Believe In Your Self...

once a brahmin bought a goat and was taking it home. Three or four thieves saw him and thought the goat could be snatched away from him. But the brahmin was strong and to steal from him would be no easy job, so they decided to try diplomacy, a little trickery.

One came up to him on the road saying, ”Well done! How much did you pay for the dog?” That man, that brahmin said, ”Dog! Are you blind? Or only mad? It is a goat! I am bringing her from the market. I paid fifty rupees for her.”

The thief said, ”It’s up to you, but you know... seeing a brahmin carrying a dog on his shoulders....  Dear brother, to me it looks like a dog. Could there be some mistake?”

The brahmin went on his way, wondering what kind of man was that! But he fingered the feet of the goat just to check, saying to himself, ”It is a goat.” Another of the gang was waiting across the road.

He called over to the brahmin, ”What a fine dog you bought!”

Now the brahmin hadn’t the courage to insist it was not a dog: who knows maybe it was a dog – two men could not be wrong. Still he said, ”No no, it’s not a dog.” But it was weaker now. He said it, but the foundations inside were shaken. He said, ”No, no it’s a goat.”

The man said, ”It’s a goat? You call this a goat? Then, respected brahmin, the definition of goat needs to be changed! If you call this a goat then what will you call a dog? But it’s up to you. You are a scholarly man; you can change it if you want. It’s just a name. Perhaps you say dog, perhaps you say goat – a dog it remains. Nothing changes just by calling it a goat.”

The man went away. The brahmin put the goat down and looked: it was definitely a goat... a goat like any other goat. He rubbed his eyes and splashed them with water from a roadside tap. He was nearing his own neighborhood: if people saw a brahmin carrying a dog on his shoulders it would be a blow against worship in the temple and against scholarship. People paid for his worship – they would stop paying, they would think him mad.... Again he thoroughly inspected the animal, making sure it was a goat. But what was with those two guys?

Again he shouldered the goat and started off, but now he moved a little nervously. What if anyone else saw him? Then he came across the third fellow. He exclaimed, ”What a fine dog! Where did you get it? I too have wanted to have a dog for a long time.”

The brahmin said, ”Friend, you just take it! If you want a dog, take it. It is really a dog. A friend gave it to me, you please relieve me of it.” And he ran home before anyone could find out that he had bought a dog.

This is how man lives. You have become what you believe. And there are many cheats and scoundrels all around – you have been led to believe all kinds of things. They have their own motives. The priest wants to convince you that you are a sinner, because if you are not a sinner how will he continue to pray for you? It is in his interest that a goat be taken for a dog. 

A pundit... if you are not ignorant what will become of his scholarship? How will he run his business? A religious

teacher... if he explains to you that you are inactive, free of doing, that you have never committed sin – then what need is there of him?

It is as if you go to a doctor and he explains that you are not sick, that you have never been sick, you cannot be sick, health is your nature – then the doctor is committing suicide. What will happen to his business? In robust health go to a doctor, go when you are not at all sick; then too you will find that he discovers some problem. Go and try it. Go in absolutely top form, when you are not sick at all; just go and do it, tell the doctor that you just want him to do a check-up. It is not easy to find a doctor who will say you are not ill. 

Source: “The Mahageeta, Volume 1” - Osho

God Is Everywhere...

There is a very beautiful story in the life of Nanak, another great mystic of the same calibre as Kabir.

Nanak went to Mecca; he traveled with some Mohammedan travelers who were on a pilgrimage. They reached Mecca, the holy stone of Kaaba. It was evening and the sun was setting, and they were very tired; and Nanak immediately fell asleep. The travelers, the companions, were very much surprised. They used to think of Nanak as a very holy man, but he was doing something stupid: his legs were towards the Kaaba when he lay down and fell asleep. They became very much afraid; this is a sacrilege. 

And by the time they could do something about it, the chief priest came, and he said, ”Who is this man? Is he an atheist, he does not believe in God? He does not seem to be a Muslim. Throw him out of here!” All this noise and talk, and Nanak opened his eyes, and he said, ”What is the matter?”

They said, ”This cannot be allowed. Your legs are towards Kaaba, and this is a sin.” Nanak laughed uproariously, and he said, ”You can put my legs anywhere you like, but, one thing before you do it, tell me if this is not so: wherever my legs are, they will always point towards God – because he is everywhere.”

Up to this point, the story seems to be absolutely realistic; then it becomes a parable. The priest was very angry; he took hold of the feet of Nanak and turned his feet away from Kaaba. And the parable says Kaaba turned towards Nanak’s feet. And he moved him in every direction, and Kaaba turned to that direction.

