An ordinary life is all I need. Being religiously special, no thanks.

There are various reasons why I'm happier after ditching religion some fifteen years ago. Feeling ordinary is one reason. I get a lot of satisfaction from no longer believing that I'm on a special path that leads back to God.

Of course, virtually every religion believes that same thing. 

So religious people are like the children in Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon. Everybody is above average. Or at least that's what those who embrace religion think.

Supposedly they've been singled out for special treatment by God, Jesus, a guru, good karma, whatever. So the pressure is on to live up to a belief that they're destined to enjoy a life, and/or an afterlife, in a fashion denied to ordinary people.

This leads to constant questioning by the Chosen Ones.

Am I falling short from what is expected of me by the divinity I believe in? Is there more I can do to live up to the moral standards, or commandments, of my faith? What worldly desires stand between me and the exalted spirituality I aspire to?

By contrast, us ordinary people are content with living an ordinary life in ordinary ways. 

We don't agonize about whether we're doing God's will because we don't believe in God. We don't worry about what will happen to us after we die because we don't believe in an afterlife. We don't worry about meeting a divine moral standard because we don't believe in divinity.

Sometimes I'm struck by an overwhelming sensation of gratitude for having found the freedom to simply be who I am, where I am, how I am.

I feel deeply happy to have been deconverted from religious fantasies. No longer do I consider that there is a gap between what I should become and the reality of my present state of being.

Sure, I still have goals. I still worry about this and that. (Such as whether Biden will defeat Trump this November.) My mood goes up and down. 

But all of this takes place against a backdrop of an ordinary life. I feel a stronger kinship with other people, because I no longer identify with a religion that taught its devotees to feel special, being on a path to God-realization denied to others. 

I understand the appeal of feeling special. All I'm suggesting is that feeling ordinary is a wiser way to live.

Ordinary

 


Discover more from Church of the Churchless

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

201 Comments

  1. Karim W. Rahmaan

    “But all of this takes place against a backdrop of an ordinary life. I feel a stronger kinship with other people, because I no longer identify with a religion that taught its devotees to feel special, being on a path to God-realization denied to others.”
    This resonates with me. Mostly, the part about; to feel special, being on a path to God-realization
    As my life has contained gun shots at point blank range, being tied up by gangsters like the biker gangs, shootings at anti-gang for kids gatherings, white supremacy attacks in my neighborhood as a teenager, and
    threats by cannibals who employed police.
    So I didn’t expect I’d live beyond 35. As back then the life expectancy for a black male was 34 and “if you made it to 35 you were a survivor” was the saying. And for me the claims of the Beas Gurus on striving for God-realization before death -well I had nothing to lose. That’s my take on it.
    Three years before I reached my life expectancy I was given a chance to try the Beas Guru’s meditation as my search took me to numerous frauds. So I made it. Made it to something I think special, before I ended up like George Floyd, or before the police or the mean streets could kill me.

  2. Osho Robbins

    “ I feel deeply happy to have been deconverted from religious fantasies. No longer do I consider that there is a gap between what I should become and the reality of my present state of being.”
    The notion that “there is something missing in me,” that “I am a sinner” or the Sant mat equivalent of “I am stuck in karma and need to meditate or I need grace to escape” – these are the notions that keep us trapped.
    Religion first creates the trap by getting you to believe that you have missed the mark. Something is lacking.
    Then religion offers you the solution to escape the trap.
    Christianity: Jesus will save you
    Sant mat: meditation and seva and grace (which strangely enough has to be earned) will save you.
    Islam: god will ask you after death, and you must say “Allah is the only God and Mohammad his prophet”
    Once the trap is set and you believe it, you are in a real trap.
    It is a “construct”
    YOU yourself created / constructed the trap by your beliefs.
    You chose to believe, and once you believe, the trap is real.
    The way to escape is to realise that you chose to believe when you were naive. Now choose to drop the same beliefs.
    The problem is, you have fallen in love with the beliefs. You want to be the victim. The prison door is open but you like being in prison.
    You say you want to escape, but why don’t you? The door is open.
    A man was searching frantically for his train ticket. He searched every pocket again and again. The ticket collector was waiting. A fellow passenger spoke, “you have searched every pocket at least three times, but you have not looked in your shirt pocket even once”
    “I know,” replied the man, “that is my last hope, and I don’t want to lose hope so I won’t check that pocket because if that pocket is empty, then I am truly doomed”
    Followers are the same. They like being trapped while pretending to try to escape.
    As long as there is hope and the possibility of escape, it keeps them going.
    If I take away their trap, they will have nothing to strive for. They like to strive, to struggle.
    The RSSB guru says “we are all struggling ……”
    Then stop struggling. There is no need to struggle. They struggle is your own creation. There is no trap except the one you created in your own mind.
    It is only your own belief that “I am not perfect yet” that has created the trap.
    Stop seeking perfection (because it doesn’t exist) and the trap disappears.
    Just as the wizard of oz loses his power the moment you can see that he is an ordinary man not a wizard

  3. um

    What you describe Brian is just a way of participating in any group in general….be a sport, music, school or whatever.
    The amount of interest people have for what others have to say about ones participation, is divided along the usual gauss curve. Some are not interested at all and just do their thing and others are so afraid of reactions of others that they cannot perform properly.
    One goes to an office to work, to earn some money for living ones own life. Sometimes the office becomes a place were the speaking of others and discussing their actions even in private life, the gossips, become more important than the work itself.
    Some go to the church to pray for the welfare of the near and dear or the the whole world. Others go there for other reasons to be seen and sit in the front and discuss who is the best Christian.
    The fact of the existence of this hypocrisy can not and should not be used an excuse to stay away ..

  4. Vinny

    Even U G Krishnamurti was ordinary before he started busting bluff of Christian education system to create army of slaves for plutocratic Christendom to exploit ordinary Christians by giving them education system based on falsehood.

  5. Sonia

    Wow, Karim, I never would have guessed you had experienced the sort of challenges you described in your life. You seem like a very disciplined person. See, this is where another type of prejudice comes in—I’m judging what I assume to be your life experiences based on how articulate and intelligent you are. I think people often judge others by the way they speak, dress and present themselves just as much and possibly more than by skin color.
    Is your family Muslim?

  6. Sonia

    “I get a lot of satisfaction from no longer believing that I’m on a special path that leads back to God.”
    (Big fan of Garrison Keillor)
    You should read ‘The Fine Art of Snobbery’ by David Taylor. He’s British. I guess in my book that makes him an expert on the subject (which is admittedly very prejudiced of me). Basically he describes how nearly everyone finds a way to make themselves feel more special than others by being a snob about something—anything. Some people are music snobs, foodie snobs, activist snobs, academic snobs and so on.
    As for gurus, GSD said recently that “god” doesn’t love any single person more than another. He pointed out how ridiculous that belief is. He also said that any path has the potential to lead to self realization, it’s not exclusive to Sant Mat. When people ask him if they should marry a Satsangi he always says just marry a good human being and you’ll be happy, it doesn’t matter what path they follow.
    Maybe some people feel “special” because of their faith but I never have. For me, belief in something greater than myself (in all of the different paths I’ve followed) was about hope—hope that one day suffering would end. Hope that there is a better world than this. Hope that something could make this world perfect. It was and is all about hope.
    For most people, myself included, self righteousness and false humility are two of the biggest turn offs to spirituality.
    We’re all ordinary. We’re all extraordinary. We’re all pretty much the same. God doesn’t punish us. God isn’t even a person or entity. It’s an all encompassing energy. What we actually dislike about this so called life are the negative experiences that result because of the Natural laws of cause and effect.
    I’m not sure what the opposite of cause and effect is but I think it’s something along the lines of peace and joy.

  7. Dungeness

    @ Sant mat: meditation and seva and grace (which strangely enough
    @ has to be earned) will save you.
    Um, I agree if you’re saying some Sant Mat followers have
    created religious notions that meditation, seva, and earned
    grace will save you. However, S.M. and mystics don’t. It’s
    awareness that saves you. You’ve simply blinkered that
    total awareness that is the core of your being.
    The meditation, seva, the stage actor himself are props.
    Mere trappings until your awareness is restored. You didn’t
    have to earn them at all. They were already yours. The
    inner master, god himself, was there all along. The disciple
    simply had to begin the inward search.
    A child is given some toys and simple tasks to turn scattered
    attention inward while the inner guru, which his real self by
    the way, turns the lights on.

  8. Karim W. Rahmaan

    Is your family Muslim?
    Posted by: Sonia | September 23, 2020 at 07:24 AM
    I won’t say much about my family as they converted from Christianity to Islam before I was born. But for me, Islam is the only religion I was graced with.
    One thing interesting I’ll gladly share, is that one of my older step brothers had six wives -he too was converted.

  9. s*

    I’m not sure what the opposite of cause and effect is but I think it’s something along the lines of peace and joy.
    Sonia
    Yes I think so Sonia..I think thatś a truth..imo.
    Babaji talks really different mostly then former guruś..
    I learned in my early santmat years that ´Only this path´ could bring liberation from ´birth and dead´
    Thatś about cause and effect over and over..
    The old books and satsangs were full about that..
    Only the Master could help one out this cycle..
    Itś somewhat strange to see the vids from babaji..not knowing how things are going to be.
    etc..

  10. Dr. Michael Persinger, working at Laurentian University, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, has pioneered a method for inducing the religious, spiritual experience of the shaman. Without drugs, herbs, hypnosis or invasive surgery, he can quite literally flip a switch and induce the experience of “god.”
    Using an ordinary striped yellow motorcycle helmet, which he has modified with electromagnetic coils, he can place the helmet on your head, connect the wires to a device he has constructed that generates the proper signals, and when the magnetic fields produced by the coils penetrate the skull and into the temporal lobes of the brain, the result is the stimulation of those lobes and a religious experience results.
    https://www.god-helmet.com/wp/shiva/index.htm

  11. Brian Ji

    Osho Robbins – this is you right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2eweEr_50
    The RSSB guru says “we are all struggling ……”
    Then stop struggling.
    You quote the RSSB guru a lot. Correct me if I am wrong but none of the RSSB gurus have any connection with you? I think you were initiated or just spent some time with Rajinder or Karpal or gurus of one of those offshoots of RSSB. You saw the light, probably ‘jhanjari deep’, the very elementary flash of Nirat that RSSB philosophy says is no more than a reflection of a reflection of the 1000 candles before Jot Niranjan. This is something gurus like Karpal and Ashutosh were doing a lot in the 80s and 90s to mesmerize people. But since you don’t think such experiences matter, I reckon you don’t chase the light or sound anymore?
    Your experiences still seem far more exciting than most RSSB initiates. Your quest and curiosity is inspiring. May be you’re the serious seeker. Puri tells a good story on this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce5cOwhXxUE
    I think in your posts, from what I understand, you’ve time and again said you don’t need to ‘do’ anything. Doing is an illusion in an illusionary creation. Because you the doer are an illusion and so the act of doing is an illusion and the illusion itself is an illusion. Do you meditate? Or do you think there’s no need to do anything? No need to experience? And with that logic, no need to do anything at all, like post videos, write views on a blog and so on – because the end goal is nothing? There’s no such thing as a goal in fact?

  12. San. D

    @Brian, I find this site quite amusing to be honest and I actually like reading all this critics against RSSB. It does strengthen the already believe I have that a satguru isn’t needed for spiritual progression, though a guru in a form of a teacher is another story.
    What I don’t get though, after meditating 35 years, how come you never experienced things you couldn’t explain rationally? Affirmations of certain things?
    It’s like you went from a “cult” fanatic, to this very generic atheist ‘i believe in science only’ type of person. That transformation, from one extreme to the other! How?
    Its the thing I don’t get. Especially if you meditated for 35 years! Have you never experienced the state “beyond ego”? Because once you have, you KNOW, we as beings are not our personality, that personality is a strange layer on us, that is short sighted, self interested etc. The ability to look at events beyond ego, looking at your own life, at maybe certain crashes you have with other people, discussions etc. It gives SO MUCH clarity. The ability to stop looking through your own colored lens and REALLY understand the other person. And that is just ONE thing you can gain from meditation.
    Its this what I don’t understand. You should be a meditation adept. But somehow you went from 35 year long experienced yogi, to a middle aged generic atheist. Generic because certain things you say just feel so generic things how atheist think like, as if you went from one brainwashing to the other!

  13. San D.

    To add it it, I find going on this journey to be humbling more then anything. I know that RSSB satsangis tend to feel superior towards other, which I always felt misguided. I don’t feel like I’m better then others. Hell, great part of my life I felt the opposite. Through meditation I came to accept a lot of my self, not being as successful in worldy affairs as I wished, not having the relationships I wanted etc. I learned to accept and go on, not to stick to old pains etc.
    If anything, the spiritual journey have given me so many tools to coop with life and so made me stronger to deal with it.
    Also certain experiences I have gotten…I can’t deny it! Tears flowing from my eyes for this feeling of unconditional love was showering over me. The feeling of connectedness and completeness. To feel complete without having a reason. To feel happy by just “being”, no external thing causing it. Just being!
    What happened Brian? Why are our experiences so different on this path? I somehow feel pain thinking about your story. Why weren’t you “blessed” with such experiences too? I can understand taking distances from gurus you felt weren’t genuine but to fully step away from your inner journey and to actually go completely the other way around – becoming this atheist type of persona – the much mainstream way of modern thinking which feels really close minded to be honest. I feel confused! But I do enjoy this site, and I do enjoy the free speech here, to discuss and share our thoughts. If anything, you have blessed others through this site of yours.

  14. Osho Robbins

    @BrianJi (someone else – not Brian Hines)
    Yes – that video is me from 2011. The RSSB gurus have a huge connection with me.
    For one thing – I was initiated by Charan Singh Ji. Gurinder knows me pretty well as he recognises me as soon as I get to the mic and he pretty much agrees with most of what I say, with the exception of my views on non-effort, non-doing and the real meaning of meditation.
    I didn’t just “See the light” – I spent many years in intense meditation, meditating 2-3 hours a day and full weekends also. When I was on that path of effort – I did it with full commitment. I didn’t take it lightly. I followed the other gurus because I wanted personal time and attention, not a ‘correspondence course’
    I followed Thakar singh for a few years and then Darshan Singh. I don’t rate Rajindar Singh and never connected with him in any meaningful way. I saw him a few times, but no connection. Darshan Singh I was very close with. I used to write him poetry and read it to him. I spend a lot of time with him in Kirpal Ashram.
    You completely mis-understand my point about non-doing. This was not some new belief that I acquired. It was a discovery that comes from the realization of ONENESS. In ONENESS there is no other, no me, nobody left to seek salvation. Realization is not an intellectual belief. It is a discovery. Only another who has discovered can understand. Everyone else will think it is a belief.
    It is not that you don’t need to do anything. That is a mistaken notion. Clearly you and I are doing something every moment. I am writing these words this very moment.
    I am not saying there is no need to do anything. I am saying:
    It is IMPOSSIBLE to do anything because there is no YOU. No separate person.
    Of course there APPEARS to be a ME and a YOU. I am not denying that – in fact I fully accept that.
    I am saying – this YOU / ME is not ultimate reality (SACH).
    Which Sach? The one nanak refers to: AAD Sach; JUGAAD Sach.
    Nanak is saying only the ONE is called SACH – not duality. I am saying the same.
    As long as you think there is a separate person or soul that needs salvation, you are deluded.
    Only in that delusion will you meditate and make effort.
    What are you making efforts towards?
    The goal is already achieved. You are already ONE as you cannot be anything else.
    You don’t reach ONENESS. – it is not a process.
    These IS no YOU. If you understand those four words – everything changes.

  15. Sonia

    I love how confused we get when we try to apply lofty platitudes to practical every day life.
    “We’re all one”
    “This world all an illusion”
    “Nothing in this world is real”
    Guess what, on the moon I weigh a whole lot less than I do here.
    There’s a “heaviness” inside the body that you start to let go of in meditation.
    It’s something you have to experience and then you’re like, wait a minute this is the real me. But while we’re in this life (on this planet) we have to obey the natural laws and not think that just because “we are all one” that we can go into our neighbors kitchen and start eating their food.
    We have so much to learn about love. Whatever you think you know, there’s so much more. So, acknowledging our differences while respecting our interconnectedness is the most sane approach IMO.
    Another fun fact, humans wouldn’t exist without insects. We’re literally dependent upon them for our survival. Just something to ponder… it’s humbling.

  16. OshoRobbins

    @Sonia
    The people who say “we are all one” are those who don’t even understand ONENESS.
    If you only understand, then yes you will be confused, because all you have is a concept.
    If you understand gurbani, it’s explaining oneness.
    e.g.
    Paltu there is only ONE. There is no other.
    Gurbani also makes it clear that no amount of effort will get you to truth because truth is to be discovered not achieved.
    And gurbani does not advocate meditation either. If you look at every reference to NAAM, it says “contemplate, think about, sing the glories, ponder, or do dhyan”
    What all means is not “sit down and repeat words” which the gurbani specifically addresses and says is NOT the way.
    Neither is paath (repeating scriptures) the way.
    Gurbani says “think deeply about” or
    “Go to a brahm gyani and discuss with him the real path to truth”
    There is and never has been an “initiation” as such.
    The idea is flawed and GSD now downplays it.
    After two decades of meditation I met such a brahm gyani who said “you have misunderstood everything. You are not separate from the ONE, because you are not the body and you are not a soul. You don’t even exist. A body exists, but it is not “you”
    I never understood. It took many years of spending time with him and listening and asking stupid questions before it began to dawn on me what we was actually saying.
    Discovery followed by itself with no effort.
    Just as the Buddha got enlightenment without any effort. The effort was only done while deluded and while the person thinks that “I am a separate soul and I need salvation”

  17. Osho Robbins

    @sonia
    There is nothing to learn about love at all.
    How can you learn about something you cannot even define?
    It’s like saying “we have so much to learn about god”
    It would be more accurate to say “there is so much we need to experience about love”
    And if you try to explain what you have experienced about love, it will fall on deaf ears because the person listening cannot gets it through words.
    Words, at best, are a map, but the map is not the territory. Just like the menu is not the food.
    There is a book called “never mistake a memo for reality”
    We are always mistaking a memo, a concept and words for the thing itself.
    Hence we mistake intellectual understanding for realisation.
    Realisation happens after intellectual understanding. It’s when the understanding becomes “real”
    When it’s more than just words. It’s when you suddenly “get it”
    And you can’t explain what you got.
    There is a part in a movie about this.
    The person asks “but what is IT? and how will I know if I have got it?”
    The trainer replies “you will know”
    It’s from a training in the 70’s called “Est”

  18. um

    @ Osho … the very fact that in the Granth, meditation etc is not addressed, doesn’t mean everything.
    Nanak and his successors, had great mystics of those days say their say in the Granth, mystics that all speak of repeating the name of the lord etc.
    Not all that partakes to a path is written down.

  19. Jim Sutherland

    @Osho and Oneness Devotees,…..
    I’ve come to the conclusion that,…..Astral Projection, or inducing out of body experiences, is expansion of Awareness exercises. But Meditation is reversing the Journey, because it induces retraction of Awareness back from all of the past expansion of Awareness , that all material IMPERMANENT forms appeared, including all of our past life physical bodies. Meditation exercises seeks to withdraw Awareness and Consciousness from all impermanent forms, back to the soul, or God Spirit residing in all of us. But that God Spirit is not God in Totality, because if it is, than God would be continuously changing , as each individual soul returns to the ONLY ONE, WHO created us all. God never changes. But every soul that returns to be WITH The ONE, but never becomes The One,…….never changes the Content of The One, by Dumping Duality experiences back in to The One.
    Jim Sutherland

  20. Osho Robbins

    @um
    What do you think “repeating the name of the lord” means?
    You have a name, I have a name and a pseudo name too.
    God has no name for one really good reason.
    There is nobody to differentiate him from.
    God has no name so what name are you going to repeat?
    Gurbani specifically says
    “Ram Ram sab koi kahin (everyone says Ram, Ram (God, God))
    Kahin Ram na hoi (By saying the word Ram, God does not come)
    Gur prasadi Ram man vasi than phal pavin koi
    (By GRACE Ram will RESIDE in your mind – then you will get the result)
    God is not a being or a person. He has no ears and cannot hear you.
    He has no eyes he cannot see you
    He has no mind – he cannot judge you
    you have made your god in your own image

  21. @Osho
    If understanding brings realisation, have you realised ?
    If not then what exactly you are explaining here ?
    One reference where GSD downplays the importance of Simran and Bhajan ?
    In every QnA, 90% of His answers are just about attending to the meditation and doing your Simran and Bhajan.
    Also He clarifies many times Simran is only to bring back the lost concentration, real thing is Bhajan i.e. listening to the sound current and that’s what Gurubani is saying all over… listening to Naam – that’s Bhajan.
    If you agree that you completely misunderstood all the Sant Mat, what is the guarantee you understood that Gyani correctly this time ? Because the Gyani said so ?
    Maybe you’ve misunderstood everything even more than ever !!
    I agree that for experiencing One, we should NOT do anything.
    But the thing is that it’s so difficult to NOT do anything. (try not to think of a pigeon)
    Meditation is all about achieving that mental state of NOT doing anything,
    the state of Thoughtlessness.

