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

CHAPTER 3. WHERE BUDDHA ENDS KRISHNA BEGINS
When the Upanishads were translated into the western languages for the first time, people were
amazed to see they did not prescribe any sadhana, any spiritual discipline in the form of ”do’s and
don’ts”; they did not lay down any moral code. What kind of a religious scripture are they? The Bible
has laid down everything so clearly, it has its Ten Commandments, all its ”do’s and don’ts”. The
Upanishads did not deal with the matter of morality.
It is difficult to understand that the moral code prescribed in the Bible or elsewhere has nothing to
do with religion. Unfortunately, morality has become synonymous with religion. The Upanishads
are truly books of religion; they don’t deal with the problems of ethics. The central theme of the
Upanishads is remembering, and it is remembering that religion is all about. They say that man has
only to remember what he has forgotten. has to remember who he really is, who he is right now. He
does not have to do a thing except recollect what he has forgotten.
In Krishna’s vision, man does not have to recover a lost treasure that he once had – it is still with
him, but he has forgotten that he has it. So it is only a matter of recalling, of remembering what is
hidden in the basement of his consciousness. It is nothing more than that. Therefore Krishna tells
you to go straight to remembering it.
And this remembering is sudden; it is not a gradual process. Krishna does not prescribe any
discipline, any moral codes, any rituals that religions in general do. Krishna asks you just to wake up
and open your eyes and see, and your ego will disappear in an instant. Krishna’s ego ceases to be
in the very first instant. And whoever will see with open eyes will see his ego disappear in no time.
Because we live with our eyes shut, our egos go on and on. Open your eyes, and you will not have
to say that what happened to Krishna did not happen to you.
You live with your eyes closed, and this is the first thing to see. Have you ever pondered over,
considered your life? How did you come into the world? Who created you? Did you create yourself?
At least this much is certain: you did not create yourself. It may not be certain who created you,
but this much is certain: you did not create yourself. This much is definite: as you are, it is not
your handiwork. But even in a matter like this we delude ourselves. There are people who claim
to be ”self made”. They don’t give God this trouble, they take the job of making themselves upon
themselves. This is stupid. But we are so blind we fail to see such a simple truth that our own being
is not in our hands.
Have you ever contemplated the fundamental question of being and living? Have you ever asked
yourself, ”I am, but how am I responsible for my being? Where would I have gone to complain if I
did not happen to be? Where are they who are not, going to complain? If I am, I am; if I am not, I
am not. It is okay as I am, but what would I do if I am not as I am?”
If we only take a hard look at the facts of life, we will know that, really, nothing is in our hands – not
even our hands are in our hands. Just try to hold your hand with your hand and you will know the
reality. Really, nothing is in our power. Then what is the meaning of saying ”I” and ”me” and ”mine”?
Here everything is happening,,and happening together. It is an organic arrangement, an organic
whole. Here everything is a member of everything else. Who can say that I would have been here if
the flowers that bloomed in my garden this morning had not bloomed? Ordinarily we can say there
is no connection between my being here and the blooming of a few flowers in my garden; I could
have been here even if those flowers had not bloomed. But really, the two events are intimately
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 56 Osho