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

CHAPTER 22. SANNYAS IS OF THE HIGHEST
It should be our great endeavor to see that no sect is born, because nothing has harmed religion
as much as these sects have. Sects have done more harm to religion than irreligion itself. In fact,
a genuine coin is always harmed by its counterfeits; nothing else can harm it so much. Similarly, if
ever true religion is harmed, it is harmed only by pseudo religions. And a tremendous awareness is
needed to avoid this danger.
A sect is not going to emerge in the wake of our efforts, because no one is my disciple and I am
no one’s guru or Master. And if I am offering to be a witness to some people taking sannyas, it is
because, right now, they cannot connect with God directly. And I ask them to be on their own and
not to disturb me any longer when they become directly connected with the supreme. I don’t want
unnecessary troubles, I have no axe to grind. It is great if you can relate with existence on your own;
nothing is greater than this. Then the question of someone being a witness does not arise. And it is
of the highest.
Question 7
QUESTIONER: IS THERE A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE IN CHANGING ONE’S NAME AND
WEARING A MALA GIVEN BY YOU?
Yes, it has significance, great significance. The change of name has great significance for a
sannyasin. It is an index, a symbol. Everything in our life is symbolic. You have a name; you are
identified with this name. This name has become your symbol; it is identified with your individuality.
Your name has an association with everything that you have been before yesterday. Changing the
name of a sannyasin means we disconnect him from his old identity, from his old associations. We
say to him, now you are not the same as you were before yesterday. Now you are starting on a new
journey with a new name, a new identity.
Since ancient times they have had a small ceremony at the time of one’s initiation into sannyas. It is
a kind of cremation ceremony. Exactly as we bathe a dead body and shave its head before putting
it on the pyre, a candidate for sannyas was bathed and shaved and then put on a pyre of wood.
People stood around the pyre, like witnesses at his initiation, telling him, ”Let all that you have been
before now be burned in the fire, and what will emerge from this pyre will be an altogether new you.
You ate now reborn, you are now a dwija, a twice-born.”
It was a ritual, a symbolic ritual. And because it was symbolic you can think there would be no harm
if you did not go through this ritual. You can do without it provided you have a deep understanding of
the thing. With deep understanding we need no rituals whatsoever. But where is that understanding?
The change of name is helpful in breaking your old identity. With the changed name you suddenly
come to know that you are not the same person now. Every time, while you are on the road,
somebody calls you by your new name, not by the old one, vou will be startled to learn that vou have
ceased to have your old identity. Every day your identification with your old life will wither; every day
a new man will come into being in his place. You will be reminded again and again that you are now
on a new journey. The change of name is useful for this purpose.
Secondly, you want to know about the mala and its meaning. Nothing in this universe is meaningless.
It is different if something loses its meaning through long usage. Everything wears out and becomes
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 434 Osho