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| Sufi maestro adds magic to Guru Purnima |
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TNN, 26 July, 2010, 04.01am IST
CHANDIGARH: Guru Purnima celebrations became even more special this time as devotees got a rare chance to witness the magical glory of Sufi music on Sunday. On the occasion of Guru Purnima, renowned sufi singer Hamsar Hayat gave a mesmerizing performance in Shirdi Sai Temple to pay reverence to the guru through his magical voice.
During his three-and-a-half-hour-long performance, Hayat left the devotees spellbound with his lyrical notes and enchanting voice. Belonging to Delhi gharana, Hayat also sang a Gurbani, especially prepared by him for the occasion.
Earlier during the day, the Sufi maestro elaborated TOI about his future projects, which include songs to spread the message of Sai and Sikh-Muslim brotherhood.
“You pick any saying from the holy Quran, they always advise you to work for the mankind. A real Muslim always follows this, and so do I. I am working on a new project and I am quite hopeful of completing it within next few months,” the singer said.
Meanwhile, the temple donned a festive look as the celebrations began at the wee hours of Sunday morning. “It is only on Guru Purnima that we allow men to offer Baba a bath, while women are allowed to pay obeisance by worshipping the idol. However, activities like satya narain puja and sai path are as per routine,” said Anil Khurana, vice president of the temple managing committee.
Celebrations were also seen at Braham Kumaris ashram in Sector 33. Besides, a seminar on guru-shishya tradition was also organized at the Shirdi Sai Samaj, Panchkula, while various other shrines across Tricity also became part of the celebrations.
Guru Poornima was also celebrated at Indira Holiday Home in Sector 24 by Osho followers with lot of excitement and fanfare. Around 300 Osho sanyasins & general public from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal gathered there to pay tribute to their guru.
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| It Takes Two To Tango |
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Times of India (What's Hot), 23 July, 2010
Husbands and wives are equal partners in a relationship. Expecting the woman to play a subservient role creates an imbalance, says Osho
Watch any husband and wife —they are almost predictable. In the morning the husband will spread his newspaper and start reading, and the wife will say the same thing that she has been saying for years, and the husband will react in the same way. It has become almost structured, programmed.
Just small changes and you will be surprised. Tomorrow, don’t sit in your chair early in the morning and start reading your paper. Just start cleaning the house, and see what happens. Your wife will be wide-eyed, and she will not be able to believe what has happened to you. Smile when you see your wife, hug and see how she is taken aback. You have never hugged her. Years have passed, and you have never looked into the poor woman’s eyes.
 Tonight, just sit in front of her, look into her eyes. She will think in the beginning that you have gone crazy, you have become a Rajneesh freak or something, but don’t be worried. Just hold her hand and be ecstatic. If you cannot ne, at least pretend. Be ecstatic. Sometimes it happens that if you start pretending, it starts happening! Just start smiling, for no reason at all, and watch. Your poor woman may have a heart attack!
You have not been holding her hand — do you remember since how long? Have you taken her for a morning walk? Or when the moon is full, have you taken her for a walk in the nightunder the stars? She is also human, she also needs love.
But particularly people in India go on using women as if they are just servants. Their whole world consists of taking care of the children and the kitchen and the house, as if that’s their whole life. Have you respected your wife as a human being? Have you sat by her side sometimes, silently, just holding her hand, not saying a word, just feeling her, and letting her feel you? No, that is not done in India at all. Wives and husbands have only one kind of communication: quarrelling.
Very rarely have I seen husbands and wives respectful to each other. Using each other, exploiting each other, reducing each other to things, but never respecting each other’s divinity — then this hell is created.
Don’t think that only your wife is responsible. Start changing your life. Give the poor woman a little feeling of significance. Give the little woman a little feeling that she’s needed. Do you know the greatest need in life is to be needed? And unless a person feels that he or she is needed, his or her life remains meaningless, desert-like. If you love a person, the person immediately becomes beautiful! Love is such an alchemical process. Look at a person with loving eyes, and suddenly you will see his, her aura changing.
— Excerpts from Osho: The Secret
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| In Osho’s footsteps |
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Times of India , Delhi, 22 July, 2010
They originated in Pune and became an everlasting fashion prop in Delhi University. The Osho chappals, with their jute base and velvet straps, are a favourite with both the girls and boys. The original Osho chappals are supposed to be maroon, but now, they are available in almost all colours—red, green, blue, black, yellow, and more.
