Not everybody is as courageous as Satyananda

Martedì 31 Gennaio 2017

31 January 201

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As a tribute for Satyananda, a few excerpts from Punya’s book On the Edge related to him.

The first piece, from chapter 5, takes place in the bus which took us one morning from Saswad to Pune to attend Osho’s discourse.
We felt as one, as a tribe again where the feeling of being a separate individual had not yet been learned. I also felt a ‘yes’ from Satyananda who, in the seat in front of me, was listening to Nirvano’s interpretation of the in-depth meaning of the Saswad experiment. (Before he met Osho, Nirvano was a professor of German and English and his outlook on things was always rational…) Satyananda had come to Pune a few years before as a journalist for the German magazine Stern. Being a sincere man, he tried out the meditations before writing his story and soon fell in love with Osho. Knowing that he could never sell a positive article, even less so to the snotty Stern, he had the courage to give up his prestigious life as an international star reporter, become a disciple and move to India to permanently live in the ashram.
We heard that he was keeping a diary of his life in Saswad (I wish I had his notes now!) and that a book about his first years with Osho was going to be published. His Ganz entspannt im Hier und Jetzt eventually became a best-seller and all of the German speaking sannyasins gulped it down as soon as it came out. A passage where he describes Deeksha walking through the ashram stunned me the most. I never thought that words could be so accurate and give a complete picture of a person in just two sentences. With his permission I have translated them here, hoping to do justice to his art:

Deeksha is a well-rounded Italian beauty with long black hair and an energetic chin. She pushes the low centre of gravity in her large short body along the paths of the ashram with vigorous steps and powerful rowing strokes generated by swinging her arms out sideways.

Jörg Andrees Elten, Ganz entspannt im Hier und Jetzt

The next piece is from chapter 6, being in Rajneeshpuram during one of the World Celebrations, when I was working as a tour guide – and Satyananda probably as a bus driver…
The next day I escorted the photographer of the Stern team to Krishnamurti Lake. My job was to make sure that his lens was not pointing onto a subject which could be misused. An innocent hug between friends would certainly receive a caption mentioning the ‘sex guru’ and we wanted to avoid that. But it escaped my attention that a girl was wearing her mala around her waist; while swimming it was probably safer there than around her neck. Such an innocent thing, but the published photograph which spread over two pages showed her sun-tanned belly button, Osho’s face in the mala and a sexy, wet, red bikini bottom.
We introduced a few Festival visitors from Germany to the Stern journalist. She became very enthusiastic about Chaitanya Hari, applauded our ways of living and – I think – would have loved to stay with us forever. When she finally had to depart, she lost her keys and we had to organise a carpenter, in the middle of the night, to force the door of her room to retrieve her luggage. Despite her obvious Freudian slip, the negative article which was eventually published turned out to be worthy of the aggressive and cynical journalism of Stern, and the choice of the photographs and the text of the captions belied her positive feelings. The last paragraph, where she quotes a passage from a discourse by Osho, was the only thing that seemed true to her real feelings. Maybe as an apology, she wrote me a card from New York to thank me for taking her around. I felt betrayed and certainly did not reply. Stern would not have accepted a positive article about us, but – in my view – she could have been true to herself and given up her job. But then, not everybody is as courageous as Satyananda had been.
Excerpt from On the Edge by Punya – punya.eu
More excerpts from On the Edge published in this magazine
More articles by this author on Osho News

http://www.oshonews.com/2017/01/31/not-everybody-is-as-courageous-as-satyananda/ 

Notes from Song Mountain

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Presently enjoying another visit to Song Mountain in China, Veena sent us an email and photographs documenting her experiences.
Hi everyone, love and blessings from Song Mountain! I just love being here, feeling at home, whole, peaceful and content. Meditations happen often – I find myself slipping into a silent aware space and just sit on my comfy chair on my beautiful balcony from which I can partially see the mountain, and bliss out.
And every day amazing things, big and small, happen!
For example, great excitement a few days ago when Zeyuan, the kungfu master’s gorgeous little grand-daughter said her first words: “Bye, bye!” In English! Whenever I leave the school she is encouraged to wave goodbye to me and everyone says, bye, bye and I say bye, bye so she has picked this up. I think my legacy to Shilipu village will be those words as all the babies and their mothers know them!
Another astounding thing that has happened is that I found some Chinese herbal patches which are stuck onto any arthritic joint. The result is totally incredible! While I have the patches on, all pain goes and I can walk normally, even without a limp, after painfully hobbling around for the past eighteen months. The patches have reduced the inflammation and swelling and I can even bend my right knee now. It means I can walk up the mountain to the school – about 1½ miles – and enjoy being in touch with nature and the energy of the mountain. Just phenomenal! However, I don’t yet know if the patches will have a lasting effect. I spoke with the kungfu master, Wu Nanfang, and he suggested I go for some acupuncture with a doctor he knows in the town of Yangshi on the other side of the mountain. I will definitely try that.

