Transcription
In Search of the Miraculous Vol 2Talks given from 2/5/70 to 31/7/70Original in Hindi
CHAPTER 1Outer help in the growth of kundalini energy4 July 1970 pm inQuestion 1YOU SAID AT THE NARGOL MEDITATION CAMP THAT THE MEANING OF SHAKTIPAT– TRANSMISSION OF THE DIVINE ENERGY – IS THAT THE ENERGY OF THE DIVINEDESCENDS INTO THE MEDITATOR. LATER ON YOU SAID THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCEBETWEEN SHAKTIPAT AND GRACE. THESE TWO STATEMENTS SEEM CONTRADICTORY.PLEASE EXPLAIN.There is a slight difference between the two and there is a little similarity between the two also.Actually the field of each extends into the other. Shaktipat is the energy of the divine. In fact, thereis no other energy except the energy of the divine. In shaktipat, however, a person functions as amedium. Although ultimately the person is also a part of the divine, in the initial stage the individualfunctions as a medium.It is just like the lightning that flashes across the sky and the electric light that lights the house: theyare the same but the light that burns in the house is brought about through a medium and the handof man is clearly evident behind it.The lightning that flashes in the rain is the same energy of the divine but it is not brought about byman. If man becomes extinct the lightning will still flash across the sky but the electric bulb will nolonger work. Shaktipat is like the electric bulb in which man is the medium; grace is the lightning inthe sky that comes without the help of a medium.2
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYA person who has attained to this energy level, one who is in contact with the divine, can functionas a medium because he is a better vehicle than you are for this happening. He is familiar withthe energy and its workings. The energy can enter you more quickly through him. You are totallyunacquainted, immature; this man is a well matured vehicle. If the energy enters you through him, itcomes about easily as he is an efficient medium.Secondly, that person is a narrow channel from which you will receive energy, but only according toyour capacity. You can sit under the electric light in the house and read as it is a regulated light; youcannot read under the lightning in the sky because it follows no regulation.So if suddenly by chance a person happens to be in a state in which the grace can descend on himor a sudden situation is created in which shaktipat happens to him without a medium, then thereis every possibility of his freaking out or becoming insane. The energy that has descended on himmay be too much and his capacity to hold it too little; hence he can be completely shattered. Thenunknown, unfamiliar experiences of joy become painful and unbearable.It is as if a man used to staying in darkness for years is suddenly brought out into the daylight: thedarkness will deepen all the more and he will not yet be able to see the light of the sun. His eyeswere accustomed to seeing in the darkness, so they cannot stand the glare of light and will close.So sometimes it happens that such a situation can come about within you in which the unlimitedenergy of grace can descend unknowingly on you; but its effect can be fatal, destructive, if you arenot ready. You have been caught unawares so the happening can turn into a disaster. Yes, gracecan also become harmful and destructive.In the case of shaktipat the chances of accident are very few, almost nil, because there is a personwho is functioning as a medium, as a vehicle. Passing through a medium the energy becomesgentle and mild, and the medium can also regulate the intensity of the energy. He can allow onlythat amount of energy to flow into you which you can hold. But remember, the medium is only avehicle and not the source of this energy.So if a person says that he is doing shaktipat, that he is doing the transmission of the energy, thenhe is wrong. It would be just like the bulb declaring that it is the giver of light. Because the light isalways emitted through the bulb, the bulb may be deluded that it is the creator of light. This is notso. It is not the primal source of light but merely a medium for its manifestation. So a person whodeclares that he can perform shaktipat is under the same illusion as the bulb.The energy that is transmitted is always the energy of the divine. But if a person becomes a medium,then we can call it shaktipat. If there is no medium and this energy descends suddenly it can beharmful. But if a man has waited long enough, if a man has meditated with infinite patience, thenshaktipat too can happen in the form of grace. Then there will be no medium, but then there willbe no mishap. His infinite waiting, his boundless patience, his unwavering devotion, his everlastingresolve, develop his ability to allow the infinite. Then there will be no mishap. And the happeningcan take place both ways – with or without a medium. But in the absence of a medium he will notfeel it as shaktipat but as grace from the beyond.So there are similarities