It’s the comfort and cool factor that make them a best-seller “They are easy to wear, effortless to carry, and don’t make the feet sweaty,” says Megha Sharma, a student of Sri Venkateswara College. “I can even wear them in winter with a pair of colourful socks, and they look absolutely awesome,” she adds.
Pocket-friendliness is another alluring factor, apart from the fact that these can be teamed with just about any outfit.
“My cousin, who lives in Mumbai, keeps bringing more for me every time she is here, as it costs only Rs. 50 to 60 there. I have them in all the colours, and can match them with whatever tees or kurtas I wear,” says Simran Narang, a student of Khalsa College.
At home in Delhi, you can grab a good pair at Rs. 100 from Janpath or Paharganj, or go in for fancier ones at high-end shops [most footwear stores stock some variant or the other]. If you’re looking to add drama, pick those with sequins or embroidery.
Guys, too, have options galore. “Initially, I thought they are for girls, but I found really cool ones with a different design for boys, in a shop in Janpath,” says Ankit Narayan, a student of Open School of Learning.
Wroth walking the mile, Osho-style!
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| Broaden Your Horizon |
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Times of India, 16 July, 2010
Our view of perceiving things is based entirely on what we are inside. A tiny seed that resides in each of us governs the way we look at the world, says Osho
Imagine that you all are sitting under a tree. One of you is a carpenter, another a painter, the third is a poet; the fourth is a lover who has failed with his beloved, the fifth a lover with his beloved. For the carpenter the tree is nothing but potential furniture. A cobbler is not able to see anything about you but your shoes; he can see, recognise you by the size of your shoes. A tailor knows you by the measurement of your clothes.
A cobbler does not have to see your face to judge your financial condition: he can judge it from the condition of your shoes. The tree is the potential furniture for the carpenter, nothing more. For him fruits are not grown, furniture is grown.
Beside him is a painter. For him, the tree is just a play of colours; there are so many trees there. To the ordinary person all trees look alike—they are green—but the painter sees hundreds of different shades in them. This can be seen only by the painter, not by the ordinary person for whom green is just green, with no distinctions. But the painter knows that no two trees are the same colour; every tree has its own shade of green.
Under that tree sits a lover who has not been lucky enough to win his beloved—the flowers will appear to be so many thorns. The flowers will appear as if bathed in gloom. He is not concerned with the tree at all; he is extending his inner world onto the outer world. A full moon night would appear gloomy to him. But another lover who is successful, to him, even a dark moon will appear to be a full moon.
OSHO
Excerpts from Behind A Thousand Names
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| NOT HERE, NOT NOW |
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Times of India, 9 July, 2010
Osho says that the world is changing every single moment. Trying to grapple with the present is futile, for we are always moving to another state of being.
This world is transitory. This word transitory means that which is and which is ceasing to be at every moment. Transitory does not mean that something is not here; the world is very much here, there is no doubt about its existence. If the world were not there, then there would be no possibility of your being attached to it or deluded by it. If the world were not here, then there would be no need to be free of it.
The existence of the world is a fact. But also, the world is not permanent. This impermanence means that it is changing every moment; whatever exists in this moment will not be the same in the next moment. Nothing stays the same, even for a moment. That is why Buddha said. “This world is a momentary truth”.
Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher, says, “You can’t step into the river twice.” The river is flowing continuously—you can’t step into the same river twice, because the water you first stepped into will have flowed on by the time you step into it the second time. It can also be said that you cannot look at the same world twice. Buddha has said that this word is is wrong. This is such a great statement. He said “is” should not be used, because everything is always in a state of becoming. When we say that a man is young, it is a wrong usage. Buddha would say, “This man is being young.” Life is a moment; nothing is permanent. We describe a man as old; when we are saying it, it appears that being old is a static state. But Buddha has said. “This man is being old.” There is no such state...
OSHO
Excerpts from Behind a Thousand Names
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| Stress is energy, use it creatively |
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By Amrit Sadhana
Deccan Chronicle, 15 July, 2010
Stress has become the password of this age. It is a 20th century phenomenon — a gift of the mechanised world. Dr Hans Selye, the famous Austrian “stress doctor”, started to investigate this new phenomenon in 1930; it was unheard of before that time. It was so unknown that when Dr Selye was asked to present his theory in France and Germany, he found that there was no word for stress in these languages! So he coined new words: le stress in French and der stress in German.
