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

CHAPTER 19. RITUALS, FIRE AND KNOWLEDGE
aspect of fire is deeply representative of knowledge, which first burns the dross of ignorance and
then burns itself. It means to say that after one’s ignorance is dispelled, the ego, the knower himself
disappears. The UPANISHAD says, ”While the ignorant wander in darkness the knowledgeable
wander in blinding darkness.” For sure, this has been said to ridicule the pundits and scholars
who subsist on borrowed knowledge. One who attains to true knowledge, what is called wisdom,
disappears as an ego, and so there is no way for him to wander in darkness. True knowledge first
destroys ignorance and then it destroys the knower too, who ceases to be an ego, an entity. It is like
fire, that after burning the fuel extinguishes itself.
So those who came to know the truth realized that knowledge is like fire. It burns ignorance like
fuel, and then burns the knower as an ego, who disappears into emptiness. Therefore, he alone can
embark on a journey to knowledge who is prepared to become an utter emptiness, nothingness.
There is yet another attribute of fire which is still more relevant to the knowledge of truth. As the fire’s
flame rises upward it is visible only to an extent and then disappears into the vast space; it becomes
invisible. The same is the case with the knowledge of truth; it is related with its knower only to a
small extent and then it disappears into that which is un knowable. The visible part of reality is very
tiny in comparison with its invisible part which is immense and infinite.
For all these reasons fire became a very useful and powerful symbol of knowledge. and Krishna
ushered in jnan-yajna. Worship of knowledge is like worship of fire.
If you rightly understand the significance of fire as a symbol, you will know that worship of knowledge
is eternal. While all other rituals that came into being with the discovery of fire have died because
they were products of circumstances, the pursuit of knowledge remains with us forever. Knowledge
is not bound with circumstances; it is eternal. So for the first time Krishna freed yajna from the fetters
of time and events and yoked it to the eternal. From now on in the future, yajna or rituals will be in
vogue in the way Krishna refashioned it; its meaning and purpose will be derived from Krishna alone.
The pre-Krishna chapter of yajna is closed forever. It is now outdated and dead. If someone still
talks of the yajna of the pre-Krishna days, he is only trying to perpetuate a dead and meaningless
ritual. Now it is not possible to dance around fire in the old way, because fire is no more an event, it
is an everyday affair.
Krishna talks about another kind of yajna which is japa-yajna or the ritual of chanting. The secret of
japa is the same as that of knowledge. Japa at first burns all your thoughts, and then it burns itself –
the thought of japa or chanting. And what remains is known as ajapa – wordless chanting. For this
reason it is called yajna, because it works like fire.
Your mind is stuffed with thoughts, all kinds of junk. So you use a word for chanting, and with the
help of this chanting you banish from your mind all other thoughts – except the one thought which
is your word for chanting. However, when all other thoughts disappear, then this last thought – the
thought of chanting – becomes unnecessary and it drops on its own. It is followed by a state of utter
silence which is called ajapa or wordless chanting or non chanting. So ajapa too, is a kind of fire
which first burns the fuel and then burns itself.
But there is a danger with chanting just as with knowledge. In fact, there is danger with every kind
of spiritual discipline. There is no path from which one is not going to deviate. Every path leading to
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 361 Osho