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

CHAPTER 16. ATHEISM, THEISM AND REALITY
ting in his home, Dhritarashtra anxiously asks Sanjaya, ”On the field of Kurukshetra my people and
the sons of Pandu have gathered together, eager for battle. What are they doing?” They are miles
from the battlefield and yet Sanjaya makes a verbatim report to Dhritarashtra. He tells him that when
the two armies are arrayed and eager for fight, Arjuna feels depressed and confused and desists
from fighting. And Krishna persuades him to come out of his despondency to fight as a warrior
should fight. How does Sanjaya know this from such a distance?
This is a telepathic communication. SanJaya is in telepathic contact with Kurukshetra and everything
happening there. Otherwise he has no way to know and relate the goings-on at the battlefield. So
first of all the dialogue happens between two persons at the psychic level and it is again at the
psychic level that Sanjaya hears it and relates it in words to Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra is the first
person to receive the Geeta, and then the whole world receives it. That is how it found its way to
the whole world and a place in the epic of the Mahabharat. Transcribed into words it now takes
four hours to go through the whole text. But it is just possible the whole thing happened within four
moments. Maybe, it happened beyond time.
Question 4
QUESTIONER: ACCORDING TO THE HISTORY OF JAINISM, THE TWENTY-SECOND JAINA
TIRTHANKARA, NEMINATH, WAS KRISHNA’S COUSIN. AFTER GOING THROUGH A SPELL OF
SEVERE ASCETIC DISCIPLINE NEMINATH BECAME RENOWNED AS A HINDU SEER BY THE
NAME OF GHOR ANGIRAS, AND HE IS SAID TO HAVE SERVED AS A LINK BETWEEN KRISHNA
AND ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE. WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT IT? IS SUCH A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN NEMINATH AND KRISHNA POSSIBLE? YOU SAID THAT KRISHNA’S COMING INTO
BEING DEPENDED ON VERY INNER REASONS. WHAT ARE THOSE INNER REASONS IN THE
CONTEXT OF ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE?
It is true that Neminath is Krishna’s cousin, and the story comes from a time when Hindus and
Jainas were not two separate traditions. It is after Mahavira, the last Jaina tirthankara, that Jainas
separated from the Hindus. Neminath is the twenty-second Jaina tirthankara, and he is Krishna’s
cousin. But there is no esoteric connection between the two. And there is a reason for it.
Neminath belongs to the long tradition of Jaina tirthankaras who were all devoted to the pursuit of
one-dimensional spiritual discipline. Perhaps no other tradition has done so much in the dimension
of sacrifice and renunciation as the Jainas have done. In this respect Jainas have the longest history,
adorned by a galaxy of extraordinary people. It is rare in the whole history of mankind.
The first Jaina tirthankara, Rishabhadeva, is a contemporary of the RIGVEDA. Maybe he even
preceded this most ancient of the VEDAS, because the Rigveda mentions Rishabhadeva with
a respect not usually given to contemporaries. The terms used in the Rigveda to describe
Rishabhadeva are so respectful that it suggests the first Jaina tirthankara has already an established
reputation when the RIGVEDA is being created. Man has yet to be so civilized that he will be
respectful to his contemporaries,
However, it is certain that Rishabhadeva is contemporary with the RIGVEDA, because this scripture
mentions him with great respect. And there is a gap of thousands of years between the RIGVEDA
and Mahavira, the last Jaina tirthankara. History has not been able to ascertain the time that passed
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 316 Osho