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Question: Beloved Osho, "there is
so much magnificence in the ocean... Waves are coming in, waves
are coming in...." and once again i seem to be desperately
running for dry land! My sweet Osho, how about yet another
intensive lesson on drowning?
Osho: Radha, when the invitation of
the ocean comes don't run away from it. The ocean is the very
beginning of life, not only metaphorically, but factually. We
are from the ocean, physically. And we are from a vaster ocean,
invisible to the bare eyes, spiritual. And when the invitation
comes, running towards dry land is running towards your own
grave. Only the graveyard is outside the ocean. Life is in being
oceanic.
William James has given this word, `oceanic' to the world. The
ocean has always been there, but once in a while a man of
insight gives it a totally new dimension. He is the first man to
use the word `oceanic' in the sense of vastness, infinity,
eternity, immortality. It is always there; waves upon waves go
on coming. Just as in the ordinary ocean, so in the ocean of
consciousness: waves upon waves, unending joy, unending dawns,
unending celebration.
Why should you think of running? But it is not rare; almost
everybody thinks of running away from the ocean, from anything
that is bigger than you, because the fear is you will be
overwhelmed, you will disappear. You don't need any lesson in
drowning; the ocean will do the whole work. You simply don't
run. You simply go on sitting silently and let the ocean take
you over. Don't be worried that this is going to be your death.
That is the fear that comes to every mind the moment it is close
to the infinite. It is a very small, very tiny thing. It has
made its own cozy life, although it is dark and miserable, poor,
spiritually poor.
But it seems to be safe in a way, that you are not being
overwhelmed by something bigger than you. And unless a man
learns how to be overwhelmed, he will miss everything that is of
value. He will miss love; he will run away from love, because
love is bigger than you and very overwhelming. Such a person
will run away from truth. Lies are good; they are smaller than
you. They are your own creation; how can they be bigger than
you? But truth is not your creation; in fact, you come from the
sources of truth. Naturally, the fear arises when you come
across truth.
Silence is overwhelming; all noise is
yours.
Silence belongs to existence.
With a noisy mind, chattering day in, day out, you are
comfortable. And you have become identified with this small
mind, this small personality, which you are not in reality. But
you can know only if you allow yourself to be drowned in love,
in truth, in silence, in an ecstasy that knows no beginning, no
end. There is no other way to know yourself, other than drowning
yourself in the very source of your life and the very goal of
your life. People would like to have a little sample before they
drown. It is not a marketplace; truth cannot be given to you in
small pieces as samples, nor can love.
Mulla Nasruddin wanted to learn how to swim. He approached the
teacher who used to teach children to swim; the teacher was very
willing. He said, "It is not difficult. In a day you will know
it." In fact, everybody is born with an intrinsic capacity to
swim. It is only a remembrance that is needed. So, it is not
really something new added to you, but something that you were
not aware of, but was always part of your being. The child in
the mother's womb swims, floats in water.
And the water has the same constituents, chemicals, salt as the
ocean. This fact has given scientists the idea that life must
have been born first in the ocean. It is still born in the
ocean: a pregnant woman starts eating more salty things, because
she has to keep the balance of exactly the same amount of
chemicals that make up the oceanic water. There is no way to
give you a sample of life; either you live or you don't live. So
Mulla's teacher said, "Don't be worried, to swim is a very minor
thing -- you can see that small children are learning..."
Mulla was a little afraid. He said, "I can see small children
learning, but I am not a small child." And out of nervousness
and fear he slipped on the stone steps before he could enter the
river. He fell down and he got up and started running without
saying a single word to the teacher. The teacher said, "Mulla
Nasruddin, what happened?"
He said, "It is enough. I will first learn to swim and then I
will come close to the water; otherwise, I am not going to take
the risk."
But how are you going to learn swimming on your bed? You can
throw your hands and your legs around. It may give you some
fracture or something, but it will not give you the art of
swimming. Only water has that capacity to revive in you a hidden
secret which you already know. One Japanese professor has been
trying to teach children. First he started to teach
twelve-month-old children how to swim. It was great news; nobody
had ever thought that a twelve-month-old baby could swim.
Then he went on reducing: ten-month-old, nine-month-old,
six-month-old... now he is working on three-month-old babies.
And his next step is that the first-day-born baby should be put
immediately into a small lukewarm tub and allowed to swim,
because he already knows intrinsically and just needs the
opportunity. Millions of people don't know how to swim because
they have never been given the opportunity; otherwise, it is too
beautiful an experience to miss. To be in the water, is to be
back in your very life-giving original source. It can revive
you; it can give you a freshness and rejuvenation.
Radha, you are doing just like Mulla Nasruddin -- running for
the dry land. That is running for your grave because only graves
are dry. The whole life is oceanic. You don't need to learn how
to drown. You have just to learn not to escape, not to run away,
and everything will be done by the oceanic feelings of silence,
love, truth, meditation. They will drown you. It is not that
when floods come, houses start learning how to drown; they
simply drown.
And your dry land is not very dry...!
If Radha runs toward dry land, that would be Italy. It is one of
the juiciest places on the earth, and very slippery -- so much
pasta! It has made every Italian greasy. They don't need any
other kind of lubrication; their whole being is full of
lubrication. Where will you find dry land in Italy? In Italy it
is absolutely difficult. One woman has just gathered a
ten-thousand membership for the Radical Party of Italy. She is a
beautiful woman, an actress, well known. She allowed herself to
sit in a square in Rome, and anybody who wanted to touch her
breasts or kiss her had to enroll as a member of the Radical
Party.
Now, in Italy, instead of ten thousand she has enrolled fifteen
thousand. And she fought the election for membership of
parliament by sitting absolutely naked in a convertible car. She
went around her constituency... you can play with her body the
way you want, but remember, you have to vote for her. And
naturally, people enjoyed it immensely; she got more votes than
anybody else. All great politicians and leaders are left far
behind.