as well as differences between the two. I am in favor of grace as far as itis possible; as far as possible there should not be a medium. But in certain cases this is possibleIn Search of the Miraculous Vol 23Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYand in certain cases it is not possible. So instead of the latter category of people wandering forendless lives, some person can be made a medium to bring down the divine energy to them. Onlythat person can be a medium, however, who is no longer an individual ego. Then the hazard isalmost nil, because such a person while becoming the medium does not become a guru: there isno person left to become a guru. Understand this difference well.When a person becomes a guru he becomes a guru in reference to you; when a person becomesa medium he does so in relationship to the universal being; then he has nothing to do with you. Doyou understand the difference?Ego cannot exist in any state brought about in relationship to you. So the real guru is one who doesnot become a guru. The definition of a sadguru, a perfect master, is one who does not become aguru. This means that all who call themselves guru do not have the qualification to be a guru. Thereis no greater disqualification than a claim of guruship; that shows the presence of ego in such aperson, and that is dangerous.If a person suddenly reaches a state of void, where ego has completely disappeared, he can becomea medium. Then shaktipat can happen near him, in his presence, and there is no possibility ofdanger. There is no danger to you or to the medium through which the energy is flowing.And yet basically I am in favor of grace. When the ego has died and the person is no longer anindividual, when these conditions are fulfilled, shaktipat almost becomes grace.If the individual is not self-conscious of this state, then shaktipat is very near to grace. Then justbeing near him can bring about the happening. This person appears to you as a person but inactuality he has become one with the divine. It would be better to say that he has become the handof the divine extended towards you. He is close to you. Now such a man is wholly instrumental. Ifthat person speaks in the first person in such a state of consciousness we tend to misunderstandhim. When such a person says ‘I’, he means the supreme self – but it is difficult for us to understandhis language.That is why Krishna can say to Arjuna, ”Leave all else and surrender unto me.” For thousands ofyears we will be pondering on what sort of a person this is who says, ”Surrender unto me.” Hisstatement seems to confirm the presence of an ego. But this man could say it this way simplybecause he is no more an ego. Now his ‘I’ is the outstretched hand of someone, and it is thatsomeone who is behind him saying, ”Surrender unto me – the only one.” These words, the only one,are priceless. Krishna says, ”Surrender unto me, the only one.” The ‘I’ is never the only one – it ismany. Krishna is speaking from a place where the ‘I’ is the only one, and this is not the language ofthe ego.But we understand only the language of the ego; therefore, we feel that Krishna has made anegoistic statement by telling Arjuna to surrender unto him. But this is a mistake. We always havetwo ways of looking at things: one is through our own point of view, from where we are invariablydeluded; and the other is from the point of view of the divine, from where there is no question ofdelusion. So the happening can take place through a person like Krishna in whose person individualego plays no part.In Search of the Miraculous Vol 24Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYBoth happenings, shaktipat and grace, are very contrary at the periphery; both are very close to oneanother at the center. I am in favor of that space where it is difficult to distinguish between shaktipatand grace. That alone is useful; that alone is valuable.A monk in China was observing the birthday of his guru with great celebration. People asked himwhose birthday he was celebrating, as he always said that he had no guru and that there was noneed for a guru. Then what was all this about? He begged them not to question him, but they kepton insisting, ”Today is the day of the guru – have you a guru?”The monk said, ”Don’t put me in difficulty. It is good that I keep quiet.”But the more he kept quiet, the more the people insisted, ”What is the matter? What is it that youare celebrating? – because this is master’s day celebration. Do you have a master?”The monk said, ”If you go on insisting then I have to say something about it. Today I remember theman who refused to be my guru, because if he had accepted me as a disciple I would have goneastray. That day when he refused me I was very angry with him, but today I want to bow down tohim in great gratitude. Had he wished he could have been my guru, because it was I who beggedhim to accept me, but he did not agree.”So the people asked, ”Then what do you thank him for when he refused you?”The monk said, ”It is enough to