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

CHAPTER 10. SPIRITUALISM, RELIGION AND POLITICS
devotion deepens, the world itself turns into God. Not that god is sitting in a heaven or in a temple,
no; devotion finds godliness in everything and everywhere.
Krishna is both God and devotee and whoever begins as a devotee is going to reach his destination
as God. When he finds God everywhere there is no reason he should not find God inside himself.
A devotee begins as a devotee but he finds his fulfillment as God himself. His journey begins with
looking at the world. He looks at what is there in the world with prayerful heart, with a loving heart,
the heart of a devotee; and by and by he comes to look at himself the same way. Ultimately he is
bound to find himself to be the very image of God. He can find himself in the very state in which
Ramakrishna found himself. There is a beautiful episode in his life:
Ramakrishna was appointed priest in the temple of Dakshineshwar in Calcutta. He was given a
small salary of sixteen rupees every month, and assigned the job of doing puja, worshipping the idol
of Goddess Durga, every day. But just a few days after his appointment he found himself in trouble
with the managing trustees of the temple. They came to know that the new priest’s way of worship
was all wrong! First he tasted the food himself and then made an offering of it to the Goddess. He
even smelled the flowers before they were offered to the deity. It was, they thought, very improper
of him to pollute the purity of the offerings.
So they sent for Ramakrishna and asked for an explanation. Why did he not observe the correct
standards of worship and devotion? Ramakrishna said, ”I have not heard that there are any accepted
standards for worship, that there is a discipline of devotion.”
The trustees said, ”We have heard that you first taste the food meant to be offered to the goddess.
Isn’t it highly improper?”
Ramakrishna answered, ”Before my mother served me any food, she always tasted it to know if it
was properly cooked, if it was tasteful. How can I serve any food to the goddess without knowing
whether it is delicious or not? The offering must be worthy of the goddess. I cannot do it otherwise.
It is up to you to have my services or to dispense with them.”
Now a devotee like Ramakrishna cannot be content with an external God. He will soon find God is
within him. So the journey which begins with the devotee completes itself with God. And God is not
somewhere on the outside. After going round the whole world, we ultimately return to ourselves, we
come home, and find that God is there. God has always been inside us.
Krishna is both God and devotee, and so are you. Everyone is God and devotee together. But
you cannot begin as God; the beginning has to be made as a devotee. If you say, ”I am God,”
you will be in trouble. In fact, many people who begin with saying they are God get into such
troubles. They utterly lack the humility of a devotee, so when they proclaim they are God they
become egocentric; they immediately become gurus initiating others as their devotees. Evidently
their God needs devotees – but they fail to find God in others. They find God in them selves, and in
others they find only devotees. And the world is full of such gurus.
You have to begin as a devotee; you have to begin from the beginning.
Krishna can very well be accepted as God, because this man is as much devoted to a horse as he
is to God himself. Every evening, when the horses yoked to his chariot are weary after a hard day’s
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 189 Osho