A bright sparkle in the spiritual sky — Osho

Osho

In the middle of a constellation of resplendent stars on the spiritual sky, Osho sparkled bright, probably even the brightest. Each of the teachers of the last century - Raman Maharishi, J.Krishnamurti, Nisargadatta, and many others - had his peculiar characteristics; and Osho’s defining characteristic was courage. He was a man of deep intellect, prolifically well-read, a genius in devising new methods of meditation, yet above all his other qualities, his courage is his hallmark.

He realized that the cause of human suffering is that the mind is enslaved and gripped by influences and that influences are maintained and reinforced by bastions of authority.

He attacked all centers of authority — political in the form of Prime Ministers and politicians, religious in the form of priests, Popes, and Gurus, social in the form of the family, economic in the form of the marketplace — his attacks were no holds barred, brash and disdainful.

He turned the humble joke into a method of demolition, a weapon of mass destruction. His jokes spiced up his talks and no one was exempt from their irreverent punch. Not the authorities of this world, and not even the gods.

All masters work for the upliftment and liberation of the world. But all retain their personality to some extent at least. All hold to at least some part of their personal self. They might be working for the people, at least the last remnants of their individuality are still present. These remnants are there in the forms of ideals they won’t compromise on, personality traits they won’t allow to change, and several other ‘non-negotiables’.

For Osho, however, nothing of himself ultimately remained a non-negotiable. He gave himself up totally. He was a master of methods, and he turned his own being, self, and personality, into a method for the delivery of the timeless teachings.

This is difficult, very difficult: to not to retain even a modicum of the self, to become absolutely a tool of the Truth.

For years altogether, he kept speaking on Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus, LaoTsu, Upanishads, Sufis. He kept himself behind all the other big names.

A smaller man would have said, “When I have rich content of my own, why should I speak on…