Song Mountain

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Last Friday I proudly managed to walk up to the school to have lunch there and say goodbye to some westerners who were leaving. Was sitting chatting with them when Master Wu Nanfang came up with the wonderful Chinese student and friend, Chengeng, to translate. The question was, would I like to go to see the dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony of the International Kungfu Festival which is happening at the moment. The actual event is by invitation only. The Master’s friend Liu, a lovely man, works for the Dengfeng City Council and is responsible for all the electrical operations to make the event function. Of course I said yes, and the result is some of the photos I am showing you. The Chinese are just about as good as the British at putting on magnificent pageantry and the sights were amazing. The roughly 100,000 kungfu students in Dengfeng line the 13-kilometre road from the city to the Shaolin Temple – all in brightly coloured gear and holding brightly coloured flags. Once at the temple we watched the rather boring opening ceremony but got to see lots of kungfu displays. Sometimes the sheer number of kungfu students is mind-boggling!
At the end of it all, Liu invited us to a magnificent dinner with some other people. When the Chinese lay on a celebratory meal, the result is also mindboggling – the dishes just keep on coming. Of course you can’t eat all of it but the Chinese have the tradition of doggy bags so all the left-over food is bagged up and parcelled out for everyone to take home!
Then yesterday evening I was busy on the final edit of the kungfu book that I am doing for Master Wu Nanfang when I got a message on the WeChat app on my phone from Chengeng: ‘Veena, where are you now?’ I replied saying I was at home – and then didn’t hear anything further. Having had experience of the spontaneous happenings with my Chinese friends, I was prepared for something to happen − repaired the make-up and brushed the teeth – but nothing further materialised. Had just decided to start getting ready for bed when there was a knock on the door and the exquisite Dongzhe, the Master’s new daughter-in-law, mother of Zeyuan, appeared with her phone with Chengeng on the line. Would I like to go to the mountain theatre performance − now!
I have spoken before about this breathtaking performance because I have seen it four times already – but was totally happy to see it a fifth time because it is also a mindboggling performance. So I quickly put on some warm clothes and ran downstairs with her to her car. Fifth time around, this show was as stunningly beautiful as ever but with an addition which I have never experienced before – it was a full-moon night and the whole mountain was lit up with the light of the moon. Surreal! For those of you who don’t know, this performance takes place in an open-air theatre set into a valley in the mountain and the stage is about half a kilometre wide, surrounded by the mountain. Goats and horses are part of the performance.
What a gorgeous surprise!
And another little thing. I always say ‘Nihao’ (hello) to the villagers when I pass them, and on my way back from my walk this morning I passed a neighbour, an old lady, who was cracking walnuts on the wall with a hammer (this is a walnut-growing area). When I said Nihao she motioned for me to sit on the low wall and proceeded to feed me walnuts. Then two of her friends came and we all sat on the wall talking to each other in our respective languages, not understanding the words, but totally understanding the good feeling in that present moment.
Related poem
Walnut Season on Song Mountain by Dhiren
Veena is a regular contributor – 3books.co.uk
Veena is the author of A Mountain in China
More articles by this author on Osho News

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/11/12/notes-from-song-mountain/ 

River of Love

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Sarito has just come too; he’s the architect from America. He is grey-haired, has glasses; his energy feels young, in touch.
He asks Osho about his name (he was given sannyas by post so hasn’t heard the meaning in detail).

Prem Sarito? It is one of the most beautiful names – it means a river of love. And love remains alive only while it is a river; when love becomes stagnant it dies. Love is only in the movement because love is a dance. Frozen, it is dead. Love is in the loving; it is not a noun, it is a verb.
[Osho says that as soon as you try to possess love, as soon as you take it for granted, it becomes stale and is no longer flowing…. ]
And the same happens in all kinds of love relationships – in friendship…. It can happen even in the relationship with the master. The honeymoon can end if you don’t understand that one has to remain in a flowing, river-like process. Otherwise the disciple starts taking the master for granted and the master starts taking the disciple for granted; then it is dead. Then the master is not a master and the disciple does not understand what love is.
With a real master it is always a flow. With a real master it is never a compromise, it is never an agreement, it is never legal; it remains open. And one never knows what is going to happen next – then there is great adventure.
That is the meaning of Sarito, so remain in that adventure. Then a man can remain young for his whole life. A man dies young then; even in death he is young.
He may be one hundred years old but that doesn’t matter: his youth is something of the inner. He remains supple, flexible. He is not a dried and dead thing – the juice is still flowing.
So remain juicy and flowing. That is the meaning of Sarito.
Sarito: It’s right on! Right on!
Osho, This Is It, Ch 26
Sarito left his body on 17th of October 2016 in Guatemala

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/10/18/river-of-love/ 

Man is asleep – man lives in a deep slumber

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Osho speaking on ‘Asleep’:

The most fundamental religious truth is that man is asleep — not physically, but metaphysically; not apparently, but deep down. Man lives in a deep slumber. He works, he moves, he thinks, he imagines, he dreams, but the sleep continues as a basic substratum to his life. Rare are the moments when you feel really awake, very rare; they can be counted on the fingers. If in seventy years’ life you had only seven moments of awakening, that, too, will be too much.
Man lives like a robot: mechanically efficient, but with no awareness. Hence the whole problem! There are so many problems man has to face, but they are all by-products of his sleep.
So the first thing to be understood is what this sleep consists in — because Zen is an effort to become alert and awake. All religion is nothing but that: an effort to become more conscious, an effort to become more aware, an effort to bring more alertness, more attentiveness to your life.
All the religions of the world, in one way or other, emphasize that the sleep consists in deep identification or in attachment.
Man’s life has two layers to it: one is that of the essential, and another is that of the accidental. The essential is never born, never dies. The accidental is born, lives and dies.
The essential is eternal, timeless; the accidental is just accidental. We become too much attached to the accidental and we tend to forget the essential.
A man becomes too much attached to money — money is accidental. It has nothing to do with essential life. A man becomes too much attached to his house or to his car, or to his wife, or to her husband, to children, to relationship. Relationship is accidental; it has nothing essential in it. It is not your real being. And in this century, the twentieth century, the problem has become too deep.
There are people who call the twentieth century ‘the accidental century’ — they are right. People are living too much identified with the non-essential: money, power, prestige, respectability. You will have to leave all that behind when you go. Even an Alexander has to go empty-handed.
I have heard:

A great mystic died. When he reached Paradise, he asked God, “Why was Jesus not born in the twentieth century?”