  22. Dungeness

    @ And gurbani does not advocate meditation either. If you look at every
    @ reference to NAAM, it says “contemplate, think about, sing the glories,
    @ ponder, or do dhyan”
    I agree rote repetition of words is not the rabbit’s foot that
    fuels enlightenment. “Contemplate, sing, ponder, do dhyan”
    is prescriptive as well. It simply replaces one set of words
    with another.
    Yet mantra is a key part of mysticism. So is effort! Immersed
    in duality/illusion, words and concepts are all we have in the
    beginning. They are the child’s toys and are essential to
    growth. The real magic though is ineffable and it comes from
    the love at the core of our consciousness.
    It’s a mystery beyond words and language and can only be
    hinted at. But you start with illusion and progress beyond it with
    the help of the Friend within.

  23. um

    @ Osho You wrote that Nanak didn’t write about meditation and the repetition of names.
    But the whole sant traditions stands on the teachings of kabir etc … saints that are all included in the Granth, sainst that, without exception, proclaim the repetition of the lords name.
    And … it is my personal understanding that the five names in fact answer the question: “who am i”
    Unfortunately I don speak Hindi and do not know the meaning of the pre-fixes and suffixes used in the different words.
    Further, the path that the saints took was that of shabd, listening to it will bring the listener to its origin, where it disappears … and the state of A-nami is reached.
    And … in old days the yoga had to be explained in language and concepts that the people were familiar with. For me the mystics face the same problem as a tribes man from the Amazon has to explain the gadgets of western life in means of transport and communication, to his fellow tribes men. He has, to use the language that originated in the Amazon. So to me the whole story told by kabir etc is a way of speaking.
    In the end sant mat is noting more and nothing less than an INVITATION to have a look inside, the invitation itself is just an means to an end. … imo

  24. Osho Robbins

    @one-initiated.
    please read what I wrote.
    here it is again for your reference:
    “There is and never has been an “initiation” as such.
    The idea is flawed and GSD now downplays it. ”
    WHAT does he downplay? Initiation
    lots of examples of it – in the recorded Q&A also
    so you wrote:
    “One reference where GSD downplays the importance of Simran and Bhajan ?”
    That was not what I said – in fact I made it clear that it is the one area we do NOT agree on.
    You then write
    “I agree that for experiencing One, we should NOT do anything.”
    if you agree – then why would you meditate?
    clearly meditating is a DOING.
    You then write
    “Meditation is all about achieving that mental state of NOT doing anything,
    the state of Thoughtlessness.”
    does everything require a thought?
    can you do anything without having a thought of doing it first?
    Let’s say you decide to meditate.
    first you have a thought “I am going to meditate”
    then you act on it and sit down to meditate.
    then you have a thought “It must be two hours by now”
    so you check and you’re right.
    so now you have a thought “I will stop meditating now”
    so you get up and stop meditating.
    Now you want to STOP all thought (state of thoughtlessness)
    so first you have a thought to say
    “I want to stop all thoughts”
    Let’s just say you succeed.
    So now all thoughts have STOPPED.
    No more thoughts. NONE.
    so can you tell me how you will RESTART the thoughts again?
    All thoughts have STOPPED – so no more thoughts can arise.
    now you need a thought that says “I want to restart the mind to think again”
    but you can’t because all thoughts have stopped.
    if everything needs a thought first then
    “please restart the thinking process” also requires a thought
    where will that thought come from if thoughts have stopped?
    How will you return from the zombie like state of thoughtlessness?
    You cannot
    What this proves is that thoughts CANNOT be stopped and it’s just as well
    because if they DID stop, they will never restart.
    So save yourself the effort – you will never stop thoughts

  25. um

    @ And Osho
    I also personaly believe that the 5 words mimic the sounds in the same way as one creates a sound on the named instruments …. first the instrument is hit and later follows the reverberation.
    Al words are in 2 parts that mimic that action.
    I have the feeling that the whole thing is more technical than they ever speak about. In the end the practice is a technical manipulation of the body/brain machine … maybe sophisticated.

  26. Sonia

    @sonia
    There is nothing to learn about love at all.
    How can you learn about something you cannot even define?
    It’s like saying “we have so much to learn about god”
    It would be more accurate to say “there is so much we need to experience about love”
    And if you try to explain what you have experienced about love, it will fall on deaf ears because the person listening cannot gets it through words…..
    Posted by: Osho Robbins | September 26, 2020 at 02:08 AM
    Hey Osho,
    What I meant was, as we grow and experience more we are able to bring some of those abstract spiritual concepts into words. It doesn’t completely explain explain the experience but it does help society evolve.
    A lot of things have changed just in my lifetime. When I was a child most Christian churches preached about an eternal hell. Now, none of them do. Well, the large majority don’t talk about it. It’s like at some point in recent history humans realized how savagely mad and insane it it is to believe that even the worst of human beings would be tormented forever.
    And the Catholic Church just did away with purgatory (which is sort of funny).
    But a lot of changes in the world’s religious and spiritual groups are pointing closer to Oneness. People are much more tolerant on a lot of things.
    However, the thing that is literally killing us right now is our relationship with nature and the way we disrespect the earth and especially the animals.
    Latif Nasser does a good job in the new Netflix docuseries on Connectedness. It’s all nature and science and it is absolutely fascinating. https://www.netflix.com/title/81031737
    When you look at how we treat our planet and other species today, it’s like people totally don’t get what an ecosystem is. This is basic stuff. We are all connected and completely interdependent. But we’re trying to stay separate and act tribal. That’s the opposite of love.

  27. Brian Ji

    @Osho (someone else – not the famous Osho).
    You say “The goal is already achieved. You are already ONE as you cannot be anything else.
    You don’t reach ONENESS. – it is not a process. These IS no YOU. If you understand those four words – everything changes.”
    Your understanding after all these years is good as long as it helps you and makes you happy.
    So if you were initiated by Huzur, and so was I, and you’re already ONE with him, with that logic, I must be too, so you and I are also ONE. Which isn’t the case – I am sure you think it is though.
    Sant Mat philosophy says we evolve across 8.4 million species (lakh chausassi) to become human. You interpret and quote the Gurbani in your own way. I don’t blame you, Many including Sikhs do that. But what about Sar Bachan, what about works of Kabir and other sages? Let’s quote the Gurbani: it says “bhai parapt manukh dehariya, gobind milan ki eh teri bariya. Awar kaaj tere kiteyi na kam, mil sadh sangat, bhaj kewal nam”. You’ve gotten the human form, this is your time to find a sant, and follow / contemplate on Nam.
    So it is a process. Like everything else in the physical, astral and causal planes. Whether you believe it or not.
    If my dad owns a corporation, I am already the successor, generally. And I don’t have to do anything to inherit it. But I still must do something. If I just lay there in bed I’ll become a vegetable. I have to learn to talk, walk, go through 15 years of schooling and so on. Then I can become a director in that corporation and inherit it. If I just sit there like you – thinking I am already IT, I am deluded.
    Let’s say I am your trainer. I show you how to do an overhead shoulder press up with a 60 lbs barbell and tell you you can do it too, I am not lying. If you build the strength you can do it too, and I’ll tell you a routine that you can follow to build that strength (diet, exercise, posture, repetition etc.). But if you then go to 10 other trainers, who will tell you the same thing, and then still come up with a theory of your own and start thinking you are already capable of lifting it and don’t have to anything, you’re mistaken. I can spot you, but while you’re holding the 60 lbs barbell over your head, I am the one lifting it. The moment I let go, you’ll crush under the weight and snap your neck. If you don’t want to know what it feels like to hold a 60lbs barbell over your head, you don’t have to do anything, but if you do, you’ll have to build the strength to be able to lift. Start with a 10 lbs, then 20 and then gradually you’ll be able to do it. It is a process.
    Same is the case with the evolution of consciousness from lower stages to higher, from Bhog juni to Karam juni. If your master took your consciousness to Bhanwar Gupha, you won’t be able to handle it. You can;t withstand the sound current’s force. You must become pure, go through the stages of exfoliating layers of mind and maya, and become that pure spirit to travel through those regions. Let’s ignore the regions, say, to become ONE.
    Your Master Charan Singh said you won’t get anything from jumping from one thing to another. During your days (80s at least) you could write as many letters as you wanted, or just meet him. You don’t really need to be physically around the master – you already have him in you. So I am not sure what you mean by a correspondence course and why you felt the need to meet with other sages, though there’s nothing wrong in doing it, you’re just wasting time. They were not going to tell you anything new.
    All RSSB masters including Charan singh Ji and GSD time and again have emphasized – do your meditation as a duty, that’s all. They’re never said you are already ONE and you can ignore your mediation (orientating the mind). But you dont have to agree with GSD, just like others on this thread have to agree with your comments and YouTube videos.
    So here’s what I gather – you no longer meditate because you think you’re already ONE. If that belief satisfies you, good for you.

  28. Spence Tepper

    Joy is extraordinary.
    It’s all we are, under all the layers.
    Chip away what isn’t happy within yourself, and all that is left is happiness. It’s already there.
    Once you understand that it is all inside you, you have your chisel.

  29. Osho Robbins

    “So if you were initiated by Huzur, and so was I, and you’re already ONE with him, with that logic, I must be too, so you and I are also ONE. Which isn’t the case – I am sure you think it is though.” – Brian Ji
    Right off the bat – you are stuck in concepts.
    ONE with WHO?
    You or I cannot be ONE with anything or anyone.
    That is a misunderstanding of the meaning of ONE.
    ONE means ONE. not two. No hazur, no YOU and no ME!
    you are starting with duality and somehow thinking duality will end in ONENESS.
    Duality is MAYA – illusion. This is not rocket science.
    We all know that everything here will END.
    anything that ends is maya and illusion and unreal in that sense.
    The real is that which does not end.
    you cannot be ONE with that, because only the ONE IS.
    nothing else is. No YOU – so who exactly do you think is going to join with the ONE?
    There is nothing except the ONE. no merging is possible and there is nobody who can
    merge.
    ONENESS and DUALITY are different modes of reality. There is no connection.
    If you are in duality – you are unreal and will NEVER merge with the ONE.
    there is no merging – no process – no achievement.
    The ONE simply IS. nothing else is

  30. Sonia

    @Brian Ji,
    Good explanation–good examples. Sometimes teaching involves a lot more than just saying do this or do that. Proper teaching requires explaining, describing, analyzing, comparing. Critical thinking. It’s best not to oversimplify a critical lesson by saying just do this or just do that. It needs to be explained more in depth–more analogies, more examples for the student to understand the need to follow a particular practice–especially any practice that requires a commitment of 2.5 hours every single day for the rests of your life. Nobody even goes to the gym that much–nobody. Well, maybe an Olympic athlete.
    If I’m a nutrition teacher and I say you need to eat these types of foods for optimal health but I never explain in detail why or how or what… if I don’t explain the biology behind it or the effects of proper nutrition vs bad nutrition on the body, or the right kinds of foods and why those foods are considered good, and why certain foods are considered unhealthy, then I’m not a teacher I’m just acting like a parent. The teaching process is critical. People can’t become CEO’s of an organization without a higher education. You graduate with your MBA or PhD and then you have to go to work at a company and work your way up through your profession until one day you become a CEO. But you have to get your degree before you can begin working (working is meditation in this analogy).
    The outward guru is the professor that helps you get the education you need to get your degree. The inner master helps you as you enter your career and guides you as you climb the ladder to success.

  31. Osho Robbins

    ” ……….If you don’t want to know what it feels like to hold a 60lbs barbell over your head, you don’t have to do anything, but if you do, you’ll have to build the strength to be able to lift. Start with a 10 lbs, then 20 and then gradually you’ll be able to do it. It is a process.” – Brian Ji
    Yes – I agree – everything you want to achieve in life is a process and requires effort. When did I ever say it doesn’t?
    However – and this is the point – GOD is not a thing to achieve.
    if God was a thing – and you achieved him – you WIN and become greater than god.
    By your efforts you achieve god – and so you are greater.
    Gurbani constantly refers to the ego – haumi.
    and all doing / effort comes from ego. The Doer
    so how can doing be the way?
    take this scripture:
    As long as I think I am the doer – there is no peace
    as long as he thinks he is the doer – he will stay in birth and death
    jab tak jaani mujse kush hoi…….
    anything in the world has to be achieved
    but god is different – god cannot be a decoration for your ego

  32. Osho Robbins

    “RSSB masters including Charan singh Ji and GSD time and again have emphasized – do your meditation as a duty, that’s all. They’re never said you are already ONE” – Brian Ji
    Hmmm….
    have you heard the videos?
    I will make it easy for you
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dWAkmCmzAc&t=403s
    4:40 (4 mins and 40 secs in…..)
    a certain separation is being FELT
    mind you I say FELT because THE SEPARATION IS NOT THERE
    Now stop and ask yourself what he just said
    he just said “THERE IS NO SEPARATION.”
    then he says a little later
    “WE DONT HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE. WE DONT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING”
    cant be any clearer than that!
    of course “doing ……..” includes meditation
    we have created the separation because we have separate physical bodies
    so we think we have separate souls and are separate from God.
    Once you have realised this – there is no need for anything else
    but it’s NOT a belief – it’s a realisation that comes from within
    he goes on to say
    “The separation is in our MINDSET”
    There is no “GOING BACK to God….”
    “There is no ACHIEVING”
    Now – will you contradict what your own guru has just told you?
    will you look for a loophole?
    will you say….. “Yes….. But…..”
    that is why you need a the physical guru
    that is why a correspondence course will not do.
    because you will continue as you are
    you will not listen – you will listen only to your own mind
    and to your own beliefs
    hence progress cannot be made – ever
    unless you have a guru who pushes you – beyond your limits
    mere talk or Q&A will do nothing
    as I have just shown.
    GSD has made it clear but NOBODY hears him
    because they dont want to – they have their own beliefs

  33. Osho Robbins

    @BrianJi
    this is why you need a physical guru and his company and he has to be a certain type of guru
    Ramakrishna says there are 4 types of guru – compares them to 4 types of doctor
    1. the one who gives you a prescription – just a paper – you dont even see the medicine
    2. he gets the medicine and hands it to you
    3. he even pours the medicine in a spoon for you and hands it to you
    4. he puts you on the ground and sits on you and pours the medicine into your mouth
    number 4 is the only one that gets results. the others are for disciples who are just playing – not serious
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G7jTT8Nak8
    When I used to be a speaker back in 2000 and before – i did this satsang in Birmingham.
    if you listen to it (this is part 2) – about 9.5 mins in – I am going into detail on the EGO and why it is the only barrier – I quote lots of scriptures – more than I can write here
    This was a RSSB official satsang when I was an official speaker.
    I quit because of prejudices in the management – they dont like anyone who is not part of their group to get well known. The same reason that I was punched in the face and assaulted. Not the behaviour of people who are on a spiritual path

  34. Osho Robbins

    “Same is the case with the evolution of consciousness from lower stages to higher, from Bhog juni to Karam juni. If your master took your consciousness to Bhanwar Gupha, you won’t be able to handle it. You can;t withstand the sound current’s force. You must become pure, go through the stages of exfoliating layers of mind and maya, and become that pure spirit to travel through those regions. Let’s ignore the regions, say, to become ONE.” – BrianJi
    These are just BELIEFS – you have READ IN BOOKS.
    Your guru has said many many times – even to me directly – “There are NO REGIONS”
    I said “But the books say…..”
    he interrupted me…….
    “BURN THE BOOKS”…….
    this is the current guru saying this in public and still you remain in delusion.
    this is why you need a guru of the 4th type
    the same talk I gave in 2002…….
    back then this was all new and nobody even agreed with it
    nevertheless – I said all this in a public satsang on the RSSB stage.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwTQiZb_8z
    21.5 mins in – I give example after example.
    at the end of the talk – more than half the sangat was touched and came to speak to me – telling me they were inspired and asking when is my next talk
    the satsang convenor however was busy trying to stop my talks because it was creating too much interest
    because the truth was – I was not speaking – I had no rehearsal – it was just happening by itself – flowing and that is why it touched so many people – there was nobody doing the satsang

  35. Osho Robbins

    @BrianJi
    gurus on he whole utterly fail to get results.
    I mentioned this video earlier
    this is the reason why gurus fail to get results
    it’s too passive – too laid back – just pleasant theories
    compare this to what is happening in the vide
    https://youtu.be/T5XYNQv6F_o
    this is how the training actually begins:
    “I AM YOUR TRAINER,” be continues in his intense, penetrating voice, “AND YOU ARE THE TRAINEES. I AM HERE BECAUSE MY LIFE WORKS AND YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE YOUR LIVES DON’T WORK.”
    “Your lives don’t work,” he goes on firmly. “You have great theories about life, impressive ideas, intelligent belief systems. You are all very reasonable in the way you handle life, and your lives don’t work. You’re assholes. No more, no less. And a world of assholes doesn’t work. The world doesn’t work. just look at your own fucking lives and you know they don’t work. You’ve paid two hundred and fifty dollars to take this training so your lives will work, and you’ll spend most of the next ten days doing everything you can to make the training not work, so your lives can go on peacefully not working. You’ve just paid two hundred and fifty dollars to be here and you’ll get nothing from this training.”

  36. Dungeness

    @ compare this to what is happening in the vide
    Ah, nothing like a “scared spiritual” beatdown to set a sinner
    straight:
    ……..
    Baba: Alright, you a-holes, there’s only “The One”, get it?
    Disciple: How much meditation does it take?
    Baba: Take, Take! ? Haven’t you been listening!?”. There is no
    “T” in “ONE”. You are already immersed in the One. No effort. No
    journey. And, remember, there are no regions, and you can burn
    the books!
    Disciple: But, GuruJi, I really have to pee now. Can I at least try to
    walk to the bathroom? It’s probably just a random thought but I’m
    having no luck staying in the One!
    Baba: You don’t “stay” in the One. You’re never apart from it. Sit
    quietly! The sweet wave of the One will caress you in her arms.
    Impurities will wash away.
    Disciple: You’re right, you’re right. I feel it, I feel it calling me. It’s
    faint… but it’s saying: “You need to honor thy inner guru. Be free
    of the prison.” [Psst, it’s down the hall on the right]

  37. Osho Robbins

    “Your Master Charan Singh said you won’t get anything from jumping from one thing to another. During your days (80s at least) you could write as many letters as you wanted, or just meet him. You don’t really need to be physically around the master – you already have him in you. So I am not sure what you mean by a correspondence course and why you felt the need to meet with other sages, though there’s nothing wrong in doing it, you’re just wasting time. They were not going to tell you anything new. ” – BrianJi
    Writing a letter is exactly what I mean by a ‘correspondence course’
    A letter is correspondence.
    So how many people do you know who converse daily with the radiant form of the master? do you?
    just because you read it in a book doesn’t make it true.
    And for the record – they DID tell me something new. I would still be a blind follower if I took your advice and stayed put.
    this is what a belief is. you have been told, there is nothing else to learn – but its not true. each guru was relevant to me according to where I was on my journey.
    The buddha had many gurus.

  38. Sonia

    I think meditation is about experiencing yourself as you are—not in this human body with all of this grossness… heaviness. Right? This body isn’t who we really are. That’s the whole point. And outside this prison is your true self. Without experiencing your true self, your mind is far more likely to return to what it knows (the physical) in your next life.

  39. 271 Days Left

    @Osho
    You said, “So save yourself the effort – you will never stop thoughts.”
    Actually, it is quite easy for you to stop thinking.
    “You” is a creation of thought. When “you” is seen as a false construct, then “you” have stopped thinking.
    Thinking may continue but there is no “you” doing it. There is only thinking. When there is only thinking and no you, then it could be said that “you have stopped thinking.”

  40. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    As far as this “there are no regions,” idea. From a certain point of view, there are no regions. It is sort of like this. I could say there is no taste of chocolate. In a certain sense that is true, there is no chocolate, there is only consciousness. Consciousness can experience itself as chocolate, as a boat, as a table, as headphones. There are no headphones, there is only consciousness.
    In that sense there are no regions, there is only consciousness.
    But of course while it is true that there is nothing but consciousness, it is also true that there is chocolate, boats, headphones, countries, inner regions and energies.
    There are, but there aren’t.