say that by not becoming my guru this man did for me what no gurucould do. Therefore, my obligation is doubled. If he had been my guru there would have been somegive and take on both sides. I would have touched his feet, offered my veneration and respects, andthe matter would have been concluded. But this man did not ask for respect and he did not becomemy guru. Therefore my obligation to him is double. This has been absolutely one-sided: he gaveand I could not even thank him, because he left no place even for that.”Now in such a situation as this there will not remain any difference between shaktipat and grace.The more the difference the more you should keep away from it; the less the difference the betterit is. Therefore, I emphasize grace. The day shaktipat has come very close to grace, so close thatyou cannot distinguish between shaktipat and grace, know that the right happening has taken place.When the electricity of your house becomes like the unhindered and natural lightning in the sky andbecomes a part of the infinite energy, that moment you should know that if shaktipat happens thenit is equivalent to grace. Remember what I have said.Question 2IN THE NARGOL MEDITATION CAMP YOU HAVE SAID THAT EITHER THE ENERGY RISESFROM WITHIN AND REACHES UP TO THE DIVINE OR THE ENERGY OF THE DIVINEDESCENDS AND MERGES WITHIN. YOU SAID THAT THE FIRST IS RISING OF THE KUNDALINIAND THE SECOND IS THE GRACE OF THE DIVINE. THEN LATER ON YOU HAVE SAID THATWHEN THE SLEEPING ENERGY WITHIN MEETS THE ENORMOUS ENERGY OF THE INFINITE,AN EXPLOSION TAKES PLACE WHICH IS SAMADHI. IS THE UNION OF THE AWAKENEDKUNDALINI AND GRACE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR SAMADHI? OR, IS THE EVOLUTIONOF THE KUNDALINI UP TO THE SAHASRAR SIMILAR TO THE HAPPENING OF DIVINEGRACE?In Search of the Miraculous Vol 25Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYExplosion never takes place with only one energy. Explosion is the union of two energies. If theexplosion was possible with one energy, then it would have happened long ago.It is as if you have a matchbox and you place a matchstick near it: they can lie like this indefinitelyand no flame will result. No matter how small the distance between the two – half a centimeter or aquarter of a centimeter makes no difference – there will be no result. For that explosion the frictionof the two is necessary; then only you will get fire. Fire is hidden in both of them but there is no wayof producing it with only one of the two.The explosion happens when the two energies meet. Thus, the sleeping energy within the individualmust rise up to the sahasrar and then only is the union, the explosion, possible. No union is possibleexcept at the point of the sahasrar. It is just as if your doors are closed and the sun is shiningoutside. The light stays outside your door. You move inside the house up to the door, but still you willnot meet the light of the sun. Only when the door opens do you come in contact with the sunlight.So the ultimate point of the kundalini is the sahasrar. That is the door where grace awaits us.The divine is always waiting at this door. It is you who are not at the door: you are away withinsomewhere. You have to come to the door. There the union will take place, and that union will bein the form of an explosion. It is called explosion because then you will immediately disappear; youwill no longer be. The matchstick will have been burnt in the explosion though the matchbox will stillbe. The matchstick that is you turns into ashes and merges into the formless.In the happening you will be no more. You will be lost; you will be broken and scattered; you willno longer be. You will not be what you were behind the closed door. All that was yours will belost. Only the one who waits outside the door will remain, and you will become a part. This cannothappen to you alone, by yourself. For this explosion it is very necessary for you to reach up to theinfinite cosmic energy. The sleeping energy within has to be awakened and made to rise upwards tothe sahasrar where the cosmic energy forever awaits. The journey of the kundalini starts from yoursleeping center and ends at the place, at the boundary, where you disappear.So there is one boundary which is of the physical, which we have taken for granted. But this is notthe greater boundary. If my hand is cut off it does not make much difference to me. If my feet arecut off, the body will not suffer much, because I still remain. In other words, I still remain in spiteof the changes within these limits. Even if the eyes and ears are not, I still remain. So your actualboundary is not the boundary of the body; your actual boundary is the sahasrar center, after whichyou no longer exist. No sooner do you encroach on this boundary than you are gone; you cannotremain.Your kundalini is your sleeping energy. Its boundaries extend from the sex center to the center at thetop of the head. That is why we are continuously aware that we may be able to disidentify ourselveswith the other parts