The Lord God started laughing and said, “Impossible! Impossible! Where would the twentieth century people ever find three wise men or a virgin?”

[…] All private goals are against the goal of the universe itself. All private goals are against the goal of the Whole. All private goals are neurotic. The essential man comes to know, to feel, that ‘I am not separate from the Whole and there is no need to seek and search for any destiny on my own. Things are happening, the world is moving — call it God — He is doing things. They are happening of their own accord. There is no need for me to make any struggle, any effort; there is no need for me to fight for anything. I can relax and be.’ The essential man is not a doer.
The accidental man is a doer. The accidental man is, of course, then in anxiety, tension, stress, anguish, continuously sitting on a volcano — it can erupt any moment, because he lives in a world of uncertainty and believes as if it is certain. This creates tension in his being: he knows deep down that nothing is certain. A rich man has everything that he can have, and yet he knows deep down that he has nothing. That’s what makes a rich man even poorer than a poor man.
Osho, A Sudden Clash of Thunder, Ch 3

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/10/09/osho-on-asleep/

Osho Ko Hsuan – Sexuality

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In part 3 of 5, Surendra writes about how sex and sexuality was approached at Osho Ko Hsuan school.
By 1992, I had been at Osho Ko Hsuan school in rural Devon for about two years. One of my small jobs was driving a couple of miles up a steep hill to the miniature town of Chulmleigh. This was to do the weekly banking in the tiny branch that was manned only two mornings per week. Being an early bird, unlike most of the residents, I was up and about chirping before breakfast (sometimes to the annoyance of any night owl struggling with its preparation) and that is how I got this job.
One morning, as I was preparing to leave, a stranger wandered into the kitchen. Announcing himself as a reporter from the local paper, he asked about the police raid. I looked around at the two adults present and listened to the quiet murmur from a couple of kids in the adjacent dining room. It was a normal but sunny morning. It was very quiet and nothing untoward was going on. “You must have got the wrong place,” I blithely told the reporter who then went away. Exiting thirty minutes later, having collected the cash from the office safe, I saw a police van and several marked and unmarked cars parked near the top of our long driveway. Forever one to be focused on the task in hand, I continued on to the bank.
By the time I got back, the school was in chaos with uniformed police everywhere. It looked like the reporter had been accurately tipped off, presumably by one of their numbers. As I returned to the office, the carpets were up and extension cords and phone wires were being examined suspiciously. The bewildered adults were gathering in our sitting room. A senior police officer had been speaking to one of our colleagues and he eventually came and told us what it was all about.
Watch on YouTube
During one of the weekly Sunday Meetings when the adults were dealing with school business, two girls around twelve years old had decided to do a photo session. The problem was that they had seen a few Playboy magazines and decided to emulate the poses in them. Well, I suppose we have to give them some marks for confidence and audacity. But the story gets worse. In their innocence, on the next school trip to Exeter, they dropped their roll of film into Boots the chemist for developing and printing along with the locals’ holiday and birthday snaps. Had we been operating the child paedophile ring that the police suspected, a high street photo service would hardly have been a likely choice.
Lots of meetings and interviews with the police and child protection agencies ensued. As the first one convened in awkward silence, the oldest member of our adult team announced in his clear BBC accent. “I suppose you have come to find out whether we have been fucking all the little girls and buggering all the little boys.” At least, he broke the ice. This incident also triggered our first official school inspection from the education department, something that was meant to be in place for all schools in the UK. As a qualified social worker, I was the obvious person to deal with this.
The man and woman, in their late thirties, that visited over a couple of weeks were open and had a sense of humour. They were determined to thoroughly do their job but without a heavy hand. Before the end of that term, we had all been fully scrutinized and the agencies combined to deliver an outstanding report. It praised the dedication of staff to both the academic development and welfare of the children. Underlining the high levels of freedom, support and participation they highlighted the confidence, sincerity and maturity of the kids. In short, they felt we were all doing a great job in a unique and nurturing environment.
Yet this point was not the end of the story, only the middle. The event had thrown the spotlight on sex. It forced adults and kids to think and talk about what was going on for them regarding sexual feelings and look at their attitudes towards each other.
Osho had often spoken on the importance of sex, for example:
Please don’t control, because all control means control by the ego. I teach you uncontrol: remain natural. Control makes you unnatural, artificial, arbitrary…. Remain natural, relax. Whatsoever existence has given to you – sex, love, whatsoever – accept it as a gift. And go into it, go into it meditatively, go into it consciously. So that you can see what it is, so that you can learn something from it.
And one day sex disappears. And that day is of great importance because that day you are biologically free. That freedom is not attained through control; that freedom is attained through understanding, awareness, witnessing.
Osho, Unio Mystica, Vol 2, Ch 10 (excerpt)
In the nineties, the Osho Commune in Pune, India usually had several thousand adults milling around. In the larger communes, going into our sexuality often meant exploring sexual relationships from brief encounters to longer connections. Sometimes it meant watching the lack of action but at least there was someone to fancy. Osho Ko Hsuan in those days had around fifteen adults. Even a short term mutual attraction within this small circle was very unlikely. It did happen – but rarely. Sometimes adults arrived as a couple but they did not always remain so for long. Well, there was always the holidays to look forward to.
Ko Hsuan was also home to some seventy kids aged between nine and seventeen and unquestionably, the kids held centre stage. Our roles in teaching, befriending and taking care of a particular group of kids plus domestic and administrative tasks, used up nearly all our energy. Partner relationships were not going to get much time and attention. On top of that, among the seventy kids were around twenty teenagers. As we know from our own teenage years, at this time sex can loom pretty large. This may not be in terms of any direct physical encounters although we might long for them. With the physical changes in our bodies including the hormones racing through them, we cannot help notice the impact.