  41. Osho Robbins

    “In that sense there are no regions, there is only consciousness.
    But of course while it is true that there is nothing but consciousness, it is also true that there is chocolate, boats, headphones, countries, inner regions and energies.
    There are, but there aren’t.” – 271 Days Left
    No – not in that sense. There are no regions. Period.
    Just like if you experience a unicorn in a dream. there is no unicorn. you made it up. it was a dream character. there is no unicorn. period.
    in the same way – regions and whatever you experience is made up by your mind.
    including the radiant form of the master.
    Faqir chand said he went to anami desh
    then he also says the truth
    there are no regions and nowhere to go
    it was all a delusion
    a creation of the mind

  42. Osho Robbins

    “You said, “So save yourself the effort – you will never stop thoughts.”
    Actually, it is quite easy for you to stop thinking.
    “You” is a creation of thought. When “you” is seen as a false construct, then “you” have stopped thinking.
    Thinking may continue but there is no “you” doing it. There is only thinking. When there is only thinking and no you, then it could be said that “you have stopped thinking.””
    – 271 days left
    I agree with the spirit of what you are saying.
    But you have gone beyond thought, not stopped it.
    even to say what I have just written is inaccurate
    as there is no “me” to go beyond thought
    Nanak says: “whatever you say, you will regret” because nothing can be said

  43. Osho Robbins

    @Dungeness
    if only that was how all the Q&A went!
    instead they just play with concepts
    drop the fucking concepts
    drop the bullshit
    drop the “I am trying, baba ji”
    there is “DO” and “Don’t Do” there is no try
    The Q&A at least reveals ONE THING very clearly
    after decades of meditation and satsang – the followers still have NO CLUE
    they need an award for that

  44. Brian Ji

    @Osho, I see your experiences, beliefs and ‘prejudices’ have come from many years of searching, analyzing and perhaps even ‘experiencing’ and I do like reading your perspective. It could be as flawed as my own, or as sound.
    You’re taking sentences out of my text, breaking them into parts, and extrapolating some context out of one part. I said there’s nothing wrong in seeing other masters – Sawan Singh’s initiate and later successor, Jagat Singh was good friends with Faqir Chand, Sawan regarded Soami Ji’s brother Chacha ji highly and so on. If you learned something from those gurus, it was worth it.
    “Writing a letter is exactly what I mean by a ‘correspondence course’. A letter is correspondence”. If you read Spiritual Gems, you’ll see how American disciples who’d never seen Great Master Sawan Singh were making inner progress. While many people living at the Dera, including Bibi Rukko, failed to even recognize Sawan as Jaimal’s successor. She left the Dera and went back to Agra.
    I said ignore the regions, let’s say ONE. And you said there are no regions. I knew you’d say that which is why I said ignore that. But 271 days does a good job explaining that.
    I have a dream and my experience is real at the time. I even recall it after I wake up. But dream is a state of sub-conciseness, grosser than the consciousness state and a mere fallacy from a higher superconscious state of mind. So if I have a dream, I can say I didn’t have a dream because there’s no such thing as a dream from a higher level of consciousness. But I did have a dream. I am sure you’ve had dreams too. You can experience it so it does exist, but as you go to a higher level of consciousness, in state of being awake – a consciousness state – it seems like fuzzy logic.
    I know GSD said there are no regions, and even said there is no Kal.
    Your idea of ONE is not the same as So-hung, (so am I, I have merged, I am not I) the fourth region. Well clearly not because regions don’t exist.
    You still haven’t answered, do you mediate?
    I am just trying to understand how you became ONE or came to that realization, I should say. Because I know you’ll say you didn’t become one because there never was a Duality. But does that mean that everyone is already one? Tepper, Taylor, Dungeness, Hines, Um, Manoj, Slayer, I and my pet – everyone’s ONE… already… as long as we believe it? There’s no evolutionary journey?
    Osho you then say – ‘So how many people do you know who converse daily with the radiant form of the master?’
    I have had opportunities to meet with many such people at the Dera. When I was a critic, I thought those guys were lunatics. That the sound was simply blood gushing through the head and Science of Soul was just a bait to lure intellectuals like me.
    ‘Do you?’ – before I got initiated I was once sat in ‘blank meditation’. This wasn’t lucid dreaming. I saw a Sikh man who resembled GSD but he was slender, kind of mean looking. As he came closer I thought to myself – that doesn’t look like Babaji. The moment I said that this thing suddenly came flying toward my face at 90 miles an hour and came close and stood a few inches away from my face. I was looking and his turban unfolded anticlockwise, his hairs stood straight up 2 feet high and split in half. The beard opened up and split in half the same way downward. I wasn’t scared, though I did flinch. I ended up getting initiated. Clearly it wasn’t GSD but at least I was pulled.
    I spent my first few years in intense mediation. Since getting initiated I have only seen GSD inside once, it hardly lasted 5 seconds and there were no words said. I was wondering what language our dialogue was going to be. But it never happened. No luck since. But once you’ve seen it, you know it’s real, they’re not telling you porkies.
    I just know that the outer GSD is not aware of it. He does too. He just doesn’t say it openly like Faqir Chand could. Though he does say it if you listen closely. Just not as clearly, not sure why. But we shouldn’t care should we? We’re only concerned with the inner.

  45. Brian Ji

    @Osho, you say – he just said “THERE IS NO SEPARATION.”
    then he says a little later “WE DONT HAVE TO GO ANYWHERE. WE DONT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING” cant be any clearer than that!
    of course “doing ……..” includes meditation
    It’s interesting how we’re both listening to the same thing yet I interpret it in a completely different way than you.
    You’re hearing this as – “you don’t have to do anything; you don’t have to do your meditation”.
    I hear this as – “you don’t have to do anything, other than what you’ve been told to do, which is your meditation”
    One of the four tenets of initiation, and the most important one, was attending to your daily 2.45 hours of meditation.
    Now what is meditation? It’s not trying to go through the stages or catching the sound or seeing the light. Surat and Nirat – those are things you will experience as part of your evolution, some may some may not while in the body. If I take the train from Salford Crescent station to Middleton, while you board from Gillingham to Waterloo, we won’t cross the same stations. We can carry on arguing how the places you’re describing are different from what I am describing so either I am wring or you are.
    But meditation isn’t experiencing inner progress – which is what seekers chase and feel disappointed after a few years. It is attaching yourself to that higher ‘being’ which you are part of anyway (ONENESS) but you are stuck in the SEPARATION of mind and maya.
    You saying you are already one isn’t wrong. But it is like saying that that plank of wood over there is light and fire. Yes it is, but it must undergo a process to be light and fire – that process is combustion. It also needs an apparatus (ignition etc.) and the right conditions (oxygen etc.) And then it’ll become fire – you’ll feel the heat, you’ll see the light in the fire. So though it is full of light and fire, it hasn’t yet become.

  46. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    You said basically: If you experience a unicorn in a dream there is no unicorn, it is made up by your own mind.
    So true. Chocolate, boats, headphones, are also only made up by your own mind. Without a mind these things have never been experienced. They are only made up by the mind in the same way dream appearances are.
    You cannot authoritatively say there are no regions beyond the mind just because you have not experienced them. What you can truthfully say is you have not experienced them, not that they don’t exist or cannot exist. In this same way a man who says New York doesn’t exist because he’s never been there is deluded.
    Permanent regions are not something only in sant mat. Buddha too talked about a nirvanic region:
    “There is that sphere, monks,
    where there is no earth, no water, no fire, no air,
    no sphere of infinite space, no sphere of infinite consciousness,
    no sphere of nothingness, no sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
    no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun.
    There, monks, I say there is surely no coming,
    no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth.
    It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object,
    just this is the end of suffering.”
    Maybe you haven’t been to that sphere that Buddha mentions but it is a step beyond to tell Buddha he hasn’t been there and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. 🙂

  47. Osho Robbins

    You said basically: If you experience a unicorn in a dream there is no unicorn, it is made up by your own mind.
    So true. Chocolate, boats, headphones, are also only made up by your own mind. Without a mind these things have never been experienced. They are only made up by the mind in the same way dream appearances are.
    No – there is a big difference. The unicorn exists ONLY in your dream – not in the outside world.
    The chocs, boats etc exist in the outside world.
    You cannot compare the two and say they are the same.
    You cannot authoritatively say there are no regions beyond the mind just because you have not experienced them. What you can truthfully say is you have not experienced them, not that they don’t exist or cannot exist. In this same way a man who says New York doesn’t exist because he’s never been there is deluded.
    No – again – you are completely off the mark. I HAVE experienced them. I HAVE also experienced the radiant form of the master, yet I am saying – they are both creations of the mind – they don’t exist anywhere – they are made up. Fiction.
    Besides – your guru says there are no regions – so take it up with him.
    What do you think “There is nowhere to go” means? It means no regions.
    And this is exactly why you need a guru of the 4th type who will not ALLOW you to continue in your delusions.
    I was with such a master – Mikaire.
    He would SHOUT at people – they would be trembling in his presence – but they know he is not angry
    Just real. He gets you to face the truth.
    I did a four day intensive with him that was totally amazing. It was how I got the realizations.
    Realizations don’t come in meditation because you are listening to your own mind which is the root of the delusion.
    How can your own mind set you free? It is the trap!
    This is why you need a guru of the 4th type who will not put up with your bullshit.
    And you need trust and love. Otherwise you cannot remain in his company
    Permanent regions are not something only in sant mat. Buddha too talked about a nirvanic region:
    “There is that sphere, monks,
    where there is no earth, no water, no fire, no air,
    no sphere of infinite space, no sphere of infinite consciousness,
    no sphere of nothingness, no sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
    no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun.
    There, monks, I say there is surely no coming,
    no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth.
    It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object,
    just this is the end of suffering.”
    Maybe you haven’t been to that sphere that Buddha mentions but it is a step beyond to tell Buddha he hasn’t been there and doesn’t know what he’s talking about. 🙂
    Amazing. Of course I have been to that sphere. That is my home. That is where I live.
    That is not a region. Where do you get a “region” from that description.
    He is talking about NON-DUALITY or ONENESS.
    Neither perception nor non-perception.
    And you interpret that to be a region.
    More proof you need a guru of the 4th type urgently

  48. Dungeness

    @ Just like if you experience a unicorn in a dream. there is no unicorn. you made it up.
    @ it was a dream character. there is no unicorn. period.
    Again though, that misses the point. However ephemeral and
    “made up”, a unicorn still existed for you in that moment. It was
    real. Others can confirm the unicorn sighting even if internally
    you doubt its reality. Maybe you have an intuitive flash that it’s
    all a dream. You tell the person beside you “Nah, I think we’re
    both just dreaming.”
    On waking, you find the unicorn wasn’t real. Neither was the
    person beside you. You spoke a partial truth without really
    understanding it fully. You suspected the unicorn but not the
    the other person in the dream.
    In the same way, we’re conversing with real people, not
    shadows on the blog. A blog audience is just as substantial
    as the unicorn spectator in our dream. On waking to fuller
    understanding, we know they existed only during our dream.
    Chattering hollowly that there’s only “Oneness” only reveals
    we don’t understand our dilemma in this creation. Those
    conversations we carry on with each other are indeed real.
    Pain, confusion, betrayal, friendship, love, awakening… it’s
    all real to us at our level of understanding.
    Someone at our level with a complete understanding of
    Oneness can help us though. They can babble with us
    about the nature of unicorns and, more seriously, a method
    to awaken. Offer meditative tools to retrace our steps home.
    Tell us how to get past the prison guards. Describe glorious
    regions beyond the cell walls. For some they’re are far more
    accessible than the run-of-the-mill phantoms prisoners see.

  49. Osho Robbins

    @BrianJi
    “It’s interesting how we’re both listening to the same thing yet I interpret it in a completely different way than you.
    You’re hearing this as – “you don’t have to do anything; you don’t have to do your meditation”.
    I hear this as – “you don’t have to do anything, other than what you’ve been told to do, which is your meditation” – BrianJi
    STOP – and listen.
    read each word.
    forget the past and what he said before.
    YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. PERIOD.
    tell me : and answer very carefully not like a robot.
    Is meditation a DOING?
    if is IS – then GSD just told blatant LIE!
    There is no way around this.
    Unless of course you just interpret words in any way you choose (which is what all the followers do)
    if meditation IS required
    then
    He CANNOT – I repeat – CANNOT – say
    “There is nothing to do”
    and if he DOES say that he has to IMMEDIATELY qualify it by saying “EXCEPT MEDITATION”
    but he didn’t.
    in fact – do yourself a BIG favour and go listen again
    you just might get it.
    He keeps on saying “You are ALREADY there”
    Why would he say that if is was not true?
    also understand this:
    If you are ALREADY there then is there anywhere else to go?

  50. Osho Robbins

    “You saying you are already one isn’t wrong. But it is like saying that that plank of wood over there is light and fire. Yes it is, but it must undergo a process to be light and fire” – Brian Ji
    This is what I mean about UNDERSTANDING being the first step
    right now you don’t understand – so the chance of realization happening is exactly ZERO
    regardless of how long you sit in meditation.
    What does understanding mean?
    It means that you stop qualifying
    you stop saying “But …..”
    one example
    SAB GOBIND HAI, SAB GOBIND HAI; GOBIND BIN NAHIN KOI
    All is GOD; All is GOD; there is nothing else.
    so – tell me WHO ARE YOU – if ALL is god?
    of course there CANNOT be a YOU if ALL is god!
    so you qualify the statement – you add your interpretation
    but remember YOU are adding it – it’s not there.
    just so you can avoid the statement.
    You will say “Yes but – ONLY when I realise it – until then it’s not true”
    so this allows you to avoid the statement – and carry on being a YOU
    nobody ever gets this passively.
    read the shabd
    Pavan mein pavan samaya…….
    page 885 granth sahib
    it says Brahm Gyani mil karo bichara
    – go and discuss this with the brahm gyani if you want correct understanding
    later it says
    Nah Ko Mooaa; na maranai jog
    neither does anyone die – nor can they POSSIBLY die
    because he is eternal

  51. Sonia

    @Osho
    You are not real. You do not exist. You are completely made up—a fiction of the mind. So how is it you are still posting comments?

  52. Osho Robbins

    “You are not real. You do not exist. You are completely made up—a fiction of the mind. So how is it you are still posting comments?” – Sonia
    You don’t understand the meaning of REAL / UNREAL?
    Real is that which remains forever.
    Unreal is that which is here for a while and then ends.
    so who I appear to be and who you appear to be are both unreal
    I am saying exactly what the gurbani is saying
    not sure why you are so confused when I say something so obvious.
    of course I am posting because this is the unreal world – i.e. maya
    just as you do things in the dream state (or your dream character does)

  53. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    Maybe you have me mixed up with someone else, but from my point of view gurus are the wrong way to go, a containment fence to keep from seeing the truth for oneself by trying to suck off someone else’s understanding, something that can never work.
    It sounds like we have different definitions of “sphere” and “region”. I am going by dictionary.com which defines “sphere” as: “the place or environment within which [some] thing exists; a field of activity or operation.”
    And also defines “region” as: “a large indefinite area or range of something specified; sphere.”
    In other words dictionary.com defines “region” as a “sphere”. They are listed as synonyms. I guess you have different definitions for words. That’s fine with me but if we are not going by the dictionary it makes communication difficult.

  54. Jim Sutherland

    A Conundrum for the Oneness Believers that have been convinced by OSHO that we are ALL ONE.
    If all drops that return to the Ocean are THE Ocean,…than that would prove that if I jump in to the No. Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia, USA, and OSHO jumps in to that same Ocean off the Coast of any where in the U.K. where he lives, exactly the same time I jump in, than does that prove Osho, the Atlantic Ocean and I are ALL ONE, and the same?
    No, it does not.
    Osho and I might both be IN the same Ocean, but we are NOT each other, or the Ocean, and THE Ocean is NOT us.
    Just imagine every individual Aquatic living being that resides in that same Ocean, that retains their individuality through out their lives.
    Consider ANY Electro Chemistry Solution, that contains many different chemicals to form the one, but as electro deposition takes place, each individual ingredient is depleted at different rations changing the consistency of the Solution ,which changes the Oneness of the original solution every Second in use.
    Same applies to the Oneness Ocean. Souls are born every second ,while other souls die , changing the consistency of the Ocean of life, so that not any of the souls become THE ONE.
    We all might return to be WITH the ONE,….but we NEVER become THE ONE.
    Jim Sutherland

  55. Jim Sutherland

    All created souls live for ever.

  56. Sonia

    @Osho,
    If you are notReal (as in you will not remain forever) then why can’t the inner regions exist as notReal also? They don’t have to be regions… call them whatever you want. The point is, in All of creation there are far more unreal things than this world and other worlds and spheres. There exists layer upon layer upon layer of notReality.

  57. Brian Ji

    @Osho
    You are stuck in believing GSD has said you don’t have to do anything. More importantly, ‘no meditation’. Maybe you had such a hard time doing it you’ve just convinced yourself with an easy way – I am already one, GSD says no meditation. Suits me.
    It seems you only hear the indoors Q&A (featuring Shahid Kapoor). Listen to the other Hindi/Punjabi Q&A held in the larger pandal. Each questions is about ‘Babaji I try my best but I have a hard time trying to sit in meditation”. Each answer is “I cannot do your meditation, you’ll have to do it, there’s no other way. You take it lightly because you don’t know the real importance of it. If you did you won’t come with excuses. You go to work, slog 10 hours a day because you know you have to do it, if you attended to your meditation with the same must do attitude you won’t say I try but can’t sit”.
    https://youtu.be/NEfX3n-VnoQ?t=62
    He’s talking about ‘karni’ or action, you’re talking about inaction – not doing anything, at all. Matter of fact you’re telling people here he himself has specifically said no need for any meditation, you’re already one.
    You keep talking about meeting a Brahm Gyani. Who is this Brahm Gyani? Meet them in the physical form, which is unreal/maya or inside? Which by your logic must also be unreal because they must be in the inner region – the Brahm Gyani must reside in Par Bramh – which is a region and hence unreal.
    You tell me “stop qualifying” yet you are qualifying someone as a Brahm Gyani. Who should go meet the Brahm Gyani? I? But I am one. How is Brahm Gyani different form me, if I am one? How can this meeting occur if I am already one?

  58. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    You cannot understand Buddha or nirvana or enlightenment by dictionary definitions, simply because what they are trying to communicate to you is beyond the words and beyond the mind.
    All attempts at communicating this, including mine, are hopeless, and are done only for entertainment purposes.
    https://youtu.be/-nSMi0whFEA
    The real truth is a discovery that is impossible to elaborate upon. The buddhas attempt is as feeble as mine.
    Just some people relate to a certain approach and that becomes their ticket out of the matrix.
    But that ticket it personal to them, others may not relate to it at all.
    Everyone lives in their own reality;
    In their own self created world.
    Created from their own concepts.
    Brain has written a brilliant piece in his latest article about the problem that religions claim to solve.
    “ Most religious people, though, fail to realize how thoroughly they’ve bought into the concepts of their faith. So thoroughly, they never question the reality of those concepts.
    Notions like God, heaven, sin, karma, soul, spirit, and such are discussed as if they possessed the same reality as trees, air, sunlight, water, dogs, and other entities that clearly exist.”

  59. OshoRobbins

    “ If you are notReal (as in you will not remain forever) then why can’t the inner regions exist as notReal also? ”. – Sonia
    Because I exist in this moment. Not forever, but in this moment. Unicorns do not exist except as a fabrication of mind. They have no reality even in this moment.
    In the same way regions, god, enlightenment, nirvana also don’t exist in this moment and are all fictional also.
    Anything that does not exist in this moment is fictional as far as we here as humans are concerned.
    Regions don’t exist at all. They are in the same category as unicorns and pink elephants.
    You can make up whatever you choose with the mind.
    That’s is what Brian is referring to in his latest article. Religions make up a problem and if you buy into the problem then you now need their solution.
    What the Buddha is offering is different. He creates no problem. But you have to connect with his way of thinking otherwise you will think that nirvana is yet another trap; yet another attempt to solve a fictional problem.

  60. Osho Robbins

    “ All created souls live for ever.‘“
    -Jim Sutherland
    This is a demonstrably false statement.
    Here is why:
    Anything that is created, HAS to end.
    That which is born has to die.
    Because everything within time and space will end.
    That is a principle.
    If it’s born, it will die.
    If it’s created, it will be destroyed
    Only the uncreated can remain and will remain forever.
    Nanak calls that Sach or truth
    Hence he says unborn and undying

  61. 271 Days Left

    @Osho
    I understand what you are saying about no concept being correct and people are attached to their concepts and have bought into their concepts with false notions.
    But it sounds like what you are saying is that my concepts are false, misguided and of no use, and your concepts of Atheism, no regions, no karma and your own professed need for a guru are correct.
    If we throw out all words, we have to throw out your knowledge about there being no regions too.
    Seems a little unfair to throw out my concepts as false and accept yours as real, and then say it can’t be discussed further because truth can’t be comprehended by words.