The speaker of the parliament had to declare, "I will allow this
lady in parliament if she promises that she will not do tricks
like this here in parliament house, because that will be an
insult to the great house of the representatives of the
country." She has not promised.
And I think there is no provision in any constitution of any
country, that you cannot be naked in parliament. You can do all
kinds of things. Nobody has ever thought that these things have
to be written into the constitution. Now, perhaps in Italy they
will have to make some amendments, because in the first
reception given to her by the Radical Party, she did another
great thing that perhaps only in Italy is possible. She came
naked and started pissing on the front line of the gathering.
Those were the most important people, and the whole crowd
clapped and laughed. This is a dry land? Nobody thought that she
would do such a thing.
Nakedness was okay; they had become accustomed to this. Now they
are all wondering what she is going to do next. Radha, just
learn to be silently available for whenever a tidal wave of
existence comes to drown you. It is not your death; it is your
real life. You were dead before it. These tidal waves of love
and truth and beauty and celebration will give you authentic
life, life as it should be. And I know you so well that you
cannot find any home anywhere else.
Wherever you are, you will feel thirsty for me.
And remember...
I am not going to be here forever, so don't escape from the
ocean.
Look...
The ocean has started raining and is sending messages through
the winds, through the dance of the trees. Accept the invitation
of something greater than you, that makes you great.
The old proverb says: "A man is known by the company he keeps."
Never keep company with smaller things, because they make you
small. Keep company with vast experiences -- they make you
great. They bring you to your ultimate splendor and glory.
One thing I can promise to you -- if you want to try it you can
try -- run for the dry land and I am coming with you!
In Italy sannyasins are collecting thousands of signatures
against the Italian government's order that I cannot enter
Italy. They even wanted me to become the president of the
Radical Party. I refused. I said, "This is not radicalism what
you are doing; this is sheer stupidity. It may create a little
nuisance, but it is not going to transform man."
They wanted me to become the president, because then they have
more weight to put over the government. Their constitution
allows that they can choose the president from anywhere in the
world. The secretary will be an Italian and he is the real head.
The president will be a formal head. But I refused. I said,
"Your Radical Party is not radical enough for me. It is more on
the ridiculous side."
But, Radha, if you go there, I am coming. I have always felt a
soft spot for Italians. I don't know why. I have not even tasted
spaghetti, and I will never taste it; just the name makes me
afraid. If people start finding a dry land in Italy, then the
ocean has to fall. It is not the ocean that is coming to you, it
is me -- and you are afraid of me. You have long been associated
with me and now the spring is close and the hesitancy and the
fear... What will the unknown bring to you?
I informed you to come into Lao Tzu and work in the library. You
became frightened, because to be too close to me is dangerous.
You have chosen to continue to work in the kitchen making
spaghetti. You know that spaghetti is a protection; I will not
come to that side. There is no need to go to Italy. Just here if
you can go on making spaghetti -- even if I smell it that is
enough -- I will not come close to that place. That is the only
security from the ocean. There is no need to learn how to drown
or how to swim, just remain drowned in spaghetti. That will keep
me away.
But you cannot escape. You have crossed that line a long time
ago. I know my people who have crossed the line from where they
cannot return. And I know my people who have still not reached
that line. Just yesterday I heard about one sannyasin who has
said that he agrees with me sixty percent. Agreeing sixty
percent actually means the difference between his agreement of
sixty percent and disagreement of forty-nine percent is only
eleven percent. Now this person can escape any moment.
But Radha, I don't think you agree with me sixty percent. And I
have never asked anybody how much you agree with me. Either you
are with me or you are not with me. There is no question of
agreement, because I am not teaching you any doctrine that you
have to believe. Whether you believe sixty percent, seventy
percent or fifty percent, you believe. I am simply making my own
meditation available to you in different ways, through groups,
through therapies, through meditation, through talking to you.
You have not to agree or disagree; those are childish things.
Either you have to experience me, and that is going to be a
hundred percent, or you have not to open to me, and that is
going to be a hundred percent. Either you open or you don't.
Radha, that time has passed; you cannot close yourself to me.
Wherever you are you will remain open. And now I am not going
anywhere, for the simple reason that without going physically I
can reach to my people if they are open to me. Even if
physically I reach those who are not open to me it is pointless.
Even if you go you will be coming back, because the moment you
leave me you will start thinking again to come. So don't do
unnecessary exercises.
You have come, you have been one of my oldest sannyasins who has
never for a moment thought that they can be against me. But the
fear is natural: the closer you come, the more you will feel
afraid. So when you are coming closer, come fast, faster than
your fear.
An Eskimo proverb is: On thin ice one should run fast. Everybody
who is around me is on thin ice. Don't stand there! Run fast!
Your speed has to be faster than the breaking of the thin layer
of ice. And according to your weight, Radha, you have to run
really fast. Anyway you want to run, why run for a dry land? Run
towards me. I have been calling you all, inviting you,
persuading you, slapping you to wake up because you go on
falling asleep. Just two or three days ago I had to slap Veena
because she was falling asleep. Now she looks awake.
A little six-year-old girl came to the kitchen and asked,
"Mommy, can I have babies?"
"No, of course not, dear," her mother replied.
The little girl turned around and ran back outside shouting,
"Okay boys, same game, same game."
For many lives you have been playing the same game of running
from the ocean for dry land. This time try a new game of running
towards the ocean, towards the overwhelming. Running away is
cowardly. Running towards the ocean, the overwhelming is living
dangerously. And only one who lives dangerously, lives; others
simply vegetate.
Source: from Osho book “The Invitation”
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