Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 8. HE ALONE WINS WHO DOES NOT WANT TO WIN
will manage to live on Everest for a long period. But to live at the peak of consciousness is still more
difficult, tremendously difficult. But it is not impossible. People like Krishna live there. People like
Arjuna once in a while leap to it, see it and drop back to the earth.
Divine vision happens; it is not a thing to be given or taken. But our language thinks in terms of
give and take, and therefore this difficulty has arisen. It would be correct to say that divine vision
happened between Krishna and Arjuna in that moment. Krishna was the instrument, the medium,
and Arjuna was the one who took the jump. But in ordinary language we will say that Krishna gifted
him with divine vision. As I said, if someone with open and loving eyes looks at me sitting here,
something will happen to him. But when it happens he will say that it is a gift from me. But who am I
to gift it? – although I will say it the same way if I have to say it in words. But in reality I cannot gift it.
Chemistry has a term known as catalytic agent, and it is significant. A catalytic agent is one
whose very presence causes something to happen. It facilitates and accelerates the process of
this happening, although it does not do anything in the matter and remains completely unaffected
itself. For example, if we have to produce water by combining hydrogen and oxygen, then we will
need the presence of electricity for this combination to take place. Without the presence of electricity
hydrogen and oxygen will refuse to combine and turn into water.
It is because of lightning in the sky that the elements of hydrogen and oxygen in the clouds combine
and produce water and rain. Without the aid of lightning, clouds would not turn into rain. But no one
can say that electricity does anything to affect this change; it does nothing. On its part electricity
remains absolutely inactive and unaffected by this process of hydrogen and oxygen combining and
turning into water. Its presence is enough to do the miracle.
There are many catalytic agents like electricity known to the science of chemistry, and all
investigations show that catalysts lose nothing in the process; neither do they lose or do anything.
Krishna is such a catalytic agent.
A Master, a guru, is an illusion. There are no Masters in the world, they are all just catalysts. In
the presence of someone your consciousness can attain to a height which may not be possible
without that presence. But Arjuna is bound to feel that Krishna favored him with divine vision.
When something like this happens to Vivekananda in the presence of Ramakrishna, he is certainly
going to say that it was Ramakrishna’s gift. And if Ramakrishna does not want to get involved with
linguistic nuances, he will okay it too. Except people like me, no one wants to get involved with
linguistic finesse; the language of give and take is enough for them. That term ”give and take”
is not appropriate here, but we really don’t have a suitable word to express such transcendental
experiences.
Ask a painter like Van Gogh if he has painted a certain picture. He will say, ”No, I did not paint
it, it just happened through me.” But you will say; ”What difference does it make?” It really makes
a great difference. Maybe Van Gogh, to escape the trouble of linguistic finesse, tells you that he
painted the picture. In a way it is not wrong: he did paint it and people did see him paint it. But
Van Gogh knows in his innermost being that he is really not the creator of this painting; he is just an
instrument, a medium. It is a happening and not a doing. It emerged from his innermost being, from
the unknown, and he only became its medium, its vehicle. Van Gogh will say, ”I was just a witness
to its manifestation.”
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 145 Osho