  62. Osho Robbins

    “ Most religious people, though, fail to realize how thoroughly they’ve bought into the concepts of their faith. So thoroughly, they never question the reality of those concepts.
    Notions like God, heaven, sin, karma, soul, spirit, and such are discussed as if they possessed the same reality as trees, air, sunlight, water, dogs, and other entities that clearly exist.”
    – Brian Hines in the article ‘What is the problem religions are trying to solve?’
    As soon as you BELIEVE a concept – it starts to act like a FILTER for all your thoughts, beliefs and life experience from that point onwards.
    You can no longer hear any statement as it really is – you will hear it only once it has been distorted by the filter.
    Hence 271 days quotes Buddha but cannot hear what Buddha is saying
    he ignores (deletes) all the bits that don’t fit and instead goes to a dictionary definition of the word sphere – just so he can be right in his concept that there are regions. Even GSD himself is saying in clear language that there are no regions. Nowhere to go …. etc.
    This is why a guru of the 4th type is needed who will not allow you to continue in your bullshit.
    If you continue in your deluded beliefs – whats the point of going to a master?
    If he is happy to allow you to continue with your delusional beliefs then he serves no purpose.
    The reason you need faith and love for the guru is so you have the ability to listen. No other reason.
    otherwise he is just a man like you – just another human. Worshipping him is pointless.
    You have to create the ability to listen by dropping your filter.
    271 days quoted from the buddha:
    Permanent regions are not something only in sant mat. Buddha too talked about a nirvanic region:
    “There is that sphere, monks,
    where there is no earth, no water, no fire, no air,
    no sphere of infinite space, no sphere of infinite consciousness,
    no sphere of nothingness, no sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
    no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun.
    There, monks, I say there is surely no coming,
    no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth.
    It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object,
    just this is the end of suffering.”
    Now let’s see everything that has to be deleted from these statements if you wish to hold on to your concept of regions despite what Buddha says
    1. no sphere of infinite space – he is saying there is no infinite space there – and without space there cannot be any ‘thing’ there – no you or me
    2. no sphere of infinite consciousness,
    He is purposely denying the idea of “infinite consciousness” because that is what people like to
    hold on to. The concept of infinite consciousness keeps you rooted in the idea that there will at
    least be something there: I might exist in SOME form. Buddha wants to remove that idea – because it comes from your ego – the notion that I WILL PERSIST in some form. You will not!
    3. no sphere of nothingness,
    Now Buddha is going even further. He will not even allow you to hold onto the concept of
    nothingness.
    So when I call it ONENESS or NOTHINGNESS – Buddha is saying I am being too generous
    it is not ONE and it not even ZERO. It is non-existence.
    4. no sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
    My god! The Buddha doesn’t even stop there. He is saying there is no perception.
    fair enough. But now he says – go further – there is not even non-perception.
    The only way now is to drop all effort to even try to understand.
    That is Buddha’s purpose: to get you to give up totally
    To get you to realise that you cannot understand. It cannot be captured by the mind
    because the mind doesn’t operate in the sphere (non-sphere)
    5. no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun.
    Buddha now makes his final appeal. After this – he is giving up on you. You are a hopeless case and even Buddha cannot help you if you miss it now.
    no “this world” – that one is easy to understand
    no “world beyond” – how the heck you can interpret this to mean a REGION is beyond me.
    no heaven, no hell, no region, no Sach Khand, nothing and not even no-nothing. beyond nothing.
    then he elaborates
    There, monks, I say there is surely no coming,
    no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth.
    matches GSD when he says “Nowhere to go” – but ignore your own guru and hold onto your concept – yet you claim to be a disciple. We’ve all done it – I did it all my life – until someone tapped me on the shoulder and said “You’re a fucking idiot. Wake up pal. You really think that you will meet god – where there IS no you and no god to meet.” That was bad enough a shock after 20 years of meditation and seeing inner lights / regions and radiant forms. Then he proceeded to prove to me from the very scriptures that I claimed to follow that I was mis-interpreting them. That I was creating my own bullshit.
    Only then did it dawn on me that I was deluded. Only after the correct understanding did the realization of it dawn.
    …. no persisting. no passing away. no rebirth
    Buddha is saying – you will no persist : he is saying your soul will NOT survive. It will no persist there.
    there is no passing away, no birth or rebirth. It’s all over. That is Buddha’s message.
    You will NOT survive.
    Like I have said before : the atheist is closer to the truth than the religious believer.
    Buddha is an athiest. He does not believe in a god.
    actually he is a hard athiest (not the soft version). He says there IS NO GOD. Period.
    finally he says:
    It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object,
    just this is the end of suffering.
    and we somehow interpret that to mean he is saying there are regions!
    How can there be regions when he has made it as clear as humanly possible that there is nothing
    and even beyond nothing. He leaves you nothing to hold onto and you grab hold onto “regions”
    and you say you don’t need a guru!
    the purpose of the guru is to find someone you can trust who will destroy the concepts that keep you holding on to untruths.

  63. Osho Robbins

    “You are saying that your concepts of Atheism, no regions, no karma and your own professed need for a guru are correct.”
    – 271 days left
    No – that is incorrect.
    Do you think Buddha is giving you a new concept to replace the old ones?
    No – he is removing your false concepts and not giving you anything to hold on to.
    Hence in his statement he is negating all the concepts you hold dear
    He is NOT replacing them with some new heaven. Some new region.
    “no regions” is not a new concept to hold on to
    It is a negation of the “there ARE regions” belief.
    “No karma” is not a new concept – it is a negation of the concept “there is a thing called karma”
    These are not new concepts to replace the old.
    The last one (my self professed need for a guru) is in a different category. It is my opinion. It is not a belief.
    You have take it or leave it – I have just given you lots of reasons why I hold that opinion.
    It is, however, an opinion. It’s not a concept and it’s not a fact. You can disagree with it.
    But understand I am not stating it as a dogma – as in sant mat.
    I am not saying you need a guru in the same way. I am saying it is very useful to have a guru of the 4th type
    mentioned earlier. It is only my experience. Doesn’t make it true or false – just my experience.
    Atheism is also not a concept or a belief.
    The atheist is only saying “You believe in a God – I don’t. prove it to me”
    I am not saying to accept any new concept.
    The final point you make about “can’t be discussed further” :
    Without realization of the Buddha’s truth – you will think he is giving you a new belief system
    When in fact he is taking it away.

  64. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    I think I get what you are saying. People stuck in religious concepts are deluded, backward, and confused; and people stuck in atheistic concepts are advanced, clear-headed, and correct.
    Have I summarized your viewpoint correctly?

  65. Sonia

    Osho,
    At this point (for your sake) who cares if there are regions or spheres. You’re obviously not going to any of them.
    Who cares if there are other planets in our galaxy because you’re not going to any of them either, unless you’ve worked something out with Musk.
    And as far as your concerned, Sirius must be a serious joke. I mean, how can it exist? How can anything exist in your world other than you? Obviously your house doesn’t exist. Your friends don’t exist. If you actually live in a home, then regions do exist. But as you describe it, you’re utterly homeless.

  66. anami

    Osho,
    For 30 years Baba Ji let our past masters speak for him. I wouldn’t take the Q&A’s as a new gospel, because youtube isn’t just for initiates and seekers. It forces Baba Ji to answer in very broad terms. If I knew nothing about Sant Mat and started with his Q&A’s, my takeaway about RS meditation would be that people do it for some vague awareness of the divine and strength to face their karmas, end of story. I think it’s the wrong place to expect special revelations.

  67. Osho Robbins

    “I think I get what you are saying. People stuck in religious concepts are deluded, backward, and confused; and people stuck in atheistic concepts are advanced, clear-headed, and correct.
    Have I summarized your viewpoint correctly?” – 271 days left
    No – absolutely not.
    that is your conclusion – not mine.
    What I have written is exactly my viewpoint – not the one you have concluded
    people stuck in any concepts (and i was there too) don’t realise that this is the case
    I am not condemning them.
    They are welcome to remain there if that is what they choose
    All I am saying is that there is a way out of the trap that they are not aware of
    because the concepts create the trap.
    for example – if you believe that your past karmas determine everything that happens to you – you will use that as an excuse to fail.

  68. Osho Robbins

    “At this point (for your sake) who cares if there are regions or spheres. You’re obviously not going to any of them.” – Sonia
    I have already been there. that is how I know they are creations of the mind in the same way that the mind creates dreams. They seem real in the moment – but they are created by the mind.
    Have you ever had a dream?
    Did it seem real while it was happening?
    but you know it’s not real, right?
    You know the dream ends and is not reality – it ends when you wake up.
    it only appears real while you are dreaming.
    so do you maintain that the dream is real?
    how will you define real?
    have you been to any regions? if not – then they are just a belief for you anyways
    if you have then you will know that you are creating the experience.
    just as you create the dream
    faqir chand openly used to say he travels to all the regions
    then he says – they are all fictional – created by the mind
    just as the radiant form is also a mind creation

  69. Osho Robbins

    “It forces Baba Ji to answer in very broad terms” – Anami
    however, if you watch the videos – they are not surfacy or general at all
    in fact he goes into great detail – more than in the normal Q&A sessions in public
    the whole conversation about “You are already there – there is no journey
    nothing to do – nowhere to go” – is not a general chit chat – it is very specific.
    Also – the videos are clearly edited – so if he says something that is not considered appropriate for the world to see – it will be edited out

  70. Dungeness

    @ You know the dream ends and is not reality – it ends when
    @ you wake up. it only appears real while you are dreaming.
    @ so do you maintain that the dream is real?
    @ how will you define real?
    But the experience of those fictional events is very real. Only
    the props in the scene aren’t. As you say, you’re terrified of
    the monster in a nightmare until you wake up. Powered by
    the soul though, the mind is able to create a fake movie
    scene for a thrill, a sensation.
    @ faqir chand openly used to say he travels to all the regions
    @ then he says – they are all fictional – created by the mind
    @ just as the radiant form is also a mind creation.
    But that same fictional radiant form can arrange a movie
    set to warn of danger, to guide us inside, to be the 24×7
    friend we all need and want. That is until we understand
    what’s happening within. We create those experiences
    ourselves. We are the directors of our movie.
    For instance, the story is told by Ishwar Puri of several of F.
    Chand’s disciples during WW1. Surrounded by the enemy,
    their guru’s radiant form appeared and led them to safety
    through a secret tunnel. The danger, the inner form, the
    tunnel were all contrivances. Afterward, they thanked him
    but he claimed to know nothing.
    A “fictional form” appeared to have saved them.

  71. Sonia

    “I have already been there. that is how I know they are creations of the mind in the same way that the mind creates dreams. They seem real in the moment – but they are created by the mind.”
    Osho, no one is arguing with your (above) statement! Is that your premise? OMG what is all this backing and forthing about??
    Yes, EVERYTHING is a creation of the mind. Everything except for the Shabd or One.
    I’ve just reached the conclusion that WORDS aren’t real. 🧐

  72. Spence Tepper

    Hi Osho
    You wrote
    “Have you ever had a dream?
    Did it seem real while it was happening?
    ” but you know it’s not real, right?
    “You know the dream ends and is not reality – it ends when you wake up.
    it only appears real while you are dreaming.
    ” so do you maintain that the dream is real?
    “how will you define real?”
    You only know its a dream because you wake up to this reality, which is more lasting and reliable. Then you view the dream and realize it was a plastic creation made of real things from your life, but seen only through the imagination. The dream is fleeting, but this reality is constant.
    If you had never woken up, you would be like someone in a coma for years, your entire life a series of dreams.
    The regions are real, and the proof is that when you awaken there, you see this tiny life as a fleeting, changing, plastic dream made largely of imaginary things, and a few real ones but seen only through the imagination.
    They are more real, in experience, than this place.
    But why believe anyone else? Go there. For real. Then when you can live in that higher state of consciousness in those regions, among the stars, beyond them, then you will know the real regions from the imagined ones. And you will not regard this place as real anymore.

  73. Osho Robbins

    Spence: You only know its a dream because you wake up to this reality, which is more lasting and reliable. Then you view the dream and realize it was a plastic creation made of real things from your life, but seen only through the imagination. The dream is fleeting, but this reality is constant.
    That is a great point. The dream is known to be unreal ONLY AFTER YOU AWAKE and realise it is just a fleeting vision – even though it appeared to be REAL in the moment.
    So point no 1: everything you experience APPEARS to be real in the moment.
    Because the dream may have lasted 15 minutes, but in those 15 minutes, you might have lived 15 years because in dreams TIME is distorted. You measure time by how much happens. If a lot happens – it takes a long time. In the dream state you can go to india, meet someone, get married, have kids, divorce them, and be back and marry someone else. You can do that in less than a minute.
    Because the imagination creates the experiences real fast, so a lot happens in a short time.
    Time is speeded up. 30 years here is just 30 seconds in the dream state.
    Those who practise lucid dreaming wake up in the dream state and can then also direct their dreams.
    The dream is only fleeting – once you wake up.
    In the same way – the state of ONENESS is permanent – as there is no space or time there. There is ZERO change. Nothing changes because there is nothing there to change and no time either. So it’s the ultimate permanent state because if there is no time at all, change is impossible. Change requires the dimension of time. Things requires the dimension of space. In the ONE – there is NO time and NO space.
    No things – that is why there cannot be a “individual soul” – there cannot be separation. There is only the ONE and nothing else.
    Hence those so say “We will then MERGE in the ONE” are mistaken – there is no merging. Nothing ever happens.
    Spence: If you had never woken up, you would be like someone in a coma for years, your entire life a series of dreams.
    Exactly. If you never wake up into the ONE, your existence will be a series of births and re-births because that is all you know.
    Spence: The regions are real, and the proof is that when you awaken there, you see this tiny life as a fleeting, changing, plastic dream made largely of imaginary things, and a few real ones but seen only through the imagination. They are more real, in experience, than this place.
    Exactly the same can be said for the dream state. While you are dreaming – it’s real and this waking life is unreal.
    Because you are experiencing the dream at the time – it’s happening and it’s real in the moment.
    The waking life by comparison seems unreal.
    Real / unreal is subjective. What you experience in the moment is real for you.
    What you call “inner regions” is nothing more than waking up in your dreams – conscious dreaming.
    Astral projection is the same thing. You have the same imagination and can create any reality you choose
    But you don’t have a body to take along with you – so things happen fast.
    Here you have a body and everything takes time : you can build a house in 6 months and it will take money
    In the astral you can build one ten times bigger in a few seconds and no money is needed.
    If you can imagine it – it happens. The dream state is the astral – just semi-conscious.
    And what you experience is conscious dreaming – or astral projection.

  74. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    You said:
    ‘ “no regions” is not a new concept to hold on to
    It is a negation of the “there ARE regions” belief.’
    From my viewpoint believing there are no regions is a belief, a concept held onto. When you are free of beliefs you are in an “I don’t know,” condition. A belief is when you are in a “I know,” condition.
    Thus if you have no belief about regions you say, “I don’t know, I have no beliefs one way or another.”
    If you have a belief, you say, “I know. There are definitely no regions. My belief is correct and opposing beliefs [in regions] are wrong.”
    It’s not possible to have an opposing belief to someone free of beliefs.
    By the way, do you happen to have the direct quote of Faqir Chand saying the Sach Khand regions are creations of the mind? Most shabd masters say the mind is dropped after Maha Sunn.

  75. Brian Ji

    Not sure why my comments take so long to get approved but by the time they’re published they’re lost too far at the top.
    @Osho, please read my last comment.
    **You keep talking about meeting a Brahm Gyani. Meet them in the physical form, which is unreal/maya? Or inside? Which by your logic must also be unreal because that must be in the inner region – the Brahm Gyani must reside in Par Bramh – which is a region and hence unreal.
    You tell me “stop qualifying” yet you are qualifying someone as a Brahm Gyani.**
    So who is this Brahm Gyani? The One? So since you are already One, are you a Brahm Gyani?

  76. Osho Robbins

    271 days
    the quote of buddha you wrote was:
    “There is that sphere, monks,
    where there is no earth, no water, no fire, no air,
    no sphere of infinite space, no sphere of infinite consciousness,
    no sphere of nothingness, no sphere of neither perception nor non-perception,
    no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun.
    There, monks, I say there is surely no coming,
    no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth.
    It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object,
    just this is the end of suffering.”
    do you consider that buddha is giving you a new belief?
    he is negating everything.
    “no this world, no world beyond”
    when I say there are no regions, I am not saying nobody experiences them.
    they do. I have too. same with the radiant form.
    what I am saying is the same as faqir – they are mind creations
    faqir:
    “During my stay in Baghdad I threw myself wholeheartedly in spiritual sadhana. I gave as much time as possible to inward practice (meditation) and led a life of complete celibacy. These sincere efforts of mine with a desire to know the Truth bore fruit and in the course of time I ascended all the inner regions and experienced the lights and sounds at each stage on the inward path. These inner fruits of my meditation filled me with joy and ecstasy. But in spite of this achievement I was not yet contented, because I wanted to realize the Truth which had prompted Swamiji Maharaj to condemn all religions.”
    “Faqir, you are yourself the Supreme Master of your time. Start delivering spiritual discourses to the seekers and initiate them into the path of Sant Mat. In due course of time, your own satsangis will prove to be your True Guru,’ and it is through your experiences with them that the desired secret of Sant Mat will be revealed to you.” Touched by these words, I experienced both joy and sorrow within me. Hazur noted both expressions on my face and asked for clarification. I humbly said, “Your Holiness, I am myself ignorant of the Truth, how can I lead others on this sublime path? And when the thought that I have become a degree holder and would deliver discourses and initiate people flashed within my mind, I felt that I had become something and thus a spark of joy.” Hazur then said, “Faqir, you may be suffering from ninetynine shortcomings, but one sure virtue of Truth which is within you will lead you to your goal in life. You will not only redeem yourself but will help many others to attain release.”
    Mark Juergensmeyer :
    What stages or regions did you reach within according to the Radhaswami faith?
    Faqir Chand :
    There are different stages, different colors and different sounds. I had seen all. But I was not satisfied with all this inward abhyas. So he gave me this work just to make me realize the Reality. When I came to this line as a guru or as a master my eyes were opened. Why? Because those who regard me as their guru and those who consider me as their master my image appears to them in their meditation, in their dreams and even in a state of wakefulness and guides them, whereas I remain unaware of all this.
    You understand me, what I am telling you? I want to be very frank with you. You have come for research. I am telling you my personal life. Daily I receive many letters. Some people write that I went there in an airplane to take a dying man; some say that I come on a horse; and others write that I come in a palanquin at the time of the death of a man, whereas I do not go anywhere. All what they see in meditaion,
    -101
    in dreams or in wakefulness, all proves to me that all what we see inside is nothing but subtle matter or illusion. I think you are following me.
    Mark Juergensmeyer :
    Then should one have a guru?
    Faqir Chand :
    Guru means knowledge; without guru we cannot achieve anything. Our mother is out guru, our father is our guru, our friend is our guru and the world around us is our guru. But the Real Guru who makes the Self free from the bondage of this world is called the Sat Guru. And to attain the Reality the Sat Guru must be a perfect man. Nowadays this guruism has become a source of earning one’s keep.
    Mark Juergensmeyer :
    You know, some people say that science is also a guru.
    Faqir Chand :
    Yes, science is also a teacher. But excuse me, unless someone is there to explain to you about it, you will not understand anything about it. Therefore, external guru is most essential and important. Although the knowledge is in the student, he cannot attain that knowledge without a teacher or a professor, who teaches him and makes him
    -114
    [come to] realize that knowledge which is within that student. But if the brain of the student is not capable and receptive then teacher or professor may do anything, he would not be able to understand it. Yes, anything else you want to ask ?

  77. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    Are you trying to say those quotes are what you are referring to as Faqir saying Sach Khand is of the mind only?
    Yes, he said sights you see in meditation are of the mind, but nowhere here is there anything like him saying Sach Khand and higher regions are of the mind only. (Sach Khand is not a sight you see in meditation).
    I kind of thought you were making that up.

  78. Osho Robbins

    “You keep talking about meeting a Brahm Gyani. Meet them in the physical form, which is unreal/maya? Or inside?”
    – Brian Ji
    A Brahm Gyani simply means a human who has realised the ONE brahm. Scriptures refer to such a person as a Brahm Gyani rather than titles like perfect master. Of course you meet such a person is the physical – because you are in the physical.
    The difference is the Brahm Gyani knows this is maya – his body is also maya – as is yours – as is everything here. However this is the only reality we know here – so that is where we get the realization. The realization is that this whole thing is unreal / maya.
    Just like in sant mat – you get initiated by a physical master even though the is maya and so are you.
    I am not saying anything new when I say that it’s all maya / unreal here. That is what the whole of sant mat is saying.
    Nanak kacharyan sio tor, dhund sajan sant pakiyan
    Nanak – leave the temporary ones here and hold onto the permanent sant.
    The sant is actually also no permanent – but the realization is!
    Naam actually refers to realization – not some sound.
    That’s why it says there are two types of naam
    Dhunakmik (real) and varanatmik (spoken / written)
    When I say “Only the ONE is real” that is varan – spoken – words.
    When you understand and it becomes YOUR truth – it’s dhunatmik
    Bulleh shah says:
    Oh Haadi (teacher / guru) mere andar bholiya
    Lar par gayi gunah
    That teacher has now spoken inside me (meaning it’s becomes my realization now)
    And that has freed me from sin / karma
    “the Brahm Gyani must reside in Par Bramh – which is a region and hence unreal.”
    – Brian Ji
    The Brahm Gyani does not reside there – he has REALISED Brahm (which is a reference to the ONE)
    Brahm does not have a region – it is impossible for there to be regions.
    Regions belong to MAYA
    ONE is simply ONE. Nothing there – no division, no souls, no region. Hindu scriptures call it “neti, neti”
    Neither this not that.
    These are all ways of communicating the same truth to those who cannot understand it.
    Listen to osho on the topic (the real one – not me – I just stole his name)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nSMi0whFEA&t=12s
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKOI_N-nvzM
    labels don’t matter to me
    I can label myself a Brahm Gyani if it is useful in the moment
    But in reality – I am nothing special – totally ordinary.
    Nanak: I am made of the 5 elements and people call me nanak.
    This is not humility – it is the truth.

  79. Solomon

    Path of hanging on the gallows by Baba Faqir Chand
    To reach that immortal Abode one has to dispel all worldly longing, thoughts, desires, and attachments.
    Now what is meant by hanging on the gallows in Sant Mat?
    When someone is punished to death by hanging, a rope is put around his neck from the gallows. The wooden plank is removed from beneath his feet, and he is suspended in the air with only a rope around his neck that throttles him to death. The accused gets no support whatsoever to his body, except the rope of the gallows.
    Likewise, in Sant Mat His Ahode is the gallows. Surat or Self is to he hanged to it with simran, dhyan, and bhajan (spiritual sadhana, interior meditation) and later to be suspended without any support of desire, longing, or even that of simran, dhyan, and bhajan, except with the string of Love.
    This is what I understand from the word “gallows.”
    O Fagir, these satsangis have taught you the method of hanging at the gallows. Only this experience of the manifestation of my form at different, places, of which I am never aware, has changed my life. .
    My experiences prove that Yogi, Meditator, Guru, Disciple, and even the aspirant of salvation are in bondage.
    Bondage means attachment of our surat (attention) to some thing, be it gross, subtle, or causal.
    Devotees of God are attached to their devotion and lost in it. They too are in bondage; the only difference is that some attachments are a source of joy, whereas others prove to be a source of worry.
    Those people who create my form with their mental forces to fulfill their worldly desires are not interested to know the Truth.
    They do not hang themselves on the gallows, because they depend on the support of my Form. Whereas to a man oil the gallows there is no support. This is the highest stage.
    Now I understand that all the lower centers (or inner regions from Sahansdal Kanwal to Bhanwar Gupha) are not the Reality. I
    It is all phantasmagoria.
    How did my delusion perish?
    Firstly, this realization that I do not manifest anywhere, removed the darkness of my mind.
    Secondly, when I ascend to the state of Light and Sound, I try to search out the object which sees the Light and listens to the Sound.
    But I fail to find its end. It is Infinite.
    What did I understand, Have I attained some extraordinary powers by reaching that state?
    No. I cannot treat my own ailments. Neither I nor any other saint could and can do anything.
    I reached this conculsion that this, is all His Will.