of the body, but we cannot break our identity with the face, with the head. It iseasy to recognize that ”I may not be the hand,” but to see one’s face in the mirror and to conceivethat ”I am not this face” is very difficult. The face and the head is the limit. Therefore, man is readyto lose everything but not his intellect.Socrates was once talking about contentment, saying that it is a great treasure. Someone askedhim whether he would prefer to be a discontented Socrates or a contented pig. Socrates replied,In Search of the Miraculous Vol 26Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGY”I would prefer to be a discontented Socrates than a contented pig, because the contented pighas no knowledge of his contentment. A dissatisfied Socrates will at least be conscious of hisdissatisfaction.” This man, Socrates, is saying that man is willing to lose all, but not his intellect –even if it is a dissatisfied intellect.The intellect is also very near the center of sahasrar, the seventh and last chakra. Rightly speakingwe have two boundaries. One is the sex center; below this center the world of nature begins. At thecenter of sex there is no difference between trees, birds, animals and ourselves. This center is theultimate limit for them, whereas for man it is the first point, the starting line. When we are based inthe sex center we too are animals. Our other limit is the intellect. It is near our second boundary linebeyond which is the divine. Beyond this point we are no longer ourselves; then we are the divine.These are our two frontier lines, and between these two our energy moves.Now, the reservoir where all our energy lies asleep is near the sex center. That is why ninety-ninepercent of man’s thoughts, dreams and activities are spent around this reservoir. No matter howmuch culture may be displayed, whatever the false pretexts the society may bring out, man livesthere and there alone: he lives around the sex center. If he earns money it is for sex; if he builds ahouse it is for sex; if he earns prestige he does so for sex. At the root of it all we will find sex.Those who understood talked of two goals – sex and liberation. The other two goals, wealth andreligion, were only the means. Wealth is a resource of sex; therefore, the more sexual the era themore wealth-oriented it will be. The more in search of liberation an age is the more it will be thirstyfor religion. Religion is just a means as wealth is a means. If you long for liberation religion becomesthe means. If you wish for sexual satisfaction wealth is the means. So there are two goals and twomeans – because we have two frontiers.It is interesting that between these two extremes you cannot rest anywhere, you cannot stopanywhere. Many people find themselves in great difficulty as they have no desire for liberation,and if for some reason they become antagonistic towards sex they find themselves in a terriblepredicament. They start staying away from the sex center, but they won’t go anywhere near thecenter for liberation. They fall into doubt and uncertainty, and that is very difficult, very painful, andreally a hell. Their lives are filled with inner turmoil.To linger in the middle is neither right nor natural nor meaningful. It is as if a man climbs a ladderand stops half way. To him we would say, ”Do one of the two: either go up or come down, becausethe ladder is not a house and to stop in between is meaningless.” There cannot be a more uselessperson than one who stops halfway up the ladder. Whatever he has to do, he can do it either at thetop of the ladder or at the bottom of the ladder.So the spine is the ladder, so to speak. On this ladder each vertebra is a step. The kundalini startsfrom the lowest center and reaches to the very top. If it reaches the highest center explosion isinevitable. If it remains at the lowest center it is sure to take the form of sexual discharge, ejaculation.These two things should be understood well.If the kundalini is at the lowest center a discharge of sexual energy is inevitable. If it reaches thehighest center explosion is certain. Both are explosions and both require the participation of theother. In the discharge of sex the other is necessary, even if it is an imaginary other. But all yourIn Search of the Miraculous Vol 27Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYenergy does not become scattered from here, because this is only the beginning point of your being.You are much more than that, and you have progressed much from there. The animal is fully satisfiedat this point and therefore does not seek liberation.If animals could write scriptures there would be written in them only two goals worth striving for:wealth and sex. Wealth will be in forms suitable to the animal world. The animal that has more flesh,more strength, will be the richer one. He will win over the others in a competition of sex; he willgather ten females around him. And this also is a form of wealth. The extra fat within his body is hiswealth.A man too has riches which can be