Now, it is a parable; I don’t say now it is realistic. Half the story seems to be exactly right. The other part seems to be very poetic – true, but not factual. It is very significant though. God is everywhere. Once you have found him within, you will find him everywhere. Then you cannot find a place where he is not. 

But don’t start the journey from the outward. Don’t start going to Kaaba and Kailash, to the temple and the mosque; otherwise you have taken a wrong step. And one wrong step leads to another. You start imagining.

Source: "Ecstasy - The Forgotten Language " - Osho

The Ghost...

Once a Man lost his Loving wife. While his wife was dying, he gave her the promise that that he will not marry again.

The man remain truthful to his dead wife for a while but destiny had stored some thing else for him. He fell in love again.

He fell so deep in love that he forgot about his promise and he married again. Its natural for a man to forget promises, wedding dates, and birthday but a woman always cherishes these things.

On his wedding Night he saw his dead wife's Ghost, who complained about the broken promise. The man was surprised to see the ghost of his dead wife but now he could do nothing about it, so he kept quite. But his dead wife ghost could not accept this betrayal and She kept coming back everyday and telling word by word what transpires between the man and his new wife.

Tired by complaints and threats from the Ghost one day the man went to a Sage. The Sage said “the Ghost is very intelligent. Next time she comes, just pick one handful of grains from a Sack and ask her how many grains are there in your Hand”.

When the Ghost came that night, the man did the same. He filled his hand with grains from a sack and asked the Ghost, “Tell me how many grains are there in my hand?” The Ghost immediately disappeared and never returned again.

Most of time what we believe and see in this world is a Projection of our mind. We can only see those things which we are already aware of. The mind projects things from the past. That Ghost was a creation of the mind and so are most of our problems. If we stop projecting things then 99% of our problems will disappear like the Ghost in this story.

 courtesy: OSHO 

Two Monks and Women...

This is one of the most famous and talked about buddhist stories for generations after generations. In old days man was close to nature and it was easy to become silent. This story belongs to that time. One day two buddhist monks were returning to their monastery silently. Watching their thoughts, watching each step and witnessing everything.

A small river used to flow close to their monastery. Walking slowly, meditatively they came across the river. There was no boat men in the river. 

Instead of boatmen, one beautiful young lady was waiting for the boat man to cross the river. The Sun was about to set and darkness was spreading its kingdom.

They waited for some time for the boat men and eventually decided to cross the river on their own. One monk who was Young carried the lady on his shoulder and three of them crossed the river. On other side of river, lady thanked the monks and went on her way and two monk started moving towards their monastery meditatively.

Meditation the very breath of their all actions. After some time Old monk broke the silence "I will tell everything to master"

The Young Monk asked surprisingly "what will you tell to master"

Old Monk said " you are spoiled , you have carried the woman on your shoulders, its sin to touch a woman for a monk"

Young Monk replied "I had dropped the woman at river bank only.''

But you are still carrying her in your head"

Some one throws garbage in our house we get angry, but if some one throws garbage in our mind then we don't mind. TV, newspaper, gossips are all garbage. Meditation is the cleanser which cleans all these garbage.

Courtesy: Osho, Sambhog Se Samadhi Ki Or

Locked Mind...

      Houdini was a master magician as well as a fabulous locksmith. He boasted that he could escape from any Jail cell in the World in less than an hour, provided he could go into the cell dressed in street clothes. Houdini became very famous. A small town in the British Isles built a new Jail, which they were extremely proud of. They issued Houdini a challenge.

     "Come give us a try", they said. Houdini loved the publicity and the money attached with it, so he accepted. The day of the challenge came. By the time Houdini arrived, excitement was at a fever pitch. Houdini rode triumphantly into the town and walked into the cell. He proudly walked into the cell and the Big Iron door was closed. Houdini took off his coat and went to work. Secreted in his belt was a flexible tough and durable ten-inch piece of steel, which he used to work  on the lock. At the end of 15 minutes his confident expression had disappeared. At the end of 30 minutes he was looking confused. At the end of an hour he was drenched in perspiration. 

          After two hours...Houdini literally collapsed against the door - which opened...! Yes, it had never been locked...... ...except in his mind........ ..where he viewed it was as firmly locked as if a thousand locksmiths had put their best efforts in making the lock for it. One little push and Houdini could have easily opened the

door........ ..But he didn't. Many times a little extra push is all you need to open your opportunity door. In the game of life you will discover, as you set your goals and unlock your mind, that the world will unlock its own treasures and rewards to you. Realistically, Most locked doors are in our minds.

Unlock your Mind...Think Great Thoughts...Do Great Things...