Actually speaking, stress is the wear and tear our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually-changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.
Because it is more mental than physical, a strange phenomenon can be observed: the younger the person, the more stressed s/he feels. Excessive competition, unattainable high goals and too many options are some of the stressors. Words like burnout, exhaustion, anxiety and boredom have entered the contemporary vocabulary and become a part of our daily conversations. As a result, efficiency goes down.
According to the Osho vision, stress is a force that can be used creatively. Instead of repressing it, and thus forming a blockage in the body, it is more useful and healthier to learn the art of transforming it. The key is: Do not try to relax when the body/mind is stressed, instead use that energy in a positive way.
And mind you, there is no need to go anywhere or renounce your work place — just bring awareness to the small acts that you are involved in.
Here are some simple Osho techniques to get over stress:
Live your stress fully: Sometimes stress is so much that you can’t sleep at night. There is no need to worry. Use the energy that is coming up: walk up and down, go for a run or a long walk, play fast music and dance, or let the mind do what it wants to do. Rather than trying to go to sleep — which is not possible — use the rush of energy in a creative way. It simply means that the body is ready to fight with the problem. If you have lived your stress totally, you will come to a relaxation automatically.
Take note, twice: If you have a headache or any pain, don’t feel inimical towards it and reach for an aspirin. Have no attitude, neither friendly nor antagonistic. Just take note: “headache, headache”, or “tension, tension”. Remain undisturbed by it, without any opinion. Immediately, 90 per cent of the headache will be gone — because a headache is not real pain, 90 per cent arises out of the antagonistic opinion. Immediately you will see that the greater part of it is no longer there.
Talk to the body: Sit in your chair, be comfortable. Let there be a dim light in the room. Close your eyes and relax the body from the toe up to the head, feel inside where you feel the tension. You will find many spots of tension. If you feel it at the knee, just touch the knee and say to the knee, “Please relax”. If you feel some tension in the shoulders, just touch the place with love and compassion and say, “Please relax”. Within a week you will be able to communicate with your body. And once you start communicating with your body, things become very easy. This will take at least five minutes, and you will start feeling very, very limp. Relaxed, almost sleepy.
The body need not be forced, it can be persuaded. It will look a little absurd in the beginning because we have never been taught to talk to our own body — but miracles can happen by taking to the body.
Talk to the breathing: Then bring your consciousness to your breathing and relax the breathing. Have a little talk with your breathing: “Please relax. Be natural”. You will see that the moment you say, “Please relax”, there will be a subtle click. So tell it to relax two or three times and then just remain silent. When you exhale, say “one”, when you inhale, remain silent.
Do this for seven days and by the end of it you would have found a golden key!
— Amrit Sadhana is in the management
team of Osho International Meditation Resort,
Pune. She facilitates meditation workshops
around the country and abroad.
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| Upanishad simplfied |
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Hindustan Times, 10 July, 2010
In the Bhagavadgita, Krishna talks about action without reward. The sage of this Upanishad has used a better word than Krishna, play. As long as there is an expectation of reward an act remains work; otherwise, you will have to describe it as play. So the sage did not say that compassion is his act,
he said it is his play. Nowhere in his mind is there any desire for reward. The sage has not set out to fulfil any desire in the future. There is an overflowing of joy within. That joy is trying to spread out and be shared.
For example, a tree has flowered and the fragrance fills the surrounding area: this is play. The tree is not bothered with who is passing by or who is sitting beneath it. The tree has no expectation. The tree gives the same shade to a donkey as to a political leader.
The flower makes no distinction: even if no one passes, its fragrance still flows because that is its inner pleasure.
There was a famous psychiatrist, Wilhelm Reich. He was one of the greatest personalities of the past half-century. What usually happens with such intelligent people happened also with him: he was put in jail for two years. A person who was the least crazy was condemned as a lunatic by American law and thrown in prison. Even though we accumulate thousands of years of experience, human beings do the same things again and again.
I have heard a surprising story about Reich. He was treating a mental patient with analysis. The patient was given an appointment for 3 pm but did not arrive on time. It was 3.15 pm when the patient came running in and asked to be forgiven for coming late. Reich replied, “You arrived just on time. I was just about to begin work.” The patient asked, “If I had not come, how could you have begun the work? After all, it is I who is going to be psychoanalyzed.”
