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

CHAPTER 6. NUDITY AND CLOTHING SHOULD GO TOGETHER
Legend has it that the night of Krishna’s birth was one of total invisibility. But is there anything that is
not born in the dark? It is the very ordinary process of birth. There is nothing extraordinary about it.
Another thing associated with Krishna’s birth is that he was born in prison, in bondage. But who is
not born in prison? Everyone is born in bondage. Maybe one is released from bondage before he
dies, but it is not always necessary. By and large we are born in fetters and we die in fetters. The
truth is that every birth binds us, limits us; entering a body is tantamount to entering a prison. It is a
confinement. So whenever and wherever a soul comes to be born it is always born in jail.
It is unfortunate that this symbol has not been rightly understood. A highly poetic expression has
been misinterpreted as an historical event. In fact, every birth takes place in prison; so also, every
death – with a few exceptions – takes place in prison. Very few deaths happen in freedom; they are
really rare. Mostly we are born in shackles and we also die in shackles. Birth is inescapably linked
with bondage, but if one can become free before he dies he will be fulfilled, he will be blessed.
There is a third thing associated with the birth of Krishna, and it is fear of his death. There is a
danger, a threat of his being killed. But does not everyone of us face the fear of death? With birth,
death comes as the inevitable possibility. One can die just a moment after one is born. And one’s
every moment after birth is beset with the danger of death. One can die any moment, and this
moment comes darkly, uninvited. Death has only one necessary condition attached to it, and that is
the condition of birth. How can one die without being born? And a moment-old child is as eligible
for death as a seventy year-old man. To die you don’t need any other qualification than to be born.
Soon after his birth Krishna is confronted with the danger of death, with the fear of death. But this
is precisely the case with each one of us. What do we do after being born? We begin to die and we
continue to die. We die each day, each hour of our lives. What we know as life is nothing but a long
and dreary journey towards death. It begins with birth and ends in death. That is all.
There is yet another thing associated with Krishna’s birth which is very significant. It is that Krishna
is confronted with any number of deadly dangers to his life, and he escapes them all. Whoever
comes to kill him gets killed himself. We can say that death dies when it confronts Krishna. It uses
every means to finish him and it fails utterly. This is very meaningful. It is not the same with all of
us. Death can finish us in its very first attempt; we cannot escape its single onslaught. The truth is
that we are as good as dead; a small stroke and we will be no more. We really don’t know what life
is; we don’t know the life that defeats death.
Krishna’s story is a story of life’s victory over death. Death comes to him in countless forms and
always goes back disappointed. We all know the many stories where death, in various guises,
encircles Krishna and courts defeat after defeat at his hands. But we never care to go deeply into
these stories and discover their truth. And there is a single truth underlying them all: it is that every
day Krishna is triumphantly marching towards life and every day death is laying down its arms before
him. Every conceivable means is used to destroy him and he frustrates them all and continues to
live to the maximum. And then a day comes when death accepts defeat and surrenders to him.
Krishna really represents life’s triumph over death.
But this truth has not been said so plainly as I am now saying it to you. And there is a reason for it.
People in past ages had no way to say it so plainly. And it would be good to understand this clearly.
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 96 Osho