Many teenage girls, given freedom, want to explore their appeal to men. As one girl said, “From a certain age I realised that whenever a man showed up, I became flirtatious.” To her surprise this even applied to the silver-haired baker who came early every morning with a tray of bread. How were the eight or so resident, middle-aged males going to relate with the adolescent girls? All the children in our care were appealing; those with feminine charms and attractive bodies, sometimes especially so.
Sooner or later, frequently or rarely, the men were going to get turned on by the girls. Of course, women were going to get turned on by boys too, but this seemed less frequent and in a less physically, sexual way. The girls loved to play with the impact of their energy but as one girl made clear, “We really like to flirt with the men but we definitely don’t want them to do anything about it.” So, there us men were, set up in one of those scenarios of ancient myth: tempted by untouchable and alluring nymphs. They were not just nymphs however, they were Ko Hsuan kids with spirits burning very brightly! Encouraged to be free and outspoken, whatever topic came up, they had great bullshit detectors and always wanted honest answers.
I remember in my first few months being the only adult around a small bonfire with a group of older kids. A game of Truth or Dare got going. A bottle was spun and whoever it pointed at had to choose between doing something outrageous or answering a question honestly. When the bottle stopped in my direction, I chose ‘Truth’. “Which girl do you fancy the most?” came at me. I did not lie but gave dithering generalities about the girls being pretty and how I was fond of them all…. A fifteen year old girl with big dark eyes and a piercing gaze stopped me in mid sentence. “No! Who do you want to fuck?” I was right on the spot and gave a truthful answer. My embarrassment was lessened by the absence of the girl in question. For a short while afterwards, there was an awkwardness between the two of us but not for long: life moved on – in triple time at Ko Hsuan. All sorts of new excitements appeared and the old were soon forgotten. In my experience, honesty may be uncomfortable in the beginning but bringing things into the open leads to greater ease in the long run.
For quite a while during and after the investigation, its ramifications were the main subject of discussion in the adult meetings. The women now felt free to speak about some of the men being insensitive around the teenage girls with inappropriate language, attitudes or behaviour. The men did a lot of soul searching and expressed their feelings about the girls in general or particular. We also had meetings with the teenagers about sex.
The new Mandir wing, under completion when I arrived, housed about ten double rooms, a communal large shower and a comfortable sitting room. At the start of term choosing roommates was a big deal. Boys had to share with boys and girls with girls but some had strong preferences. Popular kids could enjoy the glory and a few, hard pressed to find a roommate, felt very hurt. From the beginning we insisted they sort it out amongst themselves, only intervening if they got stuck with a problem. All the fourteen to sixteen year olds were accommodated in this wing. If there were not enough to fill it up, those of thirteen who seemed mature enough to cope were considered. All of these kids would be enrolled in GCSE *) external exam courses and have some commitment to their studies. At least they had to make an appearance in the classes and have a go at the homework. In terms of numbers, it usually worked out fine.
The Mandir kids were allowed to have ‘late night snacks’ in the kitchen while the rest were in bed. This was supervised by the bedtime adults. Once it was over, the Mandir kids were asked to go to their wing and stay there until the morning. They sometimes took their snacks with them and had a kettle for more drinks later on. Adults did not venture into the wing at night unless invited to some rare and special occasion or a game of poker. My time in the States lead me to introduce Seven Card Stud in my first year at the school. Played for pennies, it became very popular for a while. After several years at the school, most adults were too tired to think of staying up after 11pm. As for the Mandir kids, they learned from a young age to regulate their need for rest. They stinted on it most of the term time but still found abundant energy for much creativity and fun. They probably slept a lot during the long holidays at home.
Sexual partnerships between the kids did spring up from time to time and there was also room for more casual experimentation. The kids sometimes confided in us, especially when we were their room adults. What was very apparent was that sexual maturation was unique for each individual. Some of the Mandirs of either sex were very clear that they did not want to get into any kind of physical activity yet. Others were interested from a young age. As with the adults, within such a small group, sexual attractions were less likely. Some of the kids had also grown up together at the school and they viewed each other more like siblings. In contrast, once in a rare while, a handsome stud or femme fatale emerged in Mandir, creating thrills and heartache all around. When they left, that kind of energy left with them. In its wake remained the more usual complaints. From the boys, “Oh man, you don’t really know them. They are such bitches!” From the girls, “The boys are so fucking immature!” We had to be a bit careful when choosing adults to work with us. Hunky young men under thirty could be potential dynamite.
I always admired the tact, discretion and warm support that exuded from the women who took care of the supply of condoms available to kids who wanted to engage in sex. They also stopped the condoms being used as balloons or bombs in water fights. We had a no bullying policy at the school and made this crystal clear to the kids, especially around any possibility of sexual coercion. However, once in their own space, we relied on their personal and collective integrity to maintain those values.
Sex did happen for some of the kids in Ko Hsuan: safely, lovingly and/or experimentally. Freedom in sex meant exactly that. It resulted in honest enquiry and exploration. The kids were discovering many exciting dimensions in themselves and the vibrant life around them. Sex was important and could be powerful but was only one aspect of their lives. In the absence of repression, sex takes its place. As for the adults, we welcomed the holidays.
*) General Certificate of Secondary Education
Articles of the same series: Osho Ko Hsuan School
A former Reichian therapist, British Surendra took sannyas in 1976. He lived in Osho’s communes in India, USA, UK and Japan from the early 1980s on. In Pune 2 he looked after the painting work in Lao Tzu House, and then worked in Osho Publications. From 1991–1996 he taught at Ko Hsuan in Devon, UK, and after a sojourn again in 2001 he also became a passionate photographer. In 2013 he relocated to the Japanese Alps with his partner, Amrapali. surendraphoto.com