converted into ”fat” at any time. A king can keep a thousandqueens. There was a time when a man’s wealth was measured by the number of wives hepossessed. If a man is poor, how can he afford four wives? Today’s criteria of education andbank balance are a much later development. In the olden days the number of women was the onlycriterion of wealth. This is why in extolling the affluence of our ancient heroes we have had to inflatethe number of their women, and this was many times false.For instance, the sixteen thousand queens of Krishna. In Krishna’s time there was no other way ofexpressing his greatness: ”If Krishna is a great man, then how many wives does he have?” So wehad to conjure up the colossal figure of sixteen thousand – which was an impressive number then,though today it might not seem so due to the population explosion. In those days there were notso many people. In Africa even now there are communities that consist of only three people. So ifthey are told that a man has four wives it would be an impossible figure because they do not knowanything beyond the figure of three.In the realm of sex the presence of the other is required. If the other person is not present, evenimagining the other produces the necessary effect. This is why it was thought that if God is presenteven in imagination, the explosion can take place. Therefore, the long tradition of bhakti, the pathof devotion, developed in which imagination was used as the means for explosion. If ejaculationis possible through the imagination, why cannot the energy explosion take place in the same wayat the sahasrar? This gave rise to the possibility of meeting God in the head through the use ofimagination. But this was not really possible. Ejaculation is possible in imagination because it hasactually been experienced; therefore it can be imagined. But we have had no meeting with God;therefore he cannot be imagined. We can only imagine that which has been experienced by us.If a man has experienced a certain kind of pleasure he can always sit back, recall the experienceand enjoy it again. A deaf person cannot hear in his dreams no matter how hard he tries; he cannoteven imagine sound. Similarly, a blind man cannot envisage light. But if a man has lost his eyes hecan always dream of light. Rather, now he can only see light in his dreams, because he no longerhas eyes to see it. So we can envisage our experiences, but there is no way to imagine what hasnever been experienced.Explosion is not our experience; therefore imagination does not work here. We will actually have togo within, and then the actual happening can take place. So the sahasrar chakra is your ultimateboundary, where you end.As I said before, man is a ladder. Nietzsche’s words in this context are very precious. He said, ”Manis a bridge between two eternities.” There is one eternity – that of nature, which has no end – andIn Search of the Miraculous Vol 28Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYthere is the other, of the divine, which is also infinite, limitless. Man is a bridge swaying betweenthese two. Therefore man is not the resting place. One either goes forwards or backwards. There isno place to build a house on this bridge. Whoever tries to settle on it repents, because a bridge isnot a place to have a house; it is only meant for crossing over from one end to the other.In Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar tried to build a temple of all religions. He dreamed of one religion, whichhe named Deen-e-Illahe – the essence of all religions. So he had inscribed a sentence on theentrance door which is a saying of Jesus Christ. It reads: This world is only a resting place and nota permanent home. You may halt here for some time but you cannot stop here forever. This is onlya place of rest on your journey. It is a camping ground, a traveler’s bungalow where one can staythe night and resume traveling in the morning. We halt here only so that we may rest the night andstart again at daybreak. There is no other purpose. We do not stop here for all time.The human being is a ladder that has to be climbed; therefore he is always tense. It is not correctto say that a man is tense: rather, man is tension. A bridge is always tense; it is a bridge becauseit is tense. It is that which lies between two extremes. Man is an inevitable tension; therefore he isnever at peace, never tranquil. Only when he becomes like an animal does he experience a littlepeace, or else he attains perfect peace when he becomes the divine. The tension loosens when hebecomes an animal; then he has climbed down the steps of the ladder to stand on the ground, theplace with which he has been familiar for thousands of lives. He has relieved himself of all botherabout tension. So man seeks freedom from tension in sex, or in other experiences related to sexsuch as alcohol, drugs, etcetera, that can take him into temporary unconsciousness. But you canbe there for a short while only; even if you wish, you cannot stay in the animal state permanently.Even