If a flower throws its fragrance in an uninhabited place, we can understand, but if Wilhelm Reich begins the psychoanalysis in the absence of his patient, we will call him mad. Reich said, “You are only an excuse. Even if you had not come, I would have begun the work. It is my joy!”
It is easier to understand the flower because we cannot imagine that a flower can be mad. It is different to understand a man.
I have heard about Lao Tzu that many times he would speak sitting alone under a tree. Once, a passerby was surprised to see this. He stopped, approached and asked Lao Tzu, “There is no one to hear you. To whom are you speaking?” Lao Tzu replied, “It is my inner feeling. Something has come to life within me and I am pouring it out. Today there is no one to hear, but today the feeling to speak has arisen. So, I just go on releasing my inner feeling. The atmosphere, the air will preserve it, the sky will remember it, and when some listener is ready he will hear.”
OSHO
Behind A Thousand Names — talks on the Nirvan Upanishad at Rs 295;
published by FULL CIRCLE
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| Spiritual shopping |
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Aakanksha Naval-Shetye
Times of India, 9 July, 2010, 12.00am IST
 People are no longer reluctant to experiment with new beliefs in their search for quick-fix spiritual solutions
Spirituality has long been associated with words like patience and perseverance. But of late it’s becoming synonymous with faith-hopping, as an increasingly high number of people seeking spiritual bliss are rushing into one faith after another.
While many spiritually-inclined city-slickers attribute this to the need for instant gratification, psychologists say that it’s the high stress levels that’s making people seek alternative solutions to restore the lost harmony of the body and mind. Whether it’s actually stress that’s driving people to spirituality or spiritualism being the in thing these days, there’s no denying that people of almost all ages and walks of life are ready to explore the available alternatives. From Buddhism to Kabbalah and from Scientology to Bahai... Hollywood biggies like Tom Cruise, Madonna, Steven Seagal, Richard Gere, are not the only ones on a spiritual-hopping spree. Spiritual surfing is definitely on an upswing here too, say spiritual teachers. But the amazing part about this trend, they say, is that there is no fanatical approach towards any one faith. Instead, followers choose it for health reasons.
Ami Patel, an Art of Living instructor, says that it’s a good sign to know that people are questioning, rather than just following a faith blindly. “It’s important to find something that helps you restore the spiritual balance. Today, people are seeking answers and giving the solutions dished out by the spiritual teachers much thought before accepting them. So, while people may not believe in a certain faith at a moment, when they do come across a faith at some point that’s providing them their answers, they will accept it with full trust,” she explains.
Take, for instance, the case of TV actress Sweta Keswani. While going through a very depressing phase in her life, Sweta sought answers and help in spiritualism. “I tried several faiths and practices, but it was in Buddhism that I found solace. My spiritual hopping makes me appreciate what I have today even more. Along the way, I imbibed several teachings from different spiritual gurus too,” says the actress, who’s been following Buddhism for the past five years.
Like Sweta, actress Tisca Chopra too admits to have found solace in Buddhism, while television actor Bunty Grewal turned to scientology.
According to renowned lawyer Vibhav Krishna, who has even penned several books on spirituality, faith-hopping is a sign of progressive thinking, where seekers are ready to try and experiment with different faiths. However, he says that there’s an issue in the lack of patience among new followers, to know about the faith in depth and understand it’s essence completely. “People today want instant gratification, very much like the coffee vending machines they are used to in their offices. But spirituality is nothing like that. It cannot be instant, since the need here is not a physical one, but that of your intellect and soul,” he reasons. “Changing faiths as part of evolution is fine, but otherwise it’s also reflective of an emotionally unstable psyche,” he adds.
Amrit Sadhana, an Osho follower for over two decades, says, “Spirituality is multi-dimensional and each teacher will have something different to offer. Even though most of them may ultimately lead to the same goal, each one has a different approach. Spiritual nourishment is an important need of the intellect, so it’s better to learn by trial and error method than follow beliefs that don’t give you the peace that you are seeking.”
Faiths: The Facts
Kabbalah : Is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Rabbinic Judaism, based on a set of teachings that exist outside the traditional Jewish scriptures.
Scientology : Is a body of beliefs and related practices created by writer L Ron Hubbard, who incorporated the Church of Scientology. It teaches that people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature.
Osho : The Osho cult refers to the followers of the teachings of their late Guru, Rajneesh Osho. He spoke on all major spiritual traditions and his thought was rooted in Hindu advaita, which considers all reality as being of a single divine essence.
