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Valmiki - The Great Transformation
Indiatimes.com
 
Osho says: It has happened many times that a sinner has taken the jump in a moment and has become a saint. It happened to Valmiki, an Indian saint, the first to tell the story of Rama. Valmiki was a robber and a murderer, and in a single moment the transformation happened. It has never happened like that to any pundit - and India is a great country of pundit s: the brahmin s, the scholars. You cannot compete with Indian scholars - they have a long heritage of thousands of years, and they have lived on words and words and words. But it has never happened that a scholar in a single moment took a jump, exploded, was broken from the past and became totally new. It has never happened that way. But it has happened many times with sinners, in a single moment, because deep down they were never able to make arrangements in their ego with whatsoever they were doing. Whatsoever they were doing was ego-shattering - and ego is the wall, the stone wall. 

Osho illustrates this point with the story of Valmiki who was a dacoit, a robber. He was looting all kinds of people. One day he came across the mystic Narada. Narada was singing on his one-stringed guitar, utterly lost in ecstasy, passing through a jungle, and the robber caught hold of him. Narada continued playing on his one-stringed guitar. 
The robber's name is Balia; later on he became a great seer, Valmiki. He was the first man to write the story of Rama. 

Balia could not believe his eyes, because he had seen two types of people up to then, up to that moment. One was the type who would start trembling, seeing the strong man. He was a very strong man, and very dangerous and murderous. Just seeing him there, the other would start trembling and collapse, would give all that he had, voluntarily, to him. He had seen one kind was that, the coward, the fearful. And the other kind was the brave, who would start fighting back. Either the person would start running or the person would start fighting. Fight or flight -- these had been his two experiences up to then about people. 

But Narada did nothing. He was a third type. For the first time Balia had come upon the third type. He continued playing on his musical instrument with the same joy and the same ecstasy. Even Balia started feeling the joy, the vibe. And Narada was dancing, and Balia also started dancing. And Balia said, "This is strange. What are you doing to me? I am a robber and a murderer. I can kill you. You should not trust me. " 
But there was nobody to listen to him; the song continued, the music continued, that celestial vibe continued. And then when Narada was finished with his music he asked Balia, "What do you want?" 

By this time a great change had happened. Balia said, "I would like to be as ecstatic as you are. Can you help me? I don't want anything else. You are the first man who is really rich. I have come across only beggars up to now - rich beggars, poor beggars, but all beggars. You are the first man who is really rich, and you have such richness that I cannot rob it. It is your inner richness. Can I also have some glimpses like this? Is it possible for a murderer like me, a robber like me, a sinner like me? What should I do?" 
Narada said, "You do one thing: start chanting the name of Rama." 
Then Narada went, and Balia got really into it. He was a man of will, very strong. He chanted day in, day out. 

When you chant "Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama" continuously, when there is not much gap between "Rama" and "Rama", slowly, slowly you will start hearing "Mara, Mara, Mara." If you chant "Rama, Rama, Rama" continuously, the gestalt will change. The "m" of the "Ram" will become joined with the "ra" of another "Ram" that is following. Then it becomes "Mara, Mara." Ram means God, Ram means the immortal element, the eternal element; mara means death. 

Balia was a very uneducated man, had never been in any kind of religious education. He forgot all about Ram; slowly slowly he chanted only "Mara, Mara, Mara." 
Months passed. Narada went back; he was surprised. Balia was chanting "Mara, Mara, Mara"; his whole body was chanting "Mara, Mara, Mara." Narda could feel from miles away the change that had happened to that jungle. It had a different atmosphere. When he came closer and heard "Mara, Mara," he was surprised because this man has been chanting completely in a wrong way. 

He came closer and saw Balia. The man was totally transformed. He was luminous - the ecstasy had happened. It happened even by chanting a wrong mantra. Narada kept quiet; he didn't say anything to him. There was no need, no point in disturbing the poor man. He had arrived! 

There is a Sufi saying that even a wrong means becomes right in the right person's hand, and vice versa, even a right means becomes wrong in a wrong man's hand. And it is so. The ultimate result depends on your heart, not on the means used. 
Osho adds: It is said that before Rama was born, a great poet, Valmiki, wrote Rama's whole life; before he was born! And then Rama was born; he had to follow Valmiki, because when such a great poet writes something, it has to be followed. What else can you do? It may not have been so, but the story is beautiful. It says that life is a drama: as if it has been written already and it is only unfolding. 

(Compiled by Swami Chaitanya Keerti from Osho’s discourses)