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All articles by this author on Osho News
Video Credits:
Production coordinators – Tara and Kamadevi
Camera – Mirdula
Production Crew – Sam, Kanika, Soendra, Shikha, Wally, Jahan, Flo and Illa
Post Production – Chloe, Wyatt, Tara

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/06/osho-ko-hsuan-sexuality/

In Pursuit of Silence

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In a clamouring world of ever growing noise, a meditative film makes the case for less noise pollution. Sandrine Ceurstemont writes in New Scientist on June 15, 2016.

If you live in a modern city, finding a quiet spot is a challenge. The buzz of traffic, planes, sirens and the racket of construction are probably the backing track of your daily life. And you’ll get no respite by sitting at your computer even with headphones on: browsing the internet, you’ll be interrupted by ads on autoplay or telltale beeps announcing a new message.
Most people seem to adapt to the cacophony, but are we paying a price?

In Pursuit of Silence, a documentary film directed by Patrick Shen making its UK premiere last week at Sheffield Doc/Fest, explores our relationship with silence and the impact of noise on our lives.
It begins boldly with 4 minutes of “silence” as an ode to John Cage’s seminal piece of “silent” music, which featured an orchestra turning pages and clearing throats, but not actually playing. Luckily the beautifully shot, calm scenes aren’t boring to watch and, accompanied by some of the quiet sounds at these locations, they challenge the idea that anywhere is completely silent.
Even if there were no humans, the environment wouldn’t be quiet. On land, in the air and in the sea, the natural world is awash with sound. But some types of sound can be disruptive.
No talking
The film follows Greg Hindy, a young man who has taken a vow of silence and is trying to get away from distracting sources of noise embedded in electronics and entertainment. “My intuition was that it was a good thing to do,” he writes, showing his words to the camera.
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His instinct may be correct. A few years ago, the World Health Organization declared that excessive loud and unpleasant sounds pose a health risk in western Europe. Biologically, noise is meant to alert us to danger and when we hear sounds, our levels of stress hormones and blood pressure rise. Chronic noise exposure can have a long-term impact on health, for example, by disrupting sleep, and at its most extreme it can kill, typically by contributing to heart attacks.
Noise can harm us in more subtle ways, too. In the film, bioacoustician Kurt Fristrup from Colorado State University in Fort Collins mentions the gradual onset of hearing loss that many people may not notice.
We may also be losing the ability to hear distant sounds, which our ancestors would have been able to pick up when living in the relative silence of nature.
Sound in mind?
Then there is the effect of sound on our minds. Music can alter mood, and even relieve anxiety, but intrusive sounds can affect our ability to make sense of what we’re hearing. And the increasing level of noise in hospitals is thought by some to lead to medical errors.
In a widely publicised 1975 study, Arline Bronzaft, an environmental psychologist, found that pupils in classrooms close to railway tracks fell a year behind in their reading scores – which prompted officials to add padding to the tracks and soundproof school ceilings.
In Pursuit of Silence touches on other potential solutions to the rising tide of noise. A foundation called Quiet Mark in Hove, UK, for example, works with manufacturers to create quieter technology.
And airlines are setting noise targets. Virgin Atlantic, for instance, wants to reduce plane noise by 75 per cent over the next four years. Car designers are also aiming to create quieter models.
Appreciate the silence
In Japan, a more offbeat solution is to attend forest therapy sessions to de-stress.
Ultimately, modern culture may be hindering a peaceful lifestyle, as people spend most of their spare moments getting a stimulating hit from the digital world.
A tea ceremony featured in the film illustrates Japan’s cultural appreciation of silence, while in the West, more importance is often placed on being loud and expressing yourself.
The documentary is engaging and thought-provoking throughout. Its meditative style, however, might take some getting used to; we are so accustomed to the adrenaline rush of an action film to keep us entertained that reconnecting with our quiet side can be hard work.
Sandrine Ceurstemont
newscientist.com