a man of the worst quality can stay in the animal state only for a short while.The man who commits murder does so in the moment when he becomes an animal. Had he waited amoment longer, perhaps he might have been unable to do it. Our becoming like animals is somewhatlike a man jumping: for a moment he is in the air; then he comes back on the ground. So the worstof men is not bad forever; he cannot be. He is so only during moments; otherwise, he is normallike any other person. For one moment he derives comfort, because he falls back onto the knownground where there are no tensions. This is why we find no tensions in animals.Look into their eyes: there is no tension. The animal never goes mad or commits suicide; he suffersno heart disease. But all this becomes possible for animals who are in the bondage of man – whenhe pulls man’s wagon or becomes his domestic pet. This is a different thing altogether. When mantries to pull the animal across the bridge the complications start.Now if a stray dog enters this room he will move about as he pleases, but if a pet dog enters he willgo and sit where he is ordered. Now this pet dog has entered the world of man and left his animalworld behind. He is bound to land himself in trouble. He is an animal that has been made to undergothe tensions of a human being. Thus, he is forever in distress. He eagerly awaits the order to runout of the room.Man can fall back into the animal state only momentarily. This is why we say that all our joys areshortlived. Joy can also be eternal, but where we look for it, it is only a transitory state. We try tofind happiness in the animal state, and this can be only for a very short while. We cannot remainin the animal state for long. It is difficult to go back into our previous state of existence. If you wantIn Search of the Miraculous Vol 29Osho
CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGYto go back to yesterday you can close your eyes and visualize – but for how long? When you openyour eyes you will find yourself where you are.You cannot go back. You can forcibly do it for a moment or so, but then you always repent. Therefore,all momentary pleasures bring repentance in their course. You are left with a feeling that your effortshave gone in vain, but after a few days you forget again and fall again into the same mistake.Momentary joy can be attained on the animal level, but eternal joy is attained only upon merginginto the divine. This journey has to be completed within your own being. You have to cross from oneend of your bridge to the other; only then does the second happening take place.Therefore, I consider sex and samadhi equivalent. There is a reason for this. In fact, these are theonly two happenings that are equivalent. In sex we are at one end of the bridge, the lowest rungof the ladder where we are one with nature; in samadhi we are at the other end of the bridge, thetopmost rung of the ladder where we are one with the divine. Both are unions; both are explosionsin a certain way. In both cases you lose yourself in a particular sense: in sex you lose yourself for amoment, and in samadhi, forever. In both cases you cease to exist. The former is a very momentaryexplosion, and after it you recrystallize, because where you had gone was a lower state to whichyou cannot revert. But once you merge into the divine you cannot recrystallize.This reversal is as impossible as the one into the animal state. It is absolutely impossible. It is justlike expecting an adult man to get into his baby clothes. You have become one with the absolute,so you cannot revert back to the individual. Now the individual self has become such a narrow andinsignificant place that you can no longer enter there. Now you cannot even imagine how you canbe in it. The matter of the individual ends here.For the explosion to happen both things are needed: your journey within must reach the point of thesahasrar, to meet with the grace there.Why we call this center sahasrar needs to be explained. These names are not coincidental, thoughlanguage always develops accidentally and by constant use. We use the word door: any othername could have been easily used to denote the same thing. There are thousands of languages inthe world and there must be thousands of words that mean door and are capable of conveying thesame meaning. But when a thing is not accidental there occurs a similarity in all languages. So themeaning of door, or dwar, conveys the meaning of that through which we pass in and out. So in alllanguages the word used for door will convey this meaning, because this is a part of an experienceand not a coincidental arrangement. The idea of the space through which entrance and exit arepossible is conveyed by this word door.Thus the word sahasrar has been
YOU SAID AT THE NARGOL MEDITATION CAMP THAT THE MEANING OF SHAKTIPAT – TRANSMISSION OF THE DIVINE ENERGY – IS THAT THE ENERGY OF THE DIVINE . In Search of the Miraculous Vol 2 4 Osho. CHAPTER 1. OUTER HELP IN THE GROWTH OF KUNDALINI ENERGY Both ha
