, but the tirthankara has all the qualities of God Himself. This created the base, the loophole for turning the religion into a cult. Hence I am insisting that I am an ordinary man. You cannot put me up for sale – who is going to buy me? When Jesus is available, Mohammed is available, Krishna is available, Mahavira is available, Buddha is available, do you think anybody is going to go for me? – a simple man, an ordinary man, himself insisting continually on his ordinariness. I have been denying miracles, saying that they have never happened, they never happen, and they will never happen. Mahavira and Buddha both faltered on that point – but they were pioneers. I have twenty-five centuries of experience behind me. I am standing on their shoulders; I can see far away. They could not think that these things would become their very weaknesses. They all – because Krishna was doing so many miracles, Rama was doing so many miracles.... What to say of Rama – even his devotees, just in his name can do miracles. For example, between India and Sri Lanka there is an ocean, and it was a problem for Rama to cross the ocean to attack Sri Lanka and get his wife back. But his disciple, the monkey god, Hanumana, said, ”Don’t be worried. Your name is enough.” And in his name he started throwing stones in the ocean – and because of Rama’s name the stones were floating, not drowning. The whole army of monkeys and of donkeys, and perhaps yankees, all were there; so he started throwing stones, rocks, in the name of Rama, and the rocks started floating – soon there was a bridge. They passed over the bridge just by the using the name. Hanumana said, ”You need not be worried, your name is enough. You don’t need to do anything.” Now, where such stories are going around what chance you have got to compete? Buddha’s disciples had to invent stories, Mahavira’s disciples had to invent stories. They are all invented stories; and invented in such a way that they made Mahavira and Buddha superior to Rama, to Krishna, to the Hindu trinity, the trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. When Buddha became enlightened, the story is that all the gods – Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh – all three came down to touch his feet, because an enlightened person is far higher than any gods. You should note that in Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism, God is always singular; in Hinduism God is always plural – it is ”gods”, thirty-three million golds. The chiefs of all these thirty-three million gods are these three, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. The moment Buddha became enlightened, all three ran down from paradise to touch his feet. For seven days Buddha remained silent. It was Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, these three gods, who persuaded him to speak because even gods don’t know the supreme truth. Even gods are eager to hear from you: What have you attained? What’s your realization? What has it done to you? Buddha argued in many ways, but finally he was persuaded by the three gods. His argument was very good. He said, ”If I speak, in the first place what I have experienced will not be conveyed through the words. Secondly, even if a little fragrance of it goes with the words, where From Ignorance to Innocence 267 Osho
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CHAPTER 19. RELIGION IS REBELLION<br />
fullness, who has achieved the ultimate. It is not a descendant of anybody; it is a growth. It is from<br />
the roots, it grows like a tree.<br />
The avatara is upside down, the messiah is upside down, hanging from above, <strong>com</strong>ing downwards;<br />
they are a kind of fall. A tirthankara is man risen up <strong>to</strong> his full potential.<br />
Mahavira thought... and that was the concept of Buddha, the same – they were contemporaries,<br />
and they both thought, ”This way we avoid the priesthood, God, because we have made man the<br />
central point.”<br />
One Baul poet of Bengal... Baul means mad, and they are really mad people – madly in love with<br />
existence. One of the most important of the Bauls is Chandidas. His famous statement is, ”Sabar<br />
upar manush jati, tahar upar nahin: Above all is the truth of man, and above that there is nothing.”<br />
Now man be<strong>com</strong>es the ultimate truth.<br />
It was a great revolution – <strong>to</strong> throw God from His throne and put man on His throne.<br />
But a cult still came in<strong>to</strong> being. They forgot something, but we can remember it. They were<br />
experimenting; they were the first people, and they have done a great deal. They have cut out<br />
almost half the possibilities, but the other half of the possibilities are enough <strong>to</strong> create a cult: they<br />
made the tirthankara an extraordinary man, a superman. They had <strong>to</strong>, because the question was of<br />
continuous <strong>com</strong>parison – Hindus have avataras; they are all supermen with divine power.<br />
The ordinary people would like <strong>to</strong> follow a man who has divine power, rather than only a man.<br />
Naturally, when you are going <strong>to</strong> shop, you shop for the best and the cheapest. Now, Mahavira was<br />
neither. He was the costliest because his discipline was very difficult; that was the price you had <strong>to</strong><br />
pay if you were <strong>to</strong> follow him. If you were <strong>to</strong> go on that path of austerity, that was the price you had<br />
<strong>to</strong> pay <strong>to</strong> be<strong>com</strong>e a superman – and still you would be a man.<br />
So much trouble, so much fasting, living naked... the Jaina monk cannot even use fire. In the night<br />
when it is cold, winter, he cannot use a blanket, he cannot even use fire. There are naked Hindu<br />
monks also but they are not troubled: they do two things which are very inventive of them. First,<br />
they always sit with a bonfire in front of them, so they are warm. And second, they go on rubbing,<br />
all over their body, ashes from the fire. So all the pores in the body which breathe are closed – not<br />
<strong>com</strong>pletely, otherwise they would be dead, but closed enough so that their body heat does not go<br />
out. Then there is also the heat from the outside which prevents them from being cold.<br />
The Jaina monk is also naked, but with no heat, with no ashes rubbed on his body. He shivers.<br />
Shivering is the only method, the natural method <strong>to</strong> create a certain heat. Shivering is a natural<br />
protection against cold. You shiver, the body starts shaking; that creates a certain movement,<br />
exercise in the body, and creates heat. That’s all they can do the whole night. In the summer they<br />
are naked under the sun. They are <strong>com</strong>pletely burned up, with little food <strong>to</strong> eat and a small quantity<br />
of water <strong>to</strong> drink.<br />
So the path is arduous... and what do you gain? You are just following a man who is not even a<br />
descendant of God, who is not even a relative of God, who is not even a messenger of God. Who<br />
knows whether he is mad, sane, insane? He is just a man, just like you. While, in <strong>com</strong>parison, there<br />
are messengers of God, messiahs of God, avataras of God, God Himself <strong>com</strong>ing down....<br />
<strong>From</strong> <strong>Ignorance</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Innocence</strong> 266 <strong>Osho</strong>