  80. 271 Days Left

    @Solomon,
    Nice quote from Faqir. Not sure what you are trying to say by posting it but I guess it illustrates my point that Faqir never came close to saying Sach Khand was of the mind. He says the lower regions “Sahansdal Kanwal to Bhanwar Gupha” are not Reality, in accordance with other shabd masters.
    Faqir seems like a very honest person and it is a pity David Lane tried to twist his words into something he never said. In this quote Faqir demonstrates his identity with form by saying his Light and Sound experiences cannot treat his ailments. [body identity]. This demonstrates that having such experiences does not undo the ego and is not liberation; something GSD has been saying for years.
    What does lead to liberation? Total surrender and Faqir has correctly mentioned that, although, he doesn’t appear to have applied it or he would have surrendered body identity which he clearly has not.
    All in all Faqir claims to be “unknowing” and to have no beliefs about what his mystical experiences mean, and that seems genuine, so I guess you could say Faqir is doing what Osho Robbins falsely pretends to be doing (having no beliefs).

  81. Sonia

    Thanks, Solomon. Was that 024?
    I don’t know if he’s speaking Hindi or Punjabi in those videos but I’m definitely starting to learning a new language (at least a little).

  82. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    okay – let me take out the key sentences for you
    All what they see in meditation, in dreams or in wakefulness,
    all proves to me that all what we see inside is nothing but
    SUBTLE MATTER OR ILLUSION.
    I think you are following me.
    now a little more detail:
    “During my stay in Baghdad I threw myself wholeheartedly in spiritual sadhana.
    I gave as much time as possible to inward practice (meditation) and led a life
    of complete celibacy. These sincere efforts of mine with a desire to know the
    Truth bore fruit and in the course of time I ascended all the inner regions and
    experienced the lights and sounds at each stage on the inward path.
    These inner fruits of my meditation filled me with joy and ecstasy.
    But in spite of this achievement I was not yet contented.
    Let’s pause here.
    First of all he is saying in very clear terms that he has been through all the regions.
    so the goal that all the followers are trying to achieve – he has already achieved.
    This is very important to understand because anyone who has achieved what you
    are SEEKING to achieve is ahead of you on your path. It’s a good idea to listen to them.
    So what is he saying? “I was not yet contented”
    he wanted to know why swami ji (and all gurus) condemn all the religions.
    next point: instead of saying, “It’s okay faqir, carry on with your meditation”
    Shiv Brat Lal (his guru) says:
    “Start delivering spiritual discourses to the seekers and initiate them into the path of Sant Mat. In due course of time, your own satsangis will prove to be your True Guru,’ and it is through your experiences with them that the desired secret of Sant Mat will be revealed to you.”
    Now this seems a bit strange.
    what is the “desired secret of sant mat?” that he refers to?
    all the followers seem to think it’s all about meditation and regions.
    but here he is saying something different.
    Shiv Brat lal then says
    “You will not only redeem yourself but will help many others to attain release.”
    Chand goes on……
    “When I came to this line as a guru or as a master my eyes were opened. Why? Because those who regard me as their guru and those who consider me as their master my image appears to them in their meditation, in their dreams and even in a state of wakefulness and guides them, whereas I remain unaware of all this.
    You understand me, what I am telling you?”
    this is a KEY point he is making: he is unaware of the inner visions and experiences of his
    disciples (even when they experience his radiant form).
    “Daily I receive many letters. Some people write that I went there in an airplane to take a dying man; some say that I come on a horse; and others write that I come in a palanquin at the time of the death of a man, whereas I do not go anywhere. All what they see in meditation,
    in dreams or in wakefulness, all proves to me that all what we see inside is nothing but subtle matter or illusion.”
    This is the nail in the coffin.
    he cannot make it any clearer.
    he is saying that he DOES NOT go to the disciples and knows nothing of it.
    he has no special power. he is an ordinary man.
    furthermore he is saying that it’s all an illusion
    everything you see in meditation is an illusion.
    and you are asking me “where does he say that sach khand is not real?”
    you say: “I guess it illustrates my point that Faqir never came close to saying Sach Khand was of the mind. He says the lower regions “Sahansdal Kanwal to Bhanwar Gupha” are not Reality, in accordance with other shabd masters.”
    show me where he says that? can’t you see you are making it up?
    you have a filter which does not allow you to hear him.
    what does “ALL WHAT WE SEE INSIDE …..” mean? does it exclude sach khand?
    did he qualify this with “Except Sach Khand…”
    no – except in your mind
    your conclusion from this is:
    “This demonstrates that having such experiences does not undo the ego and is not liberation; something GSD has been saying for years.”
    really?
    is that what you get from this?
    firstly: he is saying he has gone all the way to sach khand – not just “experiences”
    and where does GSD say that reaching the final destination of sach khand does not undo the ego?

  83. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    this is straight out of chand’s book “The secret of bhajan”
    based on his talk for harjit singh in london
    This is why Swamiji has said:
    Those who merge into Shabad (Word) without Satsang,
    consider them fools too.
    I don’t criticize, but today’s gurus – they don’t tell us anything. They keep
    repeating – Shabad, Shabad, Shabad, Guru, Guru, Guru. Look at the lives of
    Gurus. Nirankari guru died and gave his throne to his son. The Beas ones put
    their grandson on the throne. Hansa established his son as a successor.
    In this world, may Paramatma or supreme lord save us from these gurus. These
    gurus have fooled us and looted us. They did not tell the truth. But I don’t
    blame them. We people are not ready to listen to the truth.

  84. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    faqir chand writes:
    Leave aside the Saints, you put a wicked
    and immoral person on the seat of a Guru,
    develop faith in him, his form too shall manifest
    and help you like the manifested form of the
    great Saints.
    You are not helped by any Saint or Guru,
    but by your own faith and belief.
    It is your own faith that creates your experiences.
    The guru has no special power
    ultimately the realization is that there is nothing.
    there are many ways to that realization.
    the path is personal to each person because each of us created our own trap
    in our own unique way
    we were born free and untrapped.
    the trap is always created by our beliefs
    until we can see this clearly – we cannot get free.
    the sant mat follower, for example, has the firm belief
    that he is a soul or atman and he is separated from paramatma
    and he needs to meditate and go back and merge his soul back into
    the sea of sat purush
    as long as he holds that belief – that remains his trap.
    you read Buddha and create your own interpretation
    you cannot be blamed – it is impossible to see without your filter
    the filter is there and cannot be dropped.
    the function of a guru is that he drops your filters.
    for the first time you see without filters.

  85. Brian Ji

    Great links – thanks for sharing.
    Faqir Chand’s YouTube videos and old writings have always been good food for thought. Good stuff to munch on over the weekend.

  86. Osho Robbins

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRzT0qpbIqY&t=3105s
    this is his satsang at harjit’s house in london
    in it he says he has had discussions with many of the sant mat gurus
    he mentions charan and kirpal
    apparently kirpal agreed but said “your work is destructive and mine is contructive”
    to which chand replied – that I don’t contruct buildings – but i construct people’s lives

  87. Spence Tepper

    Hi Osho
    Why do you believe Faqir Chand?

  88. Spence Tepper

    Hi Osho
    You wrote
    “In the same way – the state of ONENESS is permanent – as there is no space or time there. There is ZERO change. Nothing changes because there is nothing there to change and no time either. So it’s the ultimate permanent state because if there is no time at all, change is impossible. Change requires the dimension of time. Things requires the dimension of space. In the ONE – there is NO time and NO space.
    No things – that is why there cannot be a “individual soul” – there cannot be separation. There is only the ONE and nothing else.”
    That can’t be this world because here time is real and evidence of it is all around.
    You must be talking about another place. Not this one. Another One. Not the one science tells is has time and motion.

  89. Solomon

    During meditation when the mind of a disciple gets concentrated by love and faith, then the very form that the disciple has faith in (saint, Guru) manifests within to help and guide.
    In the Ramayana this principle of manifestation has been mentioned:
    ‘Ja Ki Rahi Bhavna Jaisi, Prabhu Murat dekhi tin Jaisi.’
    This means that in whatever form a devotee feels and loves the divine, in the same form that formless divinity will manifest.

  90. Spence Tepper

    Hi Solomon
    Could the Ramayana be wrong about that?

  91. 271 Days Left

    @Osho,
    So we are all in agreement that reaching Sach Khand does not end the ego, does not bring contentment, and is not the end of the path. Faqir Chand is in agreement with this and expresses it in many places. Basically, Faqir said it did nothing for him. It didn’t bring satisfaction or an end to problems. We are all in agreement with that. It is just an experience that comes and goes.
    So Faqir reached Sach Khand and it didn’t undo the ego. We have many examples of gurus that have reached, [that is to say experienced] cosmic realms and continued on with egoic ways such as Paul Twitchell, Thakar Singh, too many to even start listing.
    Because reaching Sach Khand does not undo the ego, it does not bring permanent satisfaction… that does not mean it doesn’t exist.
    2. If I have an experience of let’s say heroin it may be extremely ecstatic and wonderful. But that experience doesn’t change me in any way other than causing me to want to repeat it. Nisargadatta gave a wonderful quote about this. He said in essence:
    The lust a man may have for a woman is innocence itself compared to the lust yogis have for ecstatic energy experiences.
    So having experiences does nothing for realization. Why? Because it doesn’t eliminate the sense of separate identity [ or if it does, does so only temporarily and when the mind is picked up again all false beliefs are picked up with it.]
    This is why Zen Buddhists describe kundalini yogis as lost in makyo, that is to say, distracted by energy. Energy experience is not realization. Does that mean they don’t exist?
    3. And that’s where we get to the heart of the matter which is paradox. Nothing exists except consciousness. It is not that you and I exist and have consciousness. No, there is only consciousness. Anyone can say that but few can totally get that. But the point is paradox. Yes, the table, headphones, and regions exist. And no, nothing exists except consciousness which can take the form of a table, headphones, and regions. That’s why a master may say to one person regions don’t exist and then encourage others to reach them. Some want to undo the ego. Some want energy higher realm experiences. There’s room for everyone. It depends on what you want.

  92. 271 Days Left

    @Osho, {Sorry this was supposed to be the first part of the previous message)
    It seems like you have a few issues conflated and confused. Let’s see where we are in agreement.
    1. Reaching Sach Khand does not bring contentment, full realization, nor does it end the ego. I think we are in agreement with that right? GSD said this too. I asked him at the mic one day:
    Q:Does reaching Sach Khand undo the ego?
    GSD: No.

  93. Sonia

    Posted by: 271 Days Left | October 01, 2020 at 08:57 PM
    Posted by: 271 Days Left | October 01, 2020 at 09:00 PM
    @271
    I read both of your comments and my head just exploded. I get it, I really do. But it was a shock to hear. Makes sense though. It’s in line with what other philosophies teach.
    Started Faqir’s book and I’m at the part where Hazur tells Faqir he may have 99 problems but truth isn’t one of them. LOL

  94. Solomon

    Hi Solomon
    Could the Ramayana be wrong about that? Posted by: Spence Tepper |
    Hello Spence
    No the Ramayana is not wrong.
    On the path of Sant Mat disciples are told to visualise the form of the Living Guru and develop love and faith for him.
    The divinity or higher self within – that takes the form – not the external guru coming in – now this doesnt mean that the Living Guru is fake – its how the system is designed.

  95. Sonia

    @ You know the dream ends and is not reality – it ends when
    @ you wake up. it only appears real while you are dreaming.
    @ so do you maintain that the dream is real?
    @ how will you define real?
    But the experience of those fictional events is very real. Only
    the props in the scene aren’t. As you say, you’re terrified of
    the monster in a nightmare until you wake up. Powered by
    the soul though, the mind is able to create a fake movie
    scene for a thrill, a sensation.
    @ faqir chand openly used to say he travels to all the regions
    @ then he says – they are all fictional – created by the mind
    @ just as the radiant form is also a mind creation.
    But that same fictional radiant form can arrange a movie
    set to warn of danger, to guide us inside, to be the 24×7
    friend we all need and want. That is until we understand
    what’s happening within. We create those experiences
    ourselves. We are the directors of our movie.
    For instance, the story is told by Ishwar Puri of several of F.
    Chand’s disciples during WW1. Surrounded by the enemy,
    their guru’s radiant form appeared and led them to safety
    through a secret tunnel. The danger, the inner form, the
    tunnel were all contrivances. Afterward, they thanked him
    but he claimed to know nothing.
    A “fictional form” appeared to have saved them.
    Posted by: Dungeness | September 29, 2020 at 04:12 PM
    Wonder of wonders… 🙂
    How we behave shows what we believe. And yes, Osho is right, ones rigid beliefs become an impenetrable filter. That’s why one should always evaluate what is being said. We should evaluate our own behaviors and thoughts on a daily basis.
    I’m getting the impression from all of these comments that there needs to be a consensus on the very definition of enlightenment.

  96. Osho Robbins

    @Spence
    “The state of ONENESS is permanent – as there is no space or time there.
    There is only the ONE and nothing else.” – Osho R
    That can’t be this world because here time is real and evidence of it is all around.
    You must be talking about another place. Not this one. Another One. Not the one science tells is has time and motion. – Spence
    I am not talking about this world.
    I am talking about the same as what Nanak is talking about
    “Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach, hai be Sach, nanak hosee bi Sach”
    “Was true in the beginning and will be true through the ages, is true now and will be forever” – basically means – ALWAYS and permanent. i.e. beyond TIME and SPACE.
    there is nothing in this world that has those attributes.
    That is the state of ONENESS. It cannot be described because there is nothing there.
    no you, no me, nothing except the ONE. Even to say there is ONE is a lie because
    the ONE is not a thing. It is endless. The gurbani is full of these statements.
    this world = duality. (things, opposites, time, space, born, dies, etc)
    The ONE = non-duality (no time, no space, no soul, no thing, no division)
    your other question: Why do I believe Faqir Chand?
    ans: I don’t. He has a few things right. I certainly am no fan.
    Otherwise I would have changed my online name to Faqir Osho Robbins Chand.
    I happen to agree with a lot of his observations.
    for instance he says he has been to all the regions and at the same time he says
    it is all illusion – creation of the mind. Just like he says radiant forms are creations of your
    own mind – not something the guru consciously places in you.
    whatever you experience is a creation of your own mind.
    just like in the dream state:
    it appears like it is REALLY happening.
    bur actually the entire dream and everything that happens in the dream
    is created by your own subconscious mind. No external power or being creates the dream.
    many years ago I met Baba Kehar (Tarn Tarn). Son of Partap Singh who used to give satsangs at beas – on the state – while charan singh sat next to him. They had a special affiliation with beas. anyway – he was the son and successor of partap singh.
    He was in London and I went to see him. It was in someone’s house.
    I asked one question: “It is said that saints know everything. can you elaborate? RIght now – what do you know?”
    He was taken aback by my question.
    He asked me to sit on the ground in front of him and repeat the question.
    I did.
    He then said “Never has anyone asked me such a question.
    I will reply like nobody has ever replied.”
    then he goes on to say “I know nothing. nothing at all. Nor does any other guru.
    if some disciples of mine dies right now – I cannot go to take care of him because I
    dont even know he has died. There is no “all knowing” – it is a lie.”
    we became good friends after that and I would meet him every time he came to the
    UK. I always told him I have the greatest respect for him because he told me the truth.
    Once I sat on the bed next to him and he said “the disciples don’t like it when you do that”
    “The question is – do you have a problem? not the disciples.” I replied
    “I don’t mind, but they think it is disrespectful” he said
    “They call me a sant” he added
    “Yes – but I consider you my friend – I dont care about sant etc”
    he would tell me things he never told anyone.
    Like what he did when people came to him asking for “a son” etc
    he gave them a bottle of blessed water and I asked him what power he had
    to be able to bless the water. He told me what he never tells anyone.
    I have respect for those who speak the truth – like faqir chand

  97. Sonia

    From my experience (and this will mean very little to anyone else because it’s just my experience) love is a stronger force than reason. As much as I enjoy intellectual banter and cleverness, in the end the heart always wins. I think that says more about human beings than all of the great minds combined can truly fathom. What lies beneath every object of our love is a lesson. We are naturally attracted to the things in life that will somehow aid in bringing us self awareness. We learn through relationships. We learn through bad experiences and the mistakes that we make. We also, if we’re lucky, learn from the experience of others.
    It’s really all one big lesson, right? I mean, meditation is a lesson. You might be able to still your mind to the point where you can hear an ant walking across the floor (I found that funny) but you’re still learning.
    The Buddhist definition of enlightenment:
    the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight, in particular (in Buddhism) that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth.

  98. Sonia

    So many people view this world as a karmic prison. I guess you can look at it that way if you want but I see it as a school. Some courses are difficult. But, IMO, it’s better to look at a bad situation as a learning experience than to take the stance that you’re a victim of karma.

  99. Osho Robbins

    @Solomon
    Great comments.
    I agree. The mind creates the vision.
    If I have love for kirpal – the image of kirpal will manifest, not charan.
    If I am a Christian – I will see jesus – not mohammad or kirpal.
    The mind creates the visions – just as the mind creates the dreams we have.
    Famous story of Ramakrishna and his visions of the holy mother.
    Totapuri came and told you “you are screwed”
    (slight paraphrasing by me for entertainment purposes)
    Totapuri said “as long as there is a vision, you cannot enter oneness. You will
    Remain in duality” Then he told him how to destroy the inner vision
    how to kill the buddha (but in this case – the holy mother)
    you have to kill the object of your devotion to enter oneness.
    there is no space for both to enter
    the path of devotion and love is just up to the gates of oneness.

  100. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    Great comments.
    “reaching Sach Khand does not end the ego, does not bring contentment, and is not the end of the path.”
    First let’s address this point.
    According to sar bachan and according to the sant mat teachings, Sach Khand is the highest region. There is no trace of material at that region. The lower regions are a mixture of spiritual and material.
    Sach Khand, according to Sar Bachan, is a pure spiritual region, where sat purush resides. It is divided into alakh, agam and anami.
    Alakh simply means that is cannot be described
    Agam means there is no suffering there
    Anami means “no name”
    They say these are beyond the mind and pure regions.
    So every devotee wants to get there. Who wouldn’t.
    It was my ambition as a child to go to sat purush and have a nice chat over tea.
    Until I discovered he didn’t drink tea. But not the end of the world – maybe coffee will do.
    But then, I later discovered he doesn’t entertain guests, or have chats.
    My first thoughts were “Why the heck not? Is he anti-social?”
    Then I was told: “no – it’s worse – he has no form – he cannot be seen”
    “What? An invisible God?”
    Then the final nail in the coffin:
    “He doesn’t even exist and nor do you. The meeting cannot be scheduled at all.
    Firstly there is no meeting room – as there is no space there.
    Secondly – we cannot schedule the meeting because there is no time
    (not that he is too busy – literally there is no time – time doesn’t exist)
    Thirdly HE doesn’t exist as he has no form – he is formless
    Fourthly – you don’t exist either – you too are formless
    So good luck with that meeting – it clearly aint gonna happen – ever.
    Unless you take birth and enter duality then you can have all the meetings you want
    I walked away disappointed

  101. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    I went off on a tangent – let me get back to the topic
    “reaching Sach Khand does not end the ego, does not bring contentment, and is not the end of the path.”
    we have to accept that it USED to be the end of the path.
    certainly all the older satsangis believed and still believe it IS the end of the path.
    Sat purush says is also to Paul Twitchell in “The tiger’s fang”
    He says “Beyond ME there is nothing – this is the end of the journey”
    so just imagine – you work hard, you meditate and get to Sach Khand
    now you are told – this is not the end – you still have an ego – more work to do.
    it’s going to be a real downer. after all that hard work – more work. holy crap!
    Sach khand is not the end – is going to be a real shock to those who have spent their entire life trying to get there
    which brings me to the next point – the point about existence
    what is existence? what do we mean by “exists” or “doesn’t exist?”
    deserves a comment of it’s own – see you on the next comment

  102. 271 Days Left

    @Sonia
    Funny.
    Yes, a different orientation. Most people are searching for delightful experiences and the most delightful ever are shakti/shabd experiences.
    But if we become dissatisfied with temporary experiences that come and go we need a different orientation. In that case, instead of orienting toward the hope of some ultimate final all-encompassing experience, our orientation changes toward awakening to the truth of what is always already here. In that case, our business is with the still-point that never changes and we discard any experience that comes and goes …so Sach Khand is out the window. It doesn’t mean it is not a possibility, it just means it is irrelevant to enlightenment.
    “Still-point” doesn’t mean a point, it means the still silent place in which all experiences come and go, like the screen on which a movie plays.