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/12/in-pursuit-of-silence/

Temple at Midnight

About to be released Music Reviews — 08 September 2016

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Sneha reviews Miten’s new album which will be released 9th September 2016 and is available in advance on his US and Canada tour.
Temple at Midnight is a wonderful collection of easy-going songs, sung straight from the heart with his slightly husky and warm voice. One of the songs most everybody will know: ‘Norwegian wood’ by the Beatles. I dare say that I like it almost as much as the original – it’s very mellow and gentle with a beautiful acoustic guitar and female background voice.
The other titles are new to me – all having wonderful names and lyrics with deep spiritual wisdom such as ‘The river is my teacher’ – with a beautiful rhythm one wants to dance to. And ‘No goal but this’ is pure blues – very grooving!
The next one is called ‘One step at a time’: if you play it first thing in the morning on a day with much ahead of you, you’ll relax immediately and be in a good mood and maybe even sing along. What a great reminder! ‘All is welcome here’ does this job as well.
‘Exactly as it is’ – a very sweet and tender love song to enjoy while ‘Humaniversal’ encourages you to dance your very own prayer. ‘Love is the fire’ is a rhythmic love song and gets you going and moving.
He also sings about the dance of life we all share, in ‘Nobody can’, whereas ‘Guruji’ is a soft and sweet devotional song for the master. And the last song, ‘Inescapable love’ again is groovy and rhythmic and tells us to “be a light onto yourself and shine upon the world.”
Miten explains in the description: “Temple at Midnight is about community and conveys my inner values and insights of a life lived against the mainstream. Why wait? Now is the time to shine upon the world!”
He certainly does this with his music! This CD is spiritual music in the best sense as it differs from the well-known celestial electronic New Age music. It is ‘whole music’ as opposed to ‘holy music’.
The songs are all down to earth with real instruments (guitar, piano, wind instruments, drums…) and inspire the listener to sing along, encourage us to enjoy this moment with an open heart and a smile on our face.
I dare say that you will listen to this CD again and again with abundant joy in your heart!
Review by Sneha for Osho News
Preorder album from itunes.apple.com
Miten came to Osho after having left behind a successful life as a performing artist. After years of healing he eventually returned to music and composed many beloved songs which he dedicated to his master. Since 2000 he and his partner, Deva Premal, have travelled the world sharing their music. ‘Temple at Midnight’ is the couple’s 21st album release.
Miten is currently, together with Deva Premal, Manose and guests, touring the USA and Canada with concerts called ‘Shine a Light’; check out dates on devapremalmiten.com

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/08/temple-at-midnight/ 

Making Love

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A therapist has a theory that couples who make love once a day are the happiest.
So he tests it at a seminar by asking those assembled, “How many people here make love once a day?”
Half the people raise their hands, each of them grinning widely.
“Once a week?”
A third of 
the audience members raise their hands, their grins a bit less vibrant.
“Once a month?” A few hands tepidly go up.
Then he asks, “OK, how about once a year?”
One young man in the back jumps up and down, jubilantly waving his hands. The therapist is shocked – this disproves his theory. “If you make love only once a year,” he asks, “why are you so happy?”
The man yells, “Today’s the day!”

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/02/making-love/

Making Love

Humour — 02 September 2016

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A therapist has a theory that couples who make love once a day are the happiest.
So he tests it at a seminar by asking those assembled, “How many people here make love once a day?”
Half the people raise their hands, each of them grinning widely.
“Once a week?”
A third of 
the audience members raise their hands, their grins a bit less vibrant.
“Once a month?” A few hands tepidly go up.
Then he asks, “OK, how about once a year?”
One young man in the back jumps up and down, jubilantly waving his hands. The therapist is shocked – this disproves his theory. “If you make love only once a year,” he asks, “why are you so happy?”
The man yells, “Today’s the day!”

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/09/02/making-love/

Viten

Voyages — 30 August 2016

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…left her body on 6th August 2016.

Photo credit: Viola Mezera
Deva Premal (Viten’s younger daughter) writes:

Viten’s exit from this earthly plane was so impeccably timed, blessed and free of suffering and pain. She was 84 years old and until the last morning still climbed the 88 steps up to her apartment (no lift!), sang her mantras every morning, played Viola da Gamba, exercised, meditated, watched her daily soaps with enthusiasm, loved her glass of red wine in the evening and supported Miten and myself so much along the way.

She was the one who gave us all her savings 20 years ago so we could buy a van for our travels, who sent out the CDs in the first years and who always delighted us with her love and joyful nature. I’m so happy and grateful for her to have been given such a beautiful end to her life.

Viten had no fear of death and often told us that she was ready for it when it would come. She had a stroke – or as Ram Dass would say – “got stroked” and stayed long enough in the body afterwards for Ilonka (my sister), her partner Gerd, Miten and me to be with her and sing to her for the last 30 hours of her life.

Viten took Sannyas in Pune in 1981 – at the age of 49 – and her love for Osho was so deep, so total and fresh – until the end of her life.

She was a classical musician all her life. She played the recorder, organ, piano, harpsichord but her main instrument was the Viola da Gamba. She was a member of the Ulsamer Collegium, an ensemble for medieval music which was well known in its day. She gave recorder and Viola da Gamba lessons until the last week of her life. And she loved loved loved our music ;-), especially Miten’s songs!

Tributes

You can leave here a message / tribute / anecdote using our contact form (pls add ‘Viten’ in the subject field)…
I remember Deva’s mom, Viten, say to me once, “Life is a game but do not take it lightly; live every part of it fully.” Being a musician herself, she would tell me with some humor, “I will be in the audience tonight; make sure to play extra well,” and I always told her that I would be playing for her from a deep place of my heart.
Manose

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/08/30/viten/ 

Osho: As the earth thirsts for the rains

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A Cup of Tea (79)
I have received your letter.
As the earth thirsts for the rains
after a hot summer
so you are thirsting for God.
This thirst becomes an invitation
to the divine clouds –
and the invitation has arrived.

Just keep drowning yourself in meditation
and His grace will definitely pour on you.
If you are ready here –
He is always ready there.
Look! Can’t you see His clouds hovering in the sky?
http://www.oshonews.com/2016/08/17/as-the-earth-thirsts-for-the-rains/

Oho, Ecstasy: The Forgotten Language # 6 Quetion 3

Osho,

While I was roaming around near Mumbai, I stopped at Muktananda’s ashram for a couple of days. Unexpectedly, while I was there he poured on me much grace and very special attention, even though the first thing I said was that I am a disciple of Osho. I felt honored by him yet was a bit uncomfortable. Mainly, I felt guilt towards you. I am back now with you but very confused. Please help me.

First thing, whatsoever you do, never feel guilty - whatsoever you do. To go to Muktananda’s ashram is not a sin. It may be your karma, but it is not a sin! You have not violated any rule, because I don’t have any rules. How can you violate them? I don’t give you rules, because you are such neurotic people that out of the rules you will create guilt. Never associate guilt with me, around me, in association with me. I don’t want you to make, to create, any guilt, to ever feel guilty. Whatsoever you do, do it totally.

