Come Follow To You, Vol 1 - Oshorajneesh.com

God gives you total freedom: if you don't want to seek, He will not interfere; Hewill not be an intruder. If you want to seek, only then does He knock at yourdoor.If you have invited, only then does the guest come. The guest may be justwaiting to knock on the door; only your invitation is needed. Otherwise He canwait for eternity, there is no hurry. God is not in any haste.REPENT: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND. It would have beenabsolutely different if the word was not translated as 'repent', if it was left to theoriginal: 'return'. That is what Patanjali says in his yoga sutras -- thatPRATYAHAR is 'returning to oneself'. That is what Mahavir means when hesays to move within-wards: PRATIKRAMAN, to go in.The word TESHUVAH has a totally different meaning from repent. The momentyou say 'repent' it seems that man is a sinner: a deep condemnation comes in. Butif you say 'return', there is no question of sin, no condemnation enters. It simplysays that you have gone far away, you have played too long -- please come back.The child has been playing outside and evening is descending. The sun is settingand the mother calls, "Please return." A totally different quality, a totallydifferent connotation. There is no condemnation in it, just a deep love call:"Return!"Just listen to the sentence if I say: "Return ye: for the kingdom of heaven is athand." All condemnation, all sin, and the whole nonsense that has created guiltin man, disappears just by a single word translated rightly. A single word can besignificant, but the whole of Christianity will disappear if you translate repent as'return'. All churches, the Vatican -- everything will disappear because theydepend on repentance.If it is a question of return -- and you are not condemned and you have notcommitted any sin -- then guilt disappears. And without guilt there cannot bechurches, without guilt the priest cannot live. He exploits the guilt, he makes youfeel guilty -- that is his trade secret. Once you are made to feel guilty, you have toseek his help because he will ask for forgiveness for you, he will pray for you; heknows the way to pray. He is in a deeper relationship with God: he will defendyou, he will persuade God for you, and he will show you how not to be a sinneragain, how to be virtuous. He will give you the commandments: do this anddon't do that.All the churches of the world are founded on the word 'repentance'. If it is only aquestion of return, the priest is not needed; you can return home. It is not aquestion of condemnation: nobody is needed to purify you; you have never beenwrong. You HAD gone a little farther away, but nothing is wrong in it. In fact itcould not have been so if God were not willing for you to go so far. There mustbe something in it: that going far away must be a way of coming back. becausewhen you have gone too far and then you come back home, for the first time yourealize what home is.Come Follow To You Vol 1Osho