Guru Purnima Day is the day of all the Buddhas, all those who have become aware. In their remembrance, become aware. The grove is here in front of you.
You can see that luminous light. It is here! You can hear that celestial sound; that music is happening. And you can be soaked into my fragrance. It depends on you – how much you are ready to take, how much you are willing to take, how much you are going to be with me, how deeply.
You can come here just to hear my words; then you will miss the real message. You can come here full of your nonsense, your argumentativeness; then you will not be able to hear what I am trying to convey. You can come here as Mohammedans, Hindus, Jains, and you will miss me – but only you will be responsible, nobody else.
Try to understand your responsibility towards yourself. Enough you have been stumbling in darkness! When light becomes available, don’t miss the opportunity. Take the jump….
There is a famous statement of Jalaluddin Rumi: “I died as mineral and became a plant. I died as plant and rose to animal. I died as animal and I was a man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?”
And that is the fear that comes when you come around a Master – the fear of dying. But listen to this Rumi’s statement: “Why should I fear? When was I less by dying? I died as a plant and became an animal. I died as an animal and became a man.”
When you die in your Master as a man, you become divine. A Master is a death and a resurrection. This day of Guru Purnima is a day of death and resurrection. It is no ordinary day – it is very symbolic. If you come to me, you come only in one way: if you come to die in me. And you will not be less by your dying – you will be more, you will be infinitely more. You will be losing nothing and you will be gaining all.
This death into a Master is what makes a man a disciple. It is no ordinary relationship; it is the only extraordinary relationship in the world. All other relationships are ordinary. All other relationships are part of the world. Only this relationship is not part of the world – it takes you beyond. It is a golden bridge from the visible to the invisible, from the material to the divine, from the known to the unknown, from death to deathlessness. But… you will have to die first.
To be with a Master is to carry your cross on your shoulders. That’s why only very courageous people can become disciples. I am not here for students, I am not interested in students at all. I am only interested in disciples, those who are courageous enough to go unto this eternal voyage.
Three things you need: one – listening in the mind; second – pondering in the heart; third – practising in the body.
Listen in the mind. When you are listening to me – THESE WORDS ARE NOT MINE, these are the words of all the Buddhas. These words have nothing to do with me. I am no more here. I am functioning only as a hollow bamboo. These words are of all the Buddhas – past, present and future, too. Because the message is the same, it is always the same, it is an eternal message – sanatan dharma. It is an eternal message.
Listen in the mind without argument. If you are arguing with me, you will miss. And I am not at a loss when you miss. I don’t lose anything. If you miss, you miss. Listen in the mind with no argument. And I am not saying believe what I am saying. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying believe. Just no argument, there is no need to believe. Just first listen silently like a mirror.
When you come before a mirror, the mirror does not believe in you, but the mirror reflects you perfectly as you are. The mirror has no attitude about you, good or bad, beautiful or ugly – no, no attitude. The mirror does not argue. It simply reflects. Listening in the mind means: listen to what I am saying. There is NO hurry to believe. And there is NO hurry to disbelieve. That’s what I mean: don’t listen with argumentation. Simply listen.
Second: ponder in the heart. Listen, and let it sink into the heart. Don’t be in a hurry to think about it. If you think in a hurry, it will remain in the head. Let it first go deep. Sleep over it, let it soak, let it go a little deeper. Let it settle in the heart. There, ponder over, in the heart. Then don’t be in a hurry to practise it. Let it soak a little deeper. Let it reach into the body, into your GUTS, and then it becomes a practice of its own accord.
These are three stages of being with a Master.
Osho, Zen: The Path of Paradox Vol. 3, Ch 1 (excerpt)