Now, you have been to Muktananda’s ashram: you should have been there totally. You must have been thinking about me there, and you must have been feeling guilty. You have been taught wrong things.

14

To be with me is not a monogamy. It is not a husband-wife relationship - that the wife cannot look at another man or the husband cannot look at another woman. I make you absolutely free. How many times do I have to repeat it? You can go to Muktananda or anywhere - you can even go to hell. And if you wander around Mumbai too much, suddenly one day you will find yourself in hell, remember - because a direct route goes from Mumbai to hell!

And this is surprising, how you managed to reach Muktananda’s ashram by wandering around Mumbai. It is far away from Mumbai. But it may be the same guilt: you cannot even take the responsibility that “I went.” You cannot even say that? How poor. You cannot even take your responsibility that “I went to Muktananda’s ashram.” You say, “While I was roaming around near Mumbai, I stopped at Muktananda’s ashram - for a couple of days”! Just look at the absurdity.

Be responsible. If you have been there, you have been there, and nothing is wrong in it. Muktananda is also God; maybe a mediocre god but still a god. You are allowed to go to mediocre gods too. And don’t feel guilty, because you are already punished - Muktananda is a punishment! What more punishment do you need?

Remember responsibility always. Whatsoever you do, do consciously; don’t wander. The questioner is trying to say that it was not conscious, deliberate - “by chance.” But nothing is by chance; everything is your responsibility. Don’t be accidental. This is one of the ways - how we try to throw responsibility onto others’ shoulders. Your act is your act. Next time, please, if you go, there is no need to wander so much. You can go directly.

And then “a couple of days” - just by wandering. A couple of minutes may have been okay, but a couple of days means you wanted to be there. But nothing is wrong in it. What I am insisting on is: accept it, that you wanted to be there.

And it is good. I know how you feel. You are shopping for a guru, and it is a supermarket. There are many gurus in the world, and how can you just decide that this man is the right one? You will have to go here and there; sometimes to Muktananda, sometimes to Sai Baba, sometimes to somebody else - nothing wrong in it!

If something of me has penetrated your heart, you will come back. If not, then it is good that you don’t come back. If something beneficial happens to you there, then allow it to happen, with all my blessings, because that is what we are trying to do. If it happens in Muktananda’s ashram, good. It should happen, that is the point. I do not have any obsession with Pune, that it should happen in Pune. If your enlightenment happens in Muktananda’s ashram, very, very good. I will be happy, tremendously happy it happened. Pune is not the point. This small piece of land.how many people can become enlightened here? The whole world is yours; become enlightened anywhere you want, choose any place.

And it is natural for the mind to go here and there. One wavers a little and then by and by one settles. And it is good that one should waver a little. So don’t force yourself. If the idea arises, which is natural, to go and visit some other ashrams and see what is happening there. You may be just deceived here. Who knows? I may be just a fake, a fraud. So who knows? Just go and see what is happening there. Maybe something is really happening there and you are benefited. Good. If not, I am available here; you can come back. But don’t create any guilt.

15

“Unexpectedly, while I was there he poured on me so much grace and a very special attention, even though the first thing I said was I am a disciple of Osho.” That’s why! It is so simple and so political; there is nothing much in it, it is not a mystery. Next time go without wearing orange, without a mala, shave your head so he cannot recognize you; and then see.

Mulla Nasruddin died. He went to heaven, but of course, as you are worried about going to some other ashram. He lived a few days in heaven and then he said to God, “I have never seen hell. And who knows, maybe things are better there. And rumors have come that they have air-conditioned it and much dancing and drinking goes on there and all the beautiful people of the world are there. Here there are only sad saints, holy people, sitting dusty and dirty under the trees. No song - not even a newspaper! No radio, no TV. And rumors are that all the politicians are there and all the scientists are there and they have created a beautiful place.”

God said, “You can go and see and have a visit,” and a two-days’ visa was given to him.

He went and he was received with great celebration. And it was really beautiful; he had never even dreamt of such a beautiful place. He thought, “What nonsense! Even God would enjoy being here. Nobody knows that hell has changed completely, and we go on believing in old books where heaven was praised and hell was condemned. Now things are totally different; things are the other way around!”

For two days he enjoyed it. He gambled and drank and danced, and all the beautiful women from Cleopatra to Marilyn Monroe - all were there. And it was tremendously beautiful, and two days just passed like two seconds. He was very sorry.

He went back and said to God, “I don’t want to be in heaven. Please give me a permanent visa; I want to go there.”

God said, “But remember, once you have a permanent change of your address, you will not be allowed to come back.”

He said, “Who wants to come back? Don’t waste time! And I don’t want to go through the red tape. Give me an order immediately. I want to go to hell, and I don’t want to stay here a single moment.”

And of course, it was arranged. He reached hell, and suddenly almost a dozen devils jumped on him and started beating him. He said, “What are you doing?” And he looked around; that beautiful scene was not there - and fire and flames. He said, “This looks like the old hell. Have I missed something? Have I reached the wrong place?”

They said, “No, you are in the right place.”

“But,” he said, “just the other day I was here for two days and it was so beautiful.”

They laughed and said, “That was not the real hell. It was just a showpiece for the visitors. Now you have come here as a permanent resident; now you will know the real thing.”

16

Next time, don’t talk about me. If you talk about me, certainly, it is simple and diplomatic that much grace and love and attention should be given to you.