  103. 271 Days Left

    There is a Nasrudin story in which a barber asks his customer if he wants a “singe” with his haircut.
    “What is a singe?”
    “We singe the ends of your hair with heat so the life force doesn’t leak out and your hair grows back stronger.”
    The man says, “Look I cut my beard all the time and it always grows back strong, I don’t think I need it.”
    The barber says, “Ok, I guess that story is not for you.”
    If you are interested in enlightenment the Sach Khand story may not be for you.

  104. anami

    Am I alone in supposing Shiv Brat Lal named Faqir Chand “Supreme Master of his time” to make him go away?

  105. Osho Robbins

    @271
    Your comments are getting more interesting.
    I might consider retiring now.
    Easier just to read yours.
    Any more nasrudin stories?
    Osho was always telling them
    You are right. We like to hear about Sach Khand etc.
    Slowly we grow up and become mature
    Now those stories are like kids stories and toy cars
    Now we want a Ferrari
    So now we seek a different brand of spiritual whisky.
    But we are always seeking
    Until one day we drop dead
    Then we discover the truth
    But we are not there to celebrate the discovery

  106. Osho Robbins

    @271 days left
    “Because reaching Sach Khand does not undo the ego, it does not bring
    permanent satisfaction… that does not mean it doesn’t exist.” – 271 days
    that is correct – it doesn’t say anything about it’s existence.
    You then say:
    “So having experiences does nothing for realization. Why?
    Because it doesn’t eliminate the sense of separate identity”
    That is a very significant statement to make.
    So then HOW does the sense of separateness get eliminated?
    The answer has been here all the time.
    Do you remember my “constant references to Brahm Gyani”?
    Therein lies the answer.
    What is gyan? Gyan means to know – to acquire knowledge of.
    So let me start with something basic.
    Is fire HOT? – yes – of course
    So if someone says “bring me some ice cold fire”
    You know it’s not possible because the nature of fire is heat.
    There cannot be ice cold fire.
    That is called gyan. You cannot be tricked – you know the nature of fire.
    So now another example
    What is the nature of mind?
    If you focus for just a while, you will discover what the nature of the mind is
    That it is never still. It moves, it is like a monkey.
    It is against it’s nature to be still.
    So only a fool will attempt the impossible.
    Yes – it can APPEAR to be still – but that is delusion.
    So now you know the mind cannot be stilled – you wont try anymore.
    So there is something else – you can realise that you are NOT your mind.
    So what changes is the IDENTIFICATION – not the mind itself.
    You drop the notion that YOU are the mind. So the mind can carry on (as indeed it will)
    And you can simply WATCH it – you don’t have to go with every thought.
    This is the process of meditation when done correctly.
    But if you don’t know this – you are trying to do the impossible. still the mind.
    This is what gyan means – to discover the truth for yourself
    Then you cannot be deluded anymore.
    so now let’s examine EXISTENCE.
    my definition is: only that EXISTS which exists forever
    the rest is maya – temporary existence – in the moment only
    so everything we see is temporary – maya – unreal – momentary
    including regions, visions, shabd, naam, eveything.
    if you can point to it – it’s maya
    truth is eternal – beyond time and space
    you cannot experience it because all experiences requires two
    the experiencer and the thing to be experienced
    so now – you will no longer seek an experience of it.
    it is impossible
    instead you will realize the meaning of eternal and the meaning of maya
    you and I live here in maya – we cannot see god

  107. Osho Robbins

    @Sonia
    “Love is a stronger force than reason”
    “the heart always wins”
    If you examine closely what love is, you will be surprised.
    think about everyone you currently claim to love in some way.
    maybe a strong friendship, maybe a life partner.
    now tell me in simple terms:
    if that person treats you badly – has no respect for you
    and you don’t feel good in their presence anymore.
    will the love remain? what if they abuse you? are violent towards you?
    how long will your love last?
    is there really such a thing as unconditional love?
    and if there are conditions, then is it even love?
    all great love and friendship starts from some benefit.
    even on the sant mat path – you get the idea that the guru loves you.
    so you dont see him as a human – he has special capacity to love.
    but now talk to the singh brothers and they will give you a different take on it
    based on their experience. I can guarantee they dont follow GSD and consider him
    their master anymore.
    same with the babani incident. He openly told the world “the guru is not hungry for your wealth – as he has the wealth of naam” until it came to his own flat – and suddenly it’s not even his flat anymore. he died a deprressed man because what he believed was just not true. where did his immense love go?
    he was an exceptional disciple and a close associate of charan singh.
    what about all the farmers who have lost their land because of dishonest practices to take their land at low prices?
    surely if rssb wants to expand, they have enough money to pay market value to the local landowners? why take advantage of poor people?
    until it happens to YOU – you can make up all kinds of nonsense.
    so when the incident happened to me personally at haynes – I witnessed first hand the truth – even sevadars ignored me as the sevadars were assaulting me
    even the head person in charge of Haynes Park was there and ignored it.
    yet satsangis cannot see anything wrong because it hasn’t happened to them
    when it does – nobody will listen to them either
    because every satsangi is selfishly following his own path and is not interested in truth.
    but the truth is – they are all following selfishly – trying to get to sach khand.
    the thing they seek cannot be found that way

  108. ...

    Osho nobody ever thought Sach Khand was a place.

  109. Sonia

    @Osho
    When you can love someone without expectations then that is true love. That’s why I say love goes beyond reason. You don’t love someone because they are anything in particular. You just love them basically for no reason.

  110. Sonia

    Look at the sky.
    What do you see?
    Different shapes and colors from different views.
    But it’s still the sky.
    Still serving the same purpose.

  111. Sonia

    How ridiculously easy is it to love “God” because he’s “perfect”. Our love for God is the epitome of Conditional love. Would you love a God that is imperfect?
    True love / perfect love / complete love (call it what you want) just Is.

  112. Osho Robbins

    @sonia
    I agree with the ideal of love you write about,
    But practically If unconditional love is tested, will it remain?
    If the person you love treats you badly, don’t you think the love will very quickly evaporate?
    Look at those who professed great love for GSD, and when all the news came out those same people turn against him
    So was it really unconditional?

  113. Sonia

    @sonia
    I agree with the ideal of love you write about,
    But practically If unconditional love is tested, will it remain?
    If the person you love treats you badly, don’t you think the love will very quickly evaporate?
    Look at those who professed great love for GSD, and when all the news came out those same people turn against him
    So was it really unconditional?
    Posted by: Osho Robbins | October 02, 2020 at 04:21 PM
    That’s just it, the mind can’t love unconditionally. Would GSD’s follower still live him if he confessed to being guilty? The majority of them would not, but there are some who would.
    Unconditional love is rare and it’s always tested… and it’s something that comes from within. We can’t truly love anyone or any being until we get outside of our mental constructs of right and wrong. That may sound very “wrong” but that’s why I say we have a lot to learn about love. We’ve got it all wrong.

  114. Osho Robbins

    @sonia
    Well you’re going to love this.
    The very first question is about right and wrong.
    https://youtu.be/jc9OC_Ebcbg
    Only thing is, his answer is wrong.
    The question was
    When one act is right for one and wrong for another, what really is right or wrong.
    The answer is really simple.
    “When you act in your own self interest and take advantage of another, that is wrong, even though you might feel it is right. Do what is best for everyone. Create a win-win solution. Go beyond just your own selfish needs. Consider the other also. Don’t do to another what you would not like done to yourself”
    That would have been the answer
    Then he can finish with
    “ in the ultimate sense there is no right and wrong because we always think from our own perspective. A Muslim eats halal meat, a Christian another type, and RSSB followers don’t eat meat at all. Each one considers he is right.
    A child can hit someone over the head with a hammer and kill them without knowing what he is doing. He was only playing. You cannot call it wrong because there was no intention behind it.
    You are born innocent because there is no right and wrong.
    Then you are taught right and wrong. Then the trap is set.
    As soon as god said “don’t eat of THIS tree, the trap was set because now that is wrong
    Interestingly the tree has a name
    The tree of the knowledge of
    Good and Evil
    Meaning
    That before Adam and Eve ate the fruit
    They did not know right or wrong
    They were innocent
    You too are innocent if you go beyond the self created right / wrong
    But that does not mean take advantage of others
    That would have been the “right” answer
    And satisfied the questioner

  115. Osho Robbins

    If the mind can’t love unconditionally
    That is the only rational way to live.
    You always decide using the mind.
    If you don’t you are irrational and won’t be happy.
    The mind is the instrument of logic and stops you acting in a silly way.
    If you live according to your heart, and disregard the mind, you will make dangerous decisions.
    We have a mind for a reason
    The few who would still follow
    Are following for their own reasons
    Not out of unconditional love.
    They are following because they don’t want to give up on their hope for spiritual emancipation and they think he has the key.
    They don’t love him, they just want the key to the heavens.
    If he gives them the key they will immediately leave.
    He knows this too. Which is why he will not hand over the key.
    The moment he hands it over, he is not needed.
    This is what faqir is saying.
    If gurus tell the truth, they won’t build up large sangats
    They will set people free and the people will leave.
    The guru I went to told me
    “I don’t collect disciples. Just come, listen, and get the truth. Don’t remain. Realise the truth. There is only one. Then leave”
    He doesn’t allow people to stay. He will send them away.
    Once he finished with me, which took four days, I never met him again. I wanted to, to at least thank him.
    But he said “I am just a sign post. You don’t need to thank the sign post, just use it to find your way. And go on your way. I am not your guru. I will not disable you”

  116. Osho Robbins

    Which is beautiful. Take what you need. Realise the truth. You don’t owe me anything. Not even a thank you.
    That is unconditional love that a true guru can give if he is not needy.
    Set people free and get them to leave and live from their own light, from their own truth.
    Don’t keep them around.
    The saying is
    “If you meet the Buddha on the way, kill him”
    The saying is because if you meet anyone, you are still in duality.
    But a enlightened person will not have to kill the Buddha. He dropped him at the moment of enlightenment. After enlightenment the Buddha is not needed.
    He himself also does not become a new Buddha. He is only a tool to take others to the same truth.
    If you become attached to being the Buddha, that becomes your new trap.
    That is why Jaimal told sawan
    “Don’t build all this here. If you do, it will become your own trap. Today many are trapped. Gurus cone to set you free, not to create yet another trap.
    Already there are too many traps. We don’t need another

  117. 271 Days Left

    @Sonia,
    From my viewpoint “love” is the wrong way to go. That sounds a bit strange after all, love seems to be our essential nature. So why would someone say it’s the wrong way to go?
    Let’s say there are a bunch of “front sides of coins” all together. Because they are all “fronts,” naturally they love each other but they are all suspicious of “back sides of coins.”
    They are told to love “backs” and they attempt to; but because they are different from “backs” they can never really love them. So what is the solution? Try harder to love “backs?”
    No, they need to see the situation clearly. When they see that they are not “fronts” but actually the whole coin, then they no longer have to make efforts to love “backs.” They discover they ARE “backs”; in fact, they are the whole coin.
    Just like you need to make no effort to love your arm, now all efforts to love “backs” have ended.

  118. Osho Robbins

    6 mins into the same video
    https://youtu.be/jc9OC_Ebcbg
    “It’s just an awareness, just a realisation.
    You can’t be taught spirituality. It has to be experienced. It has to be awakened from within you. “
    She then says “the only experience is the experience of the shabd”
    He says life’s experience will take you towards that creative power.
    As soon as you mention “shabd” the trap is set again. Now you will seek shabd.
    When really you need to understand the nature of ONE. Once you understand ONE then you cannot remain.
    From that understanding comes realisation which is beyond just understanding.
    Understanding can be mistaken
    Realisation cannot.
    Understanding comes from outside, from another, it is varanatmik Naam.
    It is heard but hasn’t become your own personal truth yet (what he calls experience)
    Then it becomes your own realisation
    Which is called dhunatmik Naam
    That is what he is referring to when he says
    “It has to come from within”

  119. Hey Osho – re beliefs and filters particularly in regard to RSSB/SMat. Thanks for the reminders and input. It’s interesting that quite a number of posters here continue to inform their comment through notions of things such as karma, reincarnation, perfect masters and separate souls. It appears such things are held sacrosanct/considered obvious and left unchallenged. The ‘banished’ soul story continues to get up my nose and just doesn’t make sense.
    In traditional terms 777’s recent comment on Jeevas makes more sense – Jeevas being ‘soul’ + ego. My interpretation is that there is no separation in reality only belief in such.
    Another useful perspective is that of ‘bound’ soul. I.e. that which is unbound becomes bound by belief and is in a contracted state so to speak. Here consciousness is a more useful term in my view. The whole thing is less about saving and more about realising.
    Hi Sonia – I looked at that clip from Pink Martini the other day. Though not really my thing (prefer rock music) I thought it was ‘nice’ especially the end. And yes all this stuff about consciousness – there’s no end to it is there? …. 🙂

  120. Osho Robbins

    @Tim Rimmer
    Nice to hear from you , Tim.
    GSD’s comment (noted in an earlier post) that “We are already there – nowhere to go – nothing to do” is the KEY.
    what does ALREADY mean?
    it means the thing we are seeking to do – go and merge into the ocean of sat purush – is already DONE. it was ALWAYS the case and will be always the case.
    what does this really mean.
    it means the merging is not needed because there was no separation
    in the ONE – there cannot be separation. So this life is akin to the dream state.
    in a dream we experience all kinds of things – but the reality is we are simply asleep
    on the bed – and nothing has happened. everything that happened in the dream
    didnt really happen – that what I mean by unreal. even though it DID happen within
    the dream.
    all the characters in my dream are fictional characters created by me (unconscuously)
    in reality there is only me (one) asleep on the bed.
    so this world in the same.
    the ONE has gone to bed (metaphorically speaking) and this world we see and all the characters are his dream. So our real form is the same ONE who is sleeping.
    but even more accurate – we don’t exist – we are dream characters.
    so that means we are already the ONE
    but more accurately – we don’t exist and only the ONE is!
    once you ‘get’ this – all striving ends. all desires end. all seeking ends.
    you cannot unite with god because there is no YOU.
    you don’t need to meditate to figure this out.
    and it’s NOT a belief – even though you think it’s a belief as you read this.
    because for YOU it is just a belief.
    after realization – it’s no longer a belief.

  121. Sonia

    @Osho
    @271
    I guess my point is, I think for most people (and I’m speaking from experience as well) we love the Master very conditionally. He has to be perfect by our standards. Let him offend you once and you throw out all the good things he’s done. If he makes mistakes then people discount all he has done to help the sangat and the community. They discount all of his hard work and dedication.
    How selfish is that? How many people actually work that hard to better the lives of other people. And if we have a problem with him then we should do whatever we can to address that with him instead of discrediting him. To me, that is love.
    Our idea of perfection is almost destructive. It can be very destructive in fact. Why should anyone have to live up to everyone’s idea of perfection? That’s craziness.
    It’s like my brothers best friend. He was the “perfect” one. Sure he was a little mischievous when they were kids but they all were. But he grew up quickly and did everything by the books. He was the one everyone looked up to. He was the mentor. Even in his last years when no one knew about his depression other than his wife, he was always writing words of encouragement and doing things for others. He’s the last person anyone would think would commit suicide. I know a lot of people who if they commits suicide it would of course be tragic and heart breaking but you could look at their lives and say… yes, I can see why they were depressed.
    But depression and suicide are more prevalent in perfectionists. I think disappointment is as well. If you get comfortable with failure you might be a lot happier. That was sort of sarcastic but there’s truth in it.
    Okay, I digress, I know GSD isn’t depressed or suicidal. I just got sidetracked onto the whole idea of perfection and the negativity of perfectionism and the totally unexpected death of my brothers best friend (who was a big part of our family) threw me into a bit of a depression—not the clinical kind, just very sad.
    Ummm… my mind is all over the place. But bottom line I think we make the mistake of having unrealistic expectations of the master and then we throw the baby out with the bath water.

  122. s*

    So many people view this world as a karmic prison. I guess you can look at it that way if you want but I see it as a school. Some courses are difficult. But, IMO, it’s better to look at a bad situation as a learning experience than to take the stance that you’re a victim of karma.
    Posted by: Sonia | October 02, 2020 at 01:41 AM
    Agreed with you Sonia..!

  123. Sonia

    @Tim Rimmer,
    Ah, so true. I wonder if there’s consciousness on Mars. 🤔 (to take a break from the subject of RS/San Mat/spirituality for a moment) I follow Elon Musk with a mixture of awe and amusement. I agree with Bill Maher’s take on setting up camp on Mars. I think it’s absurd on so many levels. But still I’m impressed by the technology. I just think bright minds such as those at SpaceX could be put to better use. If we humans destroy our own planet then we deserve to go extinct. But scientific genius and common sense don’t always travel together.

  124. Sonia

    @*s
    You are always so positive. 😊
    @Brian Ji
    Now I’m officially tired of this conversation.

  125. Spence Tepper

    Hi Sonia
    You wrote
    “He has to be perfect by our standards. Let him offend you once and you throw out all the good things he’s done. If he makes mistakes then people discount all he has done to help the sangat and the community. They discount all of his hard work and dedication.”
    The opposite is also true. People make all kinds of justifications for wrong doing when it’s someone we love.
    Unconditional love is loving someone, accepting someone for who they are, we don’t actually like.
    If you like them, you will find some excuse to accept them. That’s also not unconditional love.
    The most difficult people to love unconditionally are those without any power at all. They get so much public scorn piled upon them for some real crime they really did commit. Or just the crime of being poor, handicapped or ugly. Of course we get no benefit helping them, and this is why loving them might be considered unconditional.
    Someone must make up a fairy tale about heaven and salvation just to get us to treat the powerless, the filthy, the dispossessed, even the cruel, as well as the vulnerable and handicapped, as we would wish to be treated ourselves.
    It’s always conditional when we have something personally to gain. So, to love a guru unconditionally is impossible, so long as we perceive they have some blessing to convey upon us.
    To bring forth unconditional love, they would have to be dethroned, publicly shamed for wrong doing, and yes, even so in our own eyes.
    To love them still, after all that, you might call that unconditional. But to defend their criminal acts, that’s still thinking of them as having a wealth we might personally gain for ourselves.
    Once again, Brian Ji (this blog owner, not the poser) is closer to that.

  126. Spence Tepper

    Or maybe Brian Ji the poser is also close to that…

  127. Spence Tepper

    Hi Osho
    You wrote
    “I am not talking about this world.
    I am talking about the same as what Nanak is talking about
    “Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach, hai be Sach, nanak hosee bi Sach”
    “Was true in the beginning and will be true through the ages, is true now and will be forever” – basically means – ALWAYS and permanent. i.e. beyond TIME and SPACE. ”
    Does such a place really exist?
    It’s not here. Must be someplace else.
    And if you have gone there is it just imagination?
    And if it’s just imagination, then it doesn’t really exist, right?

  128. Spence Tepper

    Hi Osho
    You wrote
    “What this proves is that thoughts CANNOT be stopped and it’s just as well
    because if they DID stop, they will never restart.”
    “So save yourself the effort – you will never stop thoughts”
    You don’t need to stop thoughts to leave them behind.
    Experience is perception, and thought, which is interpretation, usually follows.
    Thoughts can also lead, by filtering and augmenting the perception of experience.
    But these three are not the same: Experience, thought, and perception.
    You can experience something new changing your focus. That experience can be beyond thought. For example, focusing on love and peace can elicit those experiences, if your mental focus is good.
    What is mental focus but eliminating thoughts by focusing attention on one train of thought? It’s how the mind already works.
    Training the mind is taking this natural phenomenon further. Like taking a natural runner and training them to be a marathoner. Training is absolutely necessary to get to that level. A trained mind is the portal to heightened experience.
    And meditation is a method that helps accomplish this.
    Heightened consciousness.
    As for stopping the mind, it is really a matter of leaving that process, in your awareness, for another, heightened, blissful experience that cannot be described in words because it is experienced, not thought.
    And as for the brain in meditation, it is much calmer, more rhythmic.
    We try to think about mystic experience afterwards, but memory is very limited as a recording device, and we don’t remember most of it.
    But occasionally people do remember some vague flash of what they have actually experienced much more often, but forget over and over again.
    The mind is more filter and censor than perceiver.

  129. Osho Robbins

    @spence
    “I am not talking about this world.
    “Was true in the beginning and will be true through the ages, is true now and will be forever” – basically means – ALWAYS and permanent. i.e. beyond TIME and SPACE. ”
    Does such a place really exist?
    It’s not here. Must be someplace else.
    And if you have gone there is it just imagination?
    And if it’s just imagination, then it doesn’t really exist, right?
    – spence
    in the words of a politician – I refer you to the answer I gave earlier
    you may have missed it since it was @271
    so here it is:
    so now let’s examine EXISTENCE.
    my definition is: only that EXISTS which exists forever
    the rest is maya – temporary existence – in the moment only
    so everything we see is temporary – maya – unreal – momentary
    including regions, visions, shabd, naam, eveything.
    if you can point to it – it’s maya
    truth is eternal – beyond time and space
    you cannot experience it because all experiences requires two
    the experiencer and the thing to be experienced

  130. Dungeness

    @ so everything we see is temporary – maya – unreal – momentary
    @ including regions, visions, shabd, naam, eveything.
    @ if you can point to it – it’s maya
    @ truth is eternal – beyond time and space
    Hm, how do know what shabd is? How do know it’s temporary?
    By labeling it, by pointing , you’re already imprisoned in dualism.
    @ truth is eternal – beyond time and space
    @ you cannot experience it because all experiences requires two
    Again, how do you know you can’t “experience” it? That filters the
    meaning of “experience” through the mind’ sieve. If you have an
    intuitive flash of truth, does that invalidate it as a mere experience
    akin to seeing a magician pull a rabbit out of hat?
    When the mystic says shabd is truth, beyond time and space, and
    there is a way of verifying it, how can you dismiss his claim? We
    filter words through our sieve. Then we chatter on about truth and
    experience and duality. Endlessly. Actually, the poseurs, caught in
    the mind’s vise, are the ones pulling fake rabbits out of their hat.