Bahai : Founded by Bahá’u’lláh in the mid-nineteenth century - the essential message is that of unity, of one God and one human race.
Art of Living : An educational and humanitarian NGO founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. AOL volunteers are guided by Sri Sri’s philosophy of peace. It offers stress-elimination programmes, which include breathing techniques, meditation and yoga.
The Brahma Kumaris : Are a worldwide family of individuals committed to spiritual growth. They teach practical methods of meditation, that help individuals understand their inner strengths and values.
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| Suffering is desire to avoid pain |
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Vithal C Nadkarni
Economic Times, 1 July 2010, 0512 hrs IST
Kabir , the 15th-century mystic master, would surely have chuckled at the irony. A chair is going to be set up in his name in a Haryana university . There will also be a Kabir chowk in Rohtak to mark the 613th anniversary of his birth about which the Master, as usual, had something piquant to say:
“When I was born, I cried and the world laughed. But when I go, I want to laugh and the world to moan (such ought to be my legacy of peace between sects and to lasting enlightenment ).”
The dates of his birth and death remain shrouded in mystery.
What endures is the legend that the revolutionary mystic left behind: just flowers for his Hindu and Muslim followers to share; otherwise, they might have fought over burial or cremation rights of the Master’s body which was never found.
Commenting on Kabir’s dohaon death, Osho says the one thing that separates man from animals is conscious awareness of laughter and death. This can lead to a new synthesis, when one joins consciousness of death to our capacity to laugh.
If you can die laughing, only then will you have given valid proof of your having lived by laughter, Osho adds. If, on the other hand, you die crying and clinging to your supports, then you are not a grown-up but an immature caught in denial of death and pain.
Growing up involves facing up to reality and isness of things whatever they may be. In Osho’s formulation, as inspired by Sant Kabir’s searing insight, pain, or dukkha, is simply that.
There is no suffering in it. Suffering comes from your desire for absence of pain, Osho explains: watch, witness , and you will be surprised. You have a headache : the pain is therebutsufferingis not there. Suffering is a secondary phenomenon , pain is primary.
The headache is there, the pain is there; they are simply facts. There’s no judgment about them — you don’t call them good or bad or give them values. The rose is a fact, so is the thorn. The day is a fact, so is the night. The head is a fact, so is the headache. You simply take note of it.
The Buddha taught his disciples that when you have a headache ,simplysaytwice,‘headache, headache’ . Take note, but don’t evaluate. Don’t say “Why? Why has this headache happened to me? It should not happen to me.” The moment you say ‘It should not’ , you bring suffering in. Now suffering is created by you, not by the headache. Suffering is your antagonistic interpretation; suffering is your denial of the fact.
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| Becoming rooted in detachment |
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Vasant Joshi
Email: innervoice@hindustantimes.com
Hindustan Times, 29 June, 2010
'Neither with any of my teachers, nor with any fellow students, or anybody else, could I develop such a relationship as would drown me or break my being an island. Friends came and stayed with me. I met many people as well; had many friends. But from my side there was nothing dependent on them or
which would cause me to remember them…I may live with everyone, but whether I am in a crowd or a society, with a friend or an intimate, I am alone. Nothing touches me, I remain untouched.'
From a very early age Osho used every experience, every situation, as a stepping stone towards inner growth. His awareness kept him from missing an opportunity in his search of truth.
Deaths of his beloveds — his sister, grandfather, and Shashi — gave him extraordinary chances to understand the limitations created by attachment with the other and, hence, to transcend the duality. He seized upon these chances and made himself really free to be by himself. Osho's own observation in this regard is important.
'Life gives many opportunities for being thrown back to oneself. But the more clever we are, the quicker we are in rescuing ourselves from such an opportunity. At such moments we move out from ourselves. If my wife dies, I am in search of another whom I can marry.
If my friend is lost, I begin to search for another. I cannot leave any gap. By filling that gap, the opportunity I would have had to revert back to my own self, is lost in a moment, along with its immense possibilities. If I had become interested in the other, I would have lost the opportunity to journey towards the Self…'
In experiencing his aloneness, Osho became more of an 'outsider', or a 'stranger'. He became rooted in a state of detachment in which even in the midst of activities and people, he remained alone.
'I became a universe unto myself,' says Osho.
Extract taken from Osho, The Luminous Rebel, Life Story Of A Maverick Mystic
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