And it worked too: “I felt honored by him.” Special attention - who will not feel honored? Here I never give any special attention to anybody. Even if you want to see me you will have to wait for days. An appointment is not so easy, and I don’t pay any special attention to anybody, because I really mean to work here, I mean business.

Special attention is given to you just to buttress your ego, and that’s how things go on. The guru buttresses the ego of the disciple and the disciple buttresses the ego of the guru - a mutual understanding and things go well and everything runs smoothly. They go on lubricating each other.

Here, there is nothing of that sort. I am very businesslike. I don’t give any special attention to you, because the very desire to get special attention is wrong. What are you going to do with the special attention you get? You will feed your ego. Everybody wants to be specially attended to. Why? - because everybody wants to be somebody special.

So of course, there is nothing mysterious in it: “I felt honored by him.” The special attention worked on your ego.

If you want to be here with me, remember, I am not playing any game of the ego with you. Things are straight, direct. You are here to dissolve yourself, and I am here to help you die. It is going to be arduous, but all growth is painful.

But if you want children’s toys, then you can go anywhere you want to. Maybe you need them right now. Maybe you are still childish, juvenile, not a mature person. Then you will need something like that.

But never feel guilty. I don’t want you to feel guilty for anything, whatsoever it is. Unconditionally, I want to say to you that I don’t want to create guilt in you.

Saturday Morning

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The father has an incredible desire to make love with his wife…
…but doesn’t know what to do with their 5-year-old son. Without further ado, he sends him out on the balcony and says, “Watch what’s going on outside, and tell us.”
They are both hard at it, when the voice of the little one drifts in from the balcony: “The Jones’s have bought a new car, a Mercedes!”
The father gasps, “Super, watch what else is going on.”
Two minutes later, from the balcony: “The Morton’s just got a visitor from Brighton.”
The father gasps again: “OK, watch what’s next.”
Another minute later: “Just now the Miller’s are fucking.”
Startled, the father jumps off his wife: “Why do you think that?”
Voice from the balcony: “They just sent their son out on the balcony.”

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/07/14/saturday-morning/

The Fierce Sweetness of Kali

 

Avikal's new book Featured Remembering Here&Now — 11 July 2016

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Excerpt from chapter 11 of Avikal’s new book, ‘When the Ocean Dissolves into the Drop: Osho, Love, Truth and me’.
In a discourse in Hindi in the 70s Osho said:
“Up to now, it has been taken for granted that those in search of religion can have nothing to do with sex, and that those who delve into sex can have nothing in common with spirituality. Both are illusions. The journey to kama is also the journey to Rama. The journey to lust is also the journey to light. The tremendous attraction for sex is also the search for the sublime. … Where are you standing now? You say you long to make the journey to Rama? Good. You say you desire to reach God? Very good. But where are you standing now? Now you are stranded in lust; now you are stranded in sex – and it is from this point, from where you are now, that you must take the first step forward. It is imperative you realize where you are now. By accepting this simple fact, by understanding this stark reality, you can also see the possibility for the future. To know what you can attain, it is important to know what you are.”
And so Osho continually invited his disciples to let go of their fears which were due to repression and conditioning and to explore sex with joyous abandonment. The principle underpinning this was simple: you can’t go beyond what you haven’t fully experienced first. At the same time Osho wove sex, love and freedom into his discourses, constantly reminding us that they were three aspects of Spirit, and that it was not possible to separate them, while directing our yearning towards a sexuality that was not just an offloading of energy and the pursuit of narcissistic pleasure, but an opportunity of communion with oneself and the other person.

The image of that interdependency was simple and effective: the seed of sexuality could transform itself into the flower of love when nourished by freedom.
One particular form of love that was a part of this natural cycle was the love of truth. Night after night, discourse after discourse, Osho wove together different aspects of reality, showing their interrelationships, how they supported and enhanced each other, illuminating the perfection, beauty and intelligence of the universe, and he also invited us to explore, to find our own path.
To illustrate this unlimited inclusivity of everything, this non separation that contained all dualities as complementary, he used a paradoxical language which constantly contradicted itself, therefore obliging us to verify it personally and directly, and preventing the truth from being rigidified into maps or interpretations that were “right and final.” The mystery and adventure of experiencing this lay at the heart of every word, every concept, every exhortation, every invitation, at the very base of every comprehension. In and around Osho and his commune, sexuality was demystified, defused, it was simple, abundant, fun, unpredictable and open, and exactly because of these qualities every individual, male or female, inevitably ended up having to look inside to understand their own shadows, their fears, beliefs, possessiveness and jealousy, envy and desire for power, masochism and hypocrisy. There was no escape from the wave of vitality that continually flowed inside the Commune. Almost every evening Osho would throw in four of five jokes of a sexual nature for good measure to completely play down any seriousness in the matter.
I had heard Osho say many times, half serious half joking, that for a man, a woman was the quickest route to enlightenment and my dedication to Kali, the terrible and wild female, was virtually undivided. I had had a lot of experience of love and passion, and moreover, I had had some relationships where I surrendered every inch of myself, with the rapture of giving myself completely, the joy of giving and taking without holding back, and where I had found myself on my knees before the goddess and the fiendess. And until you have fallen on your knees before a loved one you haven’t yet known the depths of love. But I also felt that something else was waiting for me and that a part of the darkness I carried inside still had to be confronted, illuminated.
That step came towards the end of 1994 through two tapes, and their transcription, a discourse by an enlightened Australian master, Barry Long. The title of the discourse was: ‘Making Love’. The tapes were direct, unrelenting and quite ruthless in stripping bare the hypocrisy of Western culture on the subject of love, the disfunctionality of the male attitude reduced