  131. Sonia

    @spence
    I guess unconditional love doesn’t exist.
    This is a little depressing. I’m going to watch T.V. now. ☹️

  132. Sonia

    I’m just thinking out loud here (which is pretty much how I always think) and I’m still committed to Sant Mat because it works for me and everyone needs an anchor (and I like Babaji).
    But when you think about it, doesn’t God love us Conditionally? I mean here we are. We can’t go home until we’ve done certain things… we have to earn his love back by sitting in meditation to remove our karmas. Right? We’re not worthy until we put in hours, lifetimes of spiritual practice… he put us here (I can’t remember why) and we have to work our way back home. A parent isn’t even that tough. Just a thought… or more of a question.

  133. Osho Robbins

    @dungeness
    “Hm, how do know what shabd is? How do know it’s temporary?
    By labeling it, by pointing , you’re already imprisoned in dualism.” – dungeness
    Shabd isn’t anything. It’s a word. it’s like god. you seek it.
    you have just replaced god with another word
    EVERYHTHING that you can label, conceptualize or point to is temporary.
    Only that is permanent which you cannot label or conceptualize.
    permanent means:
    unchanging; wthout boundary or shape; outside time; outside space.
    it’s not in a place anywhere. it cannot be seen or experienced.
    all experience is necessarily within duality / maya
    because it requires two
    1. the person having the experience
    2. the thing that is experienced.
    permanent – is only ONE.
    you cannot see it or experience it because it is in a different dimension to you.
    you are in the dimension of maya – space and time.
    it is outside of time and outside of space.
    experience of it is impossible
    so everything that RSSB followers and sikhs are trying to do – is impossible.
    the entire gurbani is full of references to this.
    “Ik akhar jo gunmukh jaapiii”
    ONE word which the gurmukh utters
    all these are references to the ONE – not a word.
    the gurbani does not advocate meditation.
    it tells you to ‘ponder’ over NAAM
    and NAAM means realization of ONENESS
    hence is says – varanatmik is words – which only point to it
    dhunatmik means realization – which cannot be given from outside
    it grows within you – means awakening – sudden realization
    the “Oh WOW – I GET it now” – that is called naam.
    yes – says – naam created the world – but it means that the
    realization of oneness will awaken you to the nature of the world
    “Again, how do you know you can’t “experience” it?” – dungeness
    because experience requires TWO
    and there is only ONE – experience is impossible
    “If you have an
    intuitive flash of truth, does that invalidate it as a mere experience”
    – dungeness
    no – and intuitive flash of truth means realization – means dhunatmik naam
    that is what happens for you to realise it cannot be experienced.
    “When the mystic says shabd is truth, beyond time and space, and
    there is a way of verifying it, how can you dismiss his claim? ”
    – dungeness
    now – THINK about what you have just written.
    analyse it – so you don’t just gloss over the details.
    so you just wrote:
    1. Shabd is truth
    2. beyond time
    3. beyond space
    1. TRUTH means eternal – never changing. unseen. formless, shapeless.
    2. beyond TIME – means eternal also – cannot be experienced.
    only things within TIME can be experienced. from our viewpoint it doesnt even
    exist – because everything here has the dimension of time.
    3. beyond SPACE. – means the same. cannot be SEEN or experienced.
    YES – there is a way of VERIFYING it – but not the way you verify
    it cannot be SEEN, experienced or heard.
    it can be verified – that is called enlightenment
    and it is not what you think it is.
    enlightenment is not a thing, or an achievement.
    enlightenment is the realization of what IS
    and who you really are (nothing) and
    what God is (also nothing)
    and stops all further seeking
    because you have discovered the truth through GYAN
    GYAN means – true knowledge – where you cut through the concepts and
    ideas of the mind and go beyond.
    You REALISE – but you cannot explain because the moment you try
    it seems foolish
    “jo desi – so to hai nahin
    jo hai so kaha na jai
    saina baina kya samjhai
    gungi ka gur bhai”
    translated :
    “what can be SEEN – it is NOT
    what it IS – cannot be SAID
    what will a saint say and explain?
    it is like the man who cannot speak eating gur ( a sweet)”
    meaning he only makes a sound – but no words and you cannot understand
    this is as clear as it can get – yet we miss again
    we keep on missing – because of our filters.
    it is clear : if it is SEEN – it is not it
    if it can be HEARD – it is not it
    what it is – cannot be said (Why not?)
    because it’s not in time and space
    it also cannot be experienced
    it can only be realized

  134. Osho Robbins

    “I guess unconditional love doesn’t exist.
    This is a little depressing. I’m going to watch T.V. now.” – Sonia
    if you love someone – without any conditions
    think about what that means
    if they swear at you – you still love them
    if they steal from you – you still love them
    if they smash your house – you still love them
    if they abuse you – you still love them
    for people in a relationship – if they cheat on you – you still love them
    if they hate you – you still love them
    if they are convicted for murder – you still love them
    if they hurt lots of people – you still love them
    if they cause you pain – you still love them
    firstly I don’t think it’s even possible to do the above.
    the closest is a mother’s love for her child
    secondly – you would have to be insane to still love.
    mentally ill.
    so such a love – if it exists – would be a curse not an asset
    not something to aspire towards
    so watch TV and celebrate – dont get depressed
    its good news not bad news

  135. Osho Robbins

    @sonia
    more things to celebrate
    unconditional love doesn’t exist
    God doesn’t exist
    inner regions don’t exist
    sat prursh doesn’t exist
    nor do this three sidekicks
    anami, alakh, agam
    Sach Khand doesn’t exist
    Shabd doesn’t exist
    maya doesn’t exist
    evil doesn’t exist
    good doesn’t exist
    you don’t exist
    i don’t exist
    this comment doesnt exist
    this blog doesnt exist
    foot note:
    ‘exists’ means ‘permanent – forever existence’
    if it exists in time and space – it’s not permanent
    it’s temporary existence – just for the moment
    that is called ‘doesn’t exist as real / forever’

  136. Spence Tepper

    Hi Sonia
    You wrote
    “I guess unconditional love doesn’t exist.
    This is a little depressing. I’m going to watch T.V. now. ☹️”
    If it doesn’t exist why did I spend so much effort defining it?
    I think it is very real. Because, imho, that love allows us to do all sorts of difficult things, to march into all sorts of unpleasant situations happy, helpful, honest, and kind. It may be that only real love exists, and then we place our conditions upon it.
    But take away the layers and love is all that is left inside each of us, love without any conditions whatsoever. That’s what meditation helps us to unmask within. We are only love, only bliss, only peace underneath. That is where brotherhood, sisterhood is found.
    Carve away everthing that isn’t love within yourself, then love pours through. Love was the fuel for our journeying, though we chose to drive to all sorts of strange and unpleasant places. But seated behind the wheel of love, our tank filled with love, surrounded by love, underneath all those other darker layers of thinking, parked in a strange land, though we didn’t know it, we can gently turn the wheel and drive home.

  137. Osho Robbins

    when a marriage fails – the love has gone
    so was it unconditional?
    it was never unconditional.
    it just appeared to be so – when things looked good
    then things happen and the same people say
    “I can’t stand you!”
    here is what its like when things go wrong
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh-eKRGvmCg
    we are robots that crave love.
    love in many forms.

  138. anami

    I would suggest that the impermanent remains in the ONE’s memory, and the ONE has perfect recall. In that way existence does exist in the moment but non-exists in the non-moment. It’s both, not one or the other. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Zero contains only zero, but ONE contains 1 and 0 and an infinitude of fractions.

  139. Osho Robbins

    Nancy was having coffee with Helen.
    Nancy asked, “How do you know your husband loves you?”
    “He takes out the garbage every morning.”
    “That’s not love. That’s good housekeeping.”
    “My husband gives me all the spending money I need.”
    “That’s not love. That’s generosity.”
    “My husband never looks at other women.”
    “That’s not love. That’s poor vision.”
    “John always opens the door for me.”
    “That’s not love. That’s good manners.”
    “John kisses me even when I’ve eaten garlic and I have curlers in my hair.”
    “Now, that’s love.”
    Everybody has their own idea of love. And only when you come to the state where all ideas about love have disappeared, where love is no more an idea but simply your being, then only will you know its freedom. Then love is God. Then love is the ultimate truth.

  140. Osho Robbins

    Adolf Hitler will have one idea of love, Gautam Buddha another; and they will be diametrically opposite, because they are at two extremes.
    At the lowest, love is a kind of politics, power politics. Wherever love is contaminated by the idea of domination, it is politics. Whether you call it politics or not is not the question, it is political. And millions of people never know anything about love except this politics – the politics that exists between husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. It is politics, the whole thing is political: you want to dominate the other, you enjoy domination.
    And love is nothing but politics sugar-coated, a bitter pill sugar-coated. You talk about love but the deep desire is to exploit the other. And I am not saying that you are doing it deliberately or consciously – you are not that conscious yet. You cannot do it deliberately; it is an unconscious mechanism.
    Hence so much possessiveness and so much jealousy become a part, an intrinsic part, of your love. That’s why love creates more misery than joy. Ninety-nine percent of it is bitter; there is only that one percent of sugar that you have coated on top of it. And sooner or later that sugar disappears.
    When you are in the beginning of a love affair, those honeymoon days, you taste something sweet. Soon that sugar wears off, and the realities start appearing in stark nakedness and the whole thing becomes ugly.
    from Osho
    the real one – not me the copy

  141. Sonia

    Carve away everthing that isn’t love within yourself, then love pours through. Love was the fuel for our journeying, though we chose to drive to all sorts of strange and unpleasant places. But seated behind the wheel of love, our tank filled with love, surrounded by love, underneath all those other darker layers of thinking, parked in a strange land, though we didn’t know it, we can gently turn the wheel and drive home.
    Posted by: Spence Tepper | October 04, 2020 at 03:09 AM
    🙂

  142. Sonia

    It’s funny, ppl like Faqir Chand are not even content with Sach Khand and all it takes to make me happy is a bean bag bed (Chill Sack). I think most ppl are happy with less than ecstasy.

  143. Yeah Osho, nothing exist yet we enjoy it.
    Ice cream doesn’t exist yet we enjoy it without worrying if it exists or not.
    your body does not exist, food does not exist,
    still you eat food daily multiple times to keep it alive.
    Car and road doesn’t exist yet I enjoy it driving every day,
    driving a nice car is such a pleasant experience every single time.
    meditation is joyous,
    when you feel the non-existent shabd is pulling your non-existent consciousness
    from the whole body to the eye center is so joyous.
    roaming in non-existent realms and non-existent regions is joyous.
    It’s much better to remain joyous by experiencing them,
    instead of sitting with a stone face, living miserably and yelling
    “it doesn’t exist and that’s why I won’t experience it”

  144. Osho Robbins

    It’s funny, ppl like Faqir Chand are not even content with Sach Khand – Sonia
    Chand never said he is not satisfied with Sach khand
    the question he wanted the answer to was:
    why was swami ji and others condemning all the regions and religions and saying there is something beyond.
    He was trying to find out the ‘something beyond’
    what he discovered was that the regions are still within duality
    which is obvious.
    anything you can experience is duality – no exceptions

  145. Osho Robbins

    “Yeah Osho, nothing exist yet we enjoy it.
    Ice cream doesn’t exist yet we enjoy it without worrying if it exists or not.”
    – one initiated
    you have missed the meaning of “existence”
    existence – in sant mat terms – means the same as ‘sach’ as nanak defines it
    that which is changeless and forever.
    this is temporary – within time a space
    just like the dream state.
    do you say that everything that happens in your dream
    is ‘real’ and ‘exists’?
    in the dream you enjoy and experience ice cream and everything.
    yet you don’t say the dream was real.
    here the dream is on-going.
    someone I know is in hospital and has a 10% chance of survival.
    ask him what’s real
    does he consider his house, his family, his bank account to be real now?
    is he bothered about a parking fine he was previously worried about?
    no – facing the prospect of death changes your perspective.
    charan singh was asked if this world and this life is real.
    his reply was: How can it be real? at any moment it can end and
    it is guaranteed to end – how can it be real?
    same definition. real means eternal undying.
    temporary means unreal.
    for someone who is ‘one initiated’
    your viewpoint is still that of a non-initiate.
    maybe best to read some of the non-existent books that
    master gurinder advises to burn.

  146. Dungeness

    “Again, how do you know you can’t “experience” it?” – dungeness
    “because experience requires TWO and there is only ONE – … is impossible” -osho
    I put experience in quotes for a reason, Osho. You could have
    spared the long suffering flock a repetitive sermon on ONENESS.
    “If you have an intuitive flash of truth, does that invalidate it as a
    mere experience”- dungeness
    “no – and intuitive flash of truth means realization…” -osho.
    A word is a dangerous toy in your hands. Keep innocents and
    mystics off the streets. They will be mowed down before they
    ever get near the OK Corral. RIP.
    Say a prayer for our mind’s victims. Gunslingers, holster your
    45’s. Take off your damn hats! Only undertakers can be happy
    at this funeral.

  147. Osho Robbins

    https://youtu.be/jc9OC_Ebcbg
    8:20
    Very pertinent question
    Answer not convincing.
    Satgur hath kunjee
    Hor thon dar khulie nahin
    Satguru has the key
    Nobody else can open the door.
    The reason is because the door is already open, and no meditation is needed
    You only need to discover the truth and the satguru shows you this.
    When the teachings are wrong, no satisfactory answers can be given

  148. Osho Robbins

    https://youtu.be/jc9OC_Ebcbg
    Start of video
    First question
    He says there is no right / wrong.
    It’s very relative. Depends on circumstances.
    So it’s okay to steal, kill, etc if you feel it’s right for you.
    So all you disciples who think he did something wrong better pay attention
    The person answering says “thank you” instead of questioning such an answer.
    I wonder if anyone even listens to his answer

  149. Osho Robbins

    “I put experience in quotes for a reason”
    And
    “A word is a dangerous toy in your hands.” – dungeness
    So you put “experience” in quotes
    And now it no longer means “experience”
    It means something else that you make up – a different type of experience – in a way you haven’t even mentioned, and definitely not defined.
    I define my words and your question only arises because you clearly haven’t read my definition.
    I won’t give you the definition again.
    But just answer the questions
    What is REAL?
    Is a temporary thing REAL?
    One of the gurus you claim to follow, Charan Singh Says
    “This world is not real”
    “Hm, how do know what shabd is? How do know it’s temporary?
    By labeling it, by pointing , you’re already imprisoned in dualism.” – dungeness
    Well can you define shabd? Can you even clearly state what it is? Have you seen it? Heard it? Is it real?
    Or is it just a word you heard?
    Regardless of how you define it, or what you think it is, if it’s not the ONE, then it’s temporary.
    If you understood my definitions you would not even ask the question.
    Go back to the definitions.
    and remember a definition is not a belief.
    A definition defines the framework for the words I am using precisely because I use words for exact meanings just so we can avoid the circular arguments you make and get clarity.
    Then if you choose not to accept what becomes obvious – it’s your choice.
    The issue is exactly as stated on these videos
    https://youtu.be/-nSMi0whFEA
    https://youtu.be/JKOI_N-nvzM
    You can’t hear
    Let alone understand
    And you will carry on
    Imagining all kinds of fictional things in your mind – thinking that is mysticism.
    That is not mysticism. It is delusion.

  150. anami

    Could someone please go within, talk to Nanak and clear this up for us?

  151. Dear Osho,
    That’s an analogy given by the saints,
    to compare this life with dreams,
    in order to explain the temporal nature of this life just like that of a dream,
    and in order to explain the importance of these handful years we’ve received.
    In the dreams you’d never or rarely come across the notion that you are dreaming.
    here we are discussing about that condition consciously,
    evaluating that this life is not permanent and there is an end very near.
    We don’t do that in dreams.
    There is a reason that dream state is called as sub-conscious
    and this state is called as conscious.
    You are taking it for granted that even if we don’t do anything,
    by the end of this life, just like dreams, we will wake up in Oneness.
    Possibly if you keep this notion, and if that’s not true,
    you will be enforced to live on and on and on many more births unless you come to terms.

  152. Osho Robbins

    “You are taking it for granted that even if we don’t do anything,
    by the end of this life, just like dreams, we will wake up in Oneness.” – one Initiated
    Only from correct understanding will realization come. hence the need for a guru.
    the guru removes your concepts and false notions so that only the truth remains.
    he guru doesn’t need to give you a new theory or belief.
    once the false notions are removed – the truth comes by itself.
    and then realization comes from dropping all the nonsense you have collected.
    nonsense like
    “I am a separate soul and need to merge in God in Sach Khand”
    “I need to meditate to become pure”
    “I am a sinner and stuck in karma”
    “I need to get initiated by a guru”
    “I need to meditate long and hard”
    “I need the shabd to manifest”
    “I need to become ONE”
    “i need to realise the ONE”
    You will NEVER wake up in ONENESS
    you have just taken your Sach Khand and replaced it with ONENESS
    a new label for the same place.
    that is why realisation cannot happen that way.
    Understand there is NO YOU – so you are NOT going to wake up in the oneness.
    even if you are realized – still you will not wake up in the ONENESS,
    You only make this statement because you don’t understand ONENESS.
    Oneness means there is no YOU!
    so you can’t wake up in the oneness or anywhere else.

  153. Osho Robbins

    In the dreams you’d never or rarely come across the notion that you are dreaming. – one initiated
    so you have never heard of conscious dreaming?
    or lucid dreaming.
    it’s when you have a dream and become aware that it is a dream and the dream still continues. You witness the dream and know it’s a dream.
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/sleepless-in-america/201404/is-conscious-dreaming-real
    and for a more scientific approach:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH-MGqokk_Y

  154. Dungeness

    @ So you put “experience” in quotes.And now it no longer means “experience”
    @ It means something else that you make up – a different type of experience – in
    @ a way you haven’t even mentioned, and definitely not defined.
    You’ve nailed it! The mystic realization is ineffable and beyond words,
    It eludes clever definitions and shallow sophistries such as “shabd is
    only a word you heard”. It’s been discussed so many times. “Neti”,
    “NetI” (not this, not this) is the only clarification mystics are left with.
    So the quotes were only a signal that the mystic realization beggars
    the breadth of possibility the ordinary word experience offers. I think
    you know this too but your agendas are quite different. A suggestion:
    jettison crafty verbiage and follow a mystic practice (doesn’t matter
    which one) for a clearer understanding. All the best on your journey.

  155. Osho Robbins

    The “Shabd” is a “Special” way of living your life.
    The “Life” I am “referring to” cant be “imagined” by “you”
    Do you “get” what i mean?
    “neti neti”
    remember everything in quotes has a special meaning that I am not going to define
    because it’s “ineffable” and “indefinable”
    You clearly have no understanding of the meaning of “neti neti” and because you refuse to use clear language you will never understand,
    Good luck with your “neti neti” and your ineffable “shabd”
    if you can’t define terms clearly – it’s pointless even trying to communicate.
    you are completely unconscious in your use of words.
    You are a lost cause. any further communication is pointless as you are too far gone for logic.
    maybe a dialogue with your guru once the covid clears up might wake you up or shock you.
    you’re like the caller on this call
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn7tW2zkwxE
    utterly confused

  156. ~ The End ~

    Could someone please go within, talk to Nanak and clear this up for us?
    Posted by: anami | October 05, 2020 at 07:15 AM
    Thank you! 😂😂😂

  157. Dungeness

    @ it’s when you have a dream and become aware that it is a dream and the
    @ dream still continues. You witness the dream and know it’s a dream.
    It’s worth noting that the lucid dreamer is arguably not aware
    at all he’s dreaming. He speaks the truth but doesn’t know the
    truth as Ishwar Puri explains. For instance he will go on speaking
    to, or cajoling, or even threatening other people in the dream
    even though they’re not real. Falling off a cliff in a dream, he
    still feels terror. If he really believed he was dreaming, he’d be
    unconcerned or simply wake up.
    We’re kinda like lucid dreamers at this level too. We parrot lofty
    concepts but don’t have the faintest notion of what they mean
    I suspect. (Hm, ‘ONENESS’ comes to mind). We don’t lift ourself
    out of our daytime stupor or awake to higher awareness either.

  158. Osho Robbins

    Where will you go to ask nanak?
    You think nanak is still around, hanging around on the outskirts of Sach Khand?
    nanak says there is only the ONE, there is no nanak.
    and you want to go ask nanak?
    Good luck on getting a reply
    if you DO see nanak inside – it will be a creation of your own mind
    and the mind will tell you the answer you want to hear

  159. OshoRobbins

    8 mins into the video
    “The ONE is the doer not you. In fact you are not even here”
    That’s should put all the arguments to rest
    His talks are based on what gurbani says. I met him. I did his 2 day seminar in London

  160. OshoRobbins

    Original sin. Fault is
    “You believe that YOU. ARE”
    You believe that you exist
    9:40 in the video
    Then all the way to 13:00
    Where he says
    As long as you misidentify yourself
    The realisation doesn’t happen
    I agree with him
    As long as there is a you
    In any form

  161. anami

    Maybe the ONE is like a dollar. It can exist as a banknote. It can also exist as 292 different combinations of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. The singular nature of a dollar bill does not exclude the multiple nature of a dollar in coins. They’re just different forms of one concept. The ONE is like the concept and duality like the bills and coins.
    To argue that the ONE can not be experienced is like saying a billionaire can’t keep loose change in his pockets.

  162. Sonia

    Maybe the ONE is like a dollar. It can exist as a banknote. It can also exist as 292 different combinations of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. The singular nature of a dollar bill does not exclude the multiple nature of a dollar in coins. They’re just different forms of one concept. The ONE is like the concept and duality like the bills and coins.
    To argue that the ONE can not be experienced is like saying a billionaire can’t keep loose change in his pockets.
    Posted by: anami | October 06, 2020 at 06:38 PM
    Speaking of ones…
    111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =
    12,345,678,987,654,321
    🤯🤯🤯
    That’s like 12+ quadrillion. I did not get paid to write that.

  163. Dungeness

    @ To argue that the ONE can not be experienced is like saying a billionaire can’t keep
    @ loose change in his pockets.
    Love your image. The bills and coins have fallen asleep in that warm cozy
    pocket and are having a nightmare. They dream of being lost under the
    sofa cushions, folded-spindled-mutilated in wallets, growing old and being
    shredded or melted down. One day a familiar hand jostles them and they
    awake. “Thank god”, they sigh,, “I’m still in the pocket.”

  164. Osho Robbins

    “To argue that the ONE can not be experienced is like …….”
    the statement is made from ignorance of what ONE means.
    ONE means ONE – not TWO.
    experiencing something needs TWO
    1. The person who experiences
    2. The thing being experienced.
    this is the reason that you are ALREADY there (not really ‘there’ or ‘here’)
    because any process (like merging) happens only in duality
    in ONENESS nothing happens – it cannot
    there is only the ONE.
    no time no space. so nothing ever happens.
    anyone who doesn’t understand will always then come out with another
    statement that is made from duality because
    duality is all we know here
    so we cannot say anything about non-duality as it is outside of our experience
    and will always remain outside of our experience.
    but that does not mean that you cannot know.
    one example
    suppose there are no mirrors
    or reflective surfaces.
    so you cannot rely on a reflection.
    now I ask you
    “How do you know that you have a face? ”
    You KNOW you have a face, even without SEEING it.
    you could say – I can put my hand up and FEEL my face
    so I know I have a face even without seeing it.
    so now I ask – HOW do you know that you have EYES?
    Now you can’t feel them – unless you poke yourself in the eye
    so HOW do you know you have eyes?
    you KNOW – but I want to know HOW you know.
    You know you have a hand because you can SEE it.
    How do you know what you have eyes?
    the answer is obvious – eventually

  165. anami

    Sonia,
    “111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =
    12,345,678,987,654,321”
    What a fun fact!
    Dungeness,
    Another way to compare ONE and duality is as SYSTEM and components.
    I’m just playing around with analogies, and to me, Brian echoes similar in his new post about “right view” in Buddhism…
    “It’s not the particulars of the world that provide us with right view, but the world itself, as an ever-dynamic Whole. Right view is Wholesome — that is, it’s of the Whole. It’s all inclusive. It leaves nothing out.”
    All,
    Has anyone spoken with Nanak?

  166. Dungeness

    @ You know you have a hand because you can SEE it.
    @ How do you know what you have eyes?
    @ the answer is obvious – eventually.
    Didn’t you mean “when” or “that” rather than “what” in the
    phrase “what you have eyes”….
    Then are you suggesting it’s a random mishap, an experience,
    say a “poke in the eye”, that eventually befalls you to, ahem,
    “open your eyes” to reality? Or does it occur because you
    enter ONENESS however briefly and understand the reality in
    a way that can’t be obscured by duality?
    I would think it’s more likely the latter. If you keep looking for
    answers outside yourself, you may never grasp the linkage
    between the eyes and seeing. Your attention won’t pick up
    on it. Instead you might speculate the poke damaged the
    brain in some unknown way and now you can’t see well at
    all.
    If you slip into ONENESS and intuitively grasp reality though
    you know the connection immediately. It’s the same if you
    were to wake up one morning and ten people at the foot
    of your bed told you “Hey you’re dreaming. None of what
    you’re seeing is real, Sure, it may look that way but it ain’t. ”
    Again you just know it’s a lie. You don’t even have to pinch
    yourself. Why? Your intuitive self knows because it looks
    inward instead of outward for confirmation. For a very brief
    interval you merge in ONENESS and know for certain. A cast
    of thousands won’t be able to convince you otherwise.

  167. Osho Robbins

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyiXkJoZzvo
    for the faithful – hear it directly from the mouth of your guru
    because you think I am giving out a different message
    21:00
    he says:
    “Up there (in ONENESS) there will be nothing left to say (Guess why?)
    over there (ONENESS)
    there will be no YOU
    there will be no ME
    there will only be the ONE
    nobody is separate from the ONE
    in fact there is nobody except the ONE.

  168. Yes Osho,
    “Up there” means right now it’s down here.
    And that’s about consciousness and the frequency.
    He also says 99 times out of 100 to attend to your meditation,
    however, you would pick the part sentence “you don’t need to do anything”, said in a different context, and misinterpret in your way to pacify your own mind.
    Understanding can never bring realisation,
    it helps invoking the passion in you to gain that experience.
    reading many books and having perfect understanding of “how to ride a bicycle”
    can never make you a good cyclist unless you practice and experience it first hand.
    Every Saint, every brahm gyani also lives in duality, for us,
    otherwise how would you know Them as saints.
    their body is limited by duality.
    It’s a privilege to live in duality,
    only then one can realise the oneness.
    It’s The One who wants to experience Himself.
    He feels happy seeing Himself trying to attain Himself.
    By attending to the meditation, we are helping Him to meet His own
    part trapped in the physical forms.
    After playing a character on a drama stage,
    you meet with yourself and you experience your own reality.
    Talking about Oneness is one thing and experiencing it is something else,
    You don’t need anyone else to experience yourself.
    As Hazur Charan Singh Ji Maharaj used to say:
    “talking about war is one thing and fighting it yourself is something else”

  169. Osho Robbins

    @dungeness
    i wrote: ( NOW CORECTED)
    “suppose there are no mirrors
    or reflective surfaces.
    so you cannot rely on a reflection.
    now I ask you
    “How do you know that you have a face? ”
    You KNOW you have a face, even without SEEING it.
    you could say – I can put my hand up and FEEL my face
    so I know I have a face even without seeing it.
    so now I ask – HOW do you know that you have EYES?
    Now you can’t feel them – unless you poke yourself in the eye
    so HOW do you know you have eyes?
    you KNOW – but I want to know HOW you know.
    You know you have a hand because you can SEE it.
    How do you know that you have eyes?
    the answer is obvious – eventually”
    – The point of the question is to see if you can answer it.
    how do you know you have eyes?
    answers not allowed
    1. I can see my eyes
    2. I can feel my eyes
    you have five senses – the other three won’t help
    smell . hearing, tasting – none of these help
    so HOW do you conclude that you have eyes?

  170. anami

    Yes, if all is ONE, nothing can be separated from it. Is Maya separate? No. Is duality separate? No. Is separation separate? No.
    ONE must be all-knowing and all-experiencing, even in some incomprehensible non-dual way, because something not known or not experienced would have to be separate, and nothing can be separate from ONE by definition. It’s all one goo.
    Are you conscious of your consciousness? Then why can’t CONSCIOUSNESS be conscience of itself. Consciousness is consciousness, because it’s conscious of its consciousness. The goo must be pure consciousness.

  171. anami

    Correction:
    conscious of itself
    (not conscience)

  172. OshoRobbins

    @anami
    “ Yes, if all is ONE, nothing can be separated from it.“
    This is the only part of your comment that makes sense.
    Maya or illusion is NOT part of oneness.
    Oneness doesn’t have parts.
    One means one. Period.
    No parts. No sections. No divisions.
    If you say “X is part of oneness” it is not oneness. It means oneness is just a concept. Once oneness is understood, you cannot make such statements.
    If it can be divided, if it has parts, if you can merge into it, it’s not oneness

  173. Dungeness

    @ If it can be divided, if it has parts, if you can merge into it, it’s not oneness
    Language is all that’s available within duality. You are reduced
    to stories, metaphors, “drops merging into the ocean”. The drop,
    immersed in the ocean and indivisibly part of the ocean, may
    dream it’s only a drop. On awaking, it remembers it’s the whole
    ocean. You could say the drop “merges” back into the ocean.
    That’s a limitation of language, of trying to convey meaning
    through the use of words. It’s the best that can be done. You’
    use the only tool set available within duality to describe a state
    which transcends it.
    Your effort falls short. Oneness is ineffable. But it can be merged
    into, experienced, realized nevertheless. Choose any word.
    None of them succeed in capturing its essence. But don’t
    posit it doesn’t exist because language can’t cage it.

  174. Osho Robbins

    “Language is all that’s available within duality. You are reduced
    to stories, metaphors, “drops merging into the ocean”. The drop,
    immersed in the ocean and indivisibly part of the ocean, may
    dream it’s only a drop. On awaking, it remembers it’s the whole
    ocean. You could say the drop “merges” back into the ocean.”
    – Dungeness
    Yes – you are absolutely correct. Language is a limitation.
    so – you have to use language very carefully and use it to convey something beyond duality. It can only be a hint – but certain ideas need to be conveyed accurately so that the language conveys something of the beyond.
    for example if I say “merge” or “go to Sach khand” – both of those will lead the listener away from the truth.
    If I say “cannot be described” or “beyond Time and Space” I need to explain what the importance and significance of using those terms is.
    It has to be conveyed that what we understand here makes no sense there
    and also that “here / there is also a limitation of language – as it you /me / god.
    ONENESS cannot be experienced in the sense that we experience things here – that is what I mean when I say it “cannot be experienced”
    experience in this sense needs TWO. and there aren’t two in ONENESS.
    but I say it can be REALIZED.
    The instant issue here is the the listener thinks I just said “experienced” because he equates “realization” with “experience”.
    They are not the same – in fact they have no connection.
    “realization” in the sense I am using it means to use the mind to go beyond the limitations of the mind.
    The first step to understand is that all the duality ideas like “experience”, “merge”
    “go there”, “meet” etc do not apply. They are inaccurate and have to he dropped.
    They can only be used with those who are in the nursery class. Who have no understanding of oneness and duality and the difference.
    once you understand that ONENESS is beyond anything you can explain in duality, slowly the truth begins to dawn.
    It cannot be explained or understood except to understand that it is not this realm of reality.
    This necessarily means that it can be argued against – because if all my arguments are based on this reality (which is the only one I am aware of) then “the beyond, God, ONENESS etc” is necessarily fiction. It cannot be proven or known. You can categorically argue that it does not exist because it does not:
    anything that cannot be seen, experienced, felt, heard, etc can only be called non-existent.
    Now please understand the next part.
    How do we define existence?
    something exists only if it is within the realm of time and space.
    If I come to your house and bring my invisible friend, you will say I am crazy.
    If he can’t be seen, heard, felt, or sensed – he does not exist.
    so if anyone claims to see, feel, hear, experience God – he is a liar.
    anything beyond time and space cannot be seen or experienced.
    Hence I say the atheist is the closest to the truth.
    before anyone can make any headway – our terms and the way we use language have to be clearly defined – just so the language can be used to go beyond language.
    That is why I asked the question. How do you know that you have eyes if there was no reflection and feeling your eyes is not allowed.
    once you answer that question – you will get an insight into the meaning of realization and why it is not an experience.

  175. anami

    “Maya or illusion is NOT part of oneness.
    Oneness doesn’t have parts.”
    Osho,
    “Parts” is your word, not mine. Hands, face, eyes, hips, elbows–we call them parts, but where precisely are the divisions from the body as a whole?
    When calf and ankle merge as one, it’s a cankle.

  176. Osho Robbins

    “Your effort falls short. Oneness is ineffable. But it can be merged
    into, experienced, realized nevertheless. Choose any word.
    None of them succeed in capturing its essence. But don’t
    posit it doesn’t exist because language can’t cage it.” – Dungeness
    Your use of language has to be more accurate and specific.
    “choose any word” doesn’t work anymore once you want to understand clearly.
    Now you use of language has to be very accurate and defined.
    “experience” means to use the “gyan indri” – the five senses
    “realization” means to see beyond the senses – to understand.
    one example:
    numbers.
    if I write “‘1” – it is a symbol.
    what it represents is something that you only come to understand once “numbers” is not just a word”
    you can repeat like a parrot “1×1=1; 2 x 2 = 4; 3 x 3 = 9; 4 x 4 = 16”
    and still have no understanding of what you are saying.
    only when you understand the meaning of “2, multiplication, and equals” will you begin to understand arithmetic.
    You cannot give this understanding to a child. at some point the child begins to understand – but you cannot make it happen.
    You just present the concepts and let the child figure it out.
    yet – a number is not a real thing – you can’t hold a ‘number’ in your hand.
    You can’t eat it – you can’t sit on it. You can’t give it to anyone as a christmas present.
    it’s a concept – that you can understand and then use.
    it is similar (not the same – just similar) with the understanding of ONENESS.
    the words only convey a little – the understanding may come if you think and ponder.
    hence the scriptures say “ponder” or “pachata” which means “recognize”
    repeating words parrot fashion or in your mind (Simran) was never the way.
    in fact the gurbani specifically says it is NOT the way.
    “Ram Ram sab koi kahen – kahen Ram na hoi”
    “Saying God (words, repeating, simran) – everyone does this – but by words he is not realized”
    I am not saying it doesn’t exist.
    I am saying is doesn’t exist – as we define existence
    Until you understand the definitions – you will keep on missing
    I have clearly said that I have a different meaning for “real” and “existence”
    which I have defined.
    without starting there – definitely there will be confusion as I am using language to refer to something beyond time and space. language can only be a pointer.

  177. Dungeness

    @ “experience” means to use the “gyan indri” – the five senses
    @ “realization” means to see beyond the senses – to understand.
    Yes experience in the realm of duality requires sensory input in
    normal usage. Thanks for reinforcing that but arguably a word,
    any word, stubs its toe in this pursuit. In the common vernacular,
    realization as a word gets murky too and is inextricably wound
    up with thoughts and ideas that are associated with the senses.
    Words fail. But even so, we use them loosely to approximate, to
    hint at the real meaning of something elusive, ineffable, and
    beyond the senses.

  178. Osho Robbins

    “In the common vernacular,
    realization as a word gets murky too and is inextricably wound
    up with thoughts and ideas that are associated with the senses.” – Dungeness
    all words are, since words are symbols.
    Buddha coined the word Nirvana, just so no associations exist.
    how do I know that oneness is real?
    I cant see it, or feel it.
    how do I know if I have eyes, if I cant see them or feel them?
    because I don’t need to see them to know they exist.
    I have 100% proof I have eyes without seeing them.
    what is that proof?
    when you can answer that question, you will have the answer to realisation too.

  179. Dungeness

    @ I have 100% proof I have eyes without seeing them.
    @ what is that proof?
    No proof is needed when you know. All you can say is “Neti, Neti”.

  180. Osho Robbins

    @dungeness
    “No proof is needed when you know. All you can say is “Neti, Neti”.”
    close, but no cigar.
    The question was this:
    “How do I know I have eyes – if there are no reflective surfaces
    so I cannot see my own eyes”
    The answer is not “neti neti”
    “Neti Neti” means – “not this and not this”
    that is not even close to the answer.
    here’s the answer
    The way that you know 100% that you have eyes is through understanding,
    1. You have the capacity to see – called sight.
    2. the fact that you can SEE – means you have eyes.
    you don’t need to SEE your eyes to know you have eyes.
    once you understand that the capacity to see necessarily means you have eyes,
    then you KNOW you have eyes without seeing them.
    only correct understanding is needed.
    in the same way realization happens only after correct understanding.
    everything here changes. (T or F?)
    of course it is true.
    next question: WHY is it true?
    it’s true because EVERYTHING in space and time changes.
    no exceptions.
    so now create a definition:
    1. That which changes and does not remain the same
    we will call MAYA or unreal.
    I am not saying it does not exist in this moment and that it is not experienced in this moment. That is how what I mean by “unreal”
    Those who counter my argument rely on this without understanding my definition.
    2. That which DOESN’T change – remains the same – is called REAL or SACH.
    it is outside of Time.
    we call it UNREAL because we cannot SEE it and we cannot EXPERIENCE it.
    The understanding I am referring to is neither SEEING nor experiencing.
    from that understanding comes realization

  181. Dungeness

    @ The answer is not “neti neti”
    @ “Neti Neti” means – “not this and not this”
    @ that is not even close to the answer.
    The “answer”? Neither you nor I have anything close
    to the answer I suspect. It’s the height of hubris to
    claim otherwise.
    When you have perfect awareness the mystic says
    the proof is definitive only then. Your “correct
    understanding”will always leave doubt about what
    you’re seeing in maya. What and how and where it’s
    seen wlll elude you even when you tout a complete
    “understanding”.
    The mystic knows the answers. The rest of us see thru
    “a glass darkly.” He can try to prattle to us in words but
    knows our attention is too fractured and the words
    themselves fall short. They can at best hint at a reality
    behind the ever changing dream we’re witnessing. So
    they’re very diplomatic and tell us only “neti. neti”.

  182. Osho Robbins

    “ The “answer”? Neither you nor I have anything close” -dungeness
    You are writing out of context.
    I was referring to the question I asked
    Which does have an answer because I just gave you the answer.

  183. Dungeness

    @ You are writing out of context.
    @ I was referring to the question I asked
    @ Which does have an answer because I just gave you the answer.
    Don’t blokes who only want to dole out answers give Hyde Park a go?
    Seriously, isn’t there room for hearing other opinions instead of posing
    questions with scripted answers…

  184. Spence Tepper

    Osho “I don’t need to see to know.”
    Well, it helps.

  185. Solomon

    A friend recently attended Babaji’s Q&A session held in Asia.
    Some interesting responses…( reminds me of Faqir Chand’s discourses )
    1. An initiate asked about the inner regions as explained in the books and during initiation.
    Babaji replied not to dwell on them and to focus on listening to the sound current.
    2. A young man asked if it was possible for Hazur Maharaj Ji to be in our midst as during his father’s funeral he “saw / felt” Hazur’s presence.
    Babaji said all this is the doing of our mind that manifest these projections, emotions feelings base on our devotion.
    3. To an elderly woman who was discussing about her meditation,
    Babaji responded –
    ” we are already there – no journey to undertake -its about realization ”

  186. anami

    Ordinary,
    Good bio on GSD. They also cover Ishwar Puri and Supreme Master Ching Hai. Donations accepted but only in the range of £10 to £10,000. “May your gift (donation) be reward with countless blessings from the Supreme Lord, our true origin.”
    £10,000, special yet humble! And wouldn’t you know it, they have a support group and satsangs by an “enlightened speaker” named Mystic Sant Ji!

  187. Spence Tepper

    His Majesty Grand Master Holy Emperor of Souls Divine Chief and Keeper of the Shrine of the Sacred Victuals and Blessed Sacraments, Sri Kakamamie has pronounced the highest inscrutible Wisdom… “Be Kind..” from the window of his orange Maserati, roaring by the pagan crowd, and the highly educated, who follow the tradition of Sri’s sect of licking the oil droppings from said car off the pavement, as both parshad and seva, burning thousands of Karmas, and assuring a place in that land of 10,000 virgins all battling each other fiercely over the Darshan of the Satsangi who licked the most oil.

  188. Ordinary

    @Spence
    His Majesty Grand Master Holy Emperor of Souls Divine Chief and Keeper of the Shrine of the Sacred Victuals and Blessed Sacraments, Sri Kakamamie has pronounced the highest inscrutible Wisdom… “Be Kind..” from the window of his orange Maserati, roaring by the pagan crowd, and the highly educated, who follow the tradition of Sri’s sect of licking the oil droppings from said car off the pavement, as both parshad and seva, burning thousands of Karmas, and assuring a place in that land of 10,000 virgins all battling each other fiercely over the Darshan of the Satsangi who licked the most oil.
    Posted by: Spence Tepper | October 16, 2020 at 12:25 PM
    LMAO 😂

  189. Ordinary

    Ordinary,
    Good bio on GSD. They also cover Ishwar Puri and Supreme Master Ching Hai. Donations accepted but only in the range of £10 to £10,000. “May your gift (donation) be reward with countless blessings from the Supreme Lord, our true origin.”
    £10,000, special yet humble! And wouldn’t you know it, they have a support group and satsangs by an “enlightened speaker” named Mystic Sant Ji!
    Posted by: anami | October 16, 2020 at 06:36 AM
    Crazy stuff. Don’t believe in titles. I think so called spiritual teachers should just go by simple names like Fred, Ron, Judy… first name—whatever their first name is and come up with a nick name if it’s more than two syllables.
    What’s with all this holiness. Don’t think worshiping another person is right. These guys have too many followers which = being worshipped and revered. You’re only allowed as many followers as you can fit into a party at your house. That should be the rule. If these guys don’t even recognize the faces of their “disciples” or know their names, then they’re not allowed to call themselves teachers or gurus.
    And no donations whatsoever. Meet at your guru’s house and bring the donuts but no temples or mass gatherings.

  190. Ordinary

    Never fails, these guys always start asking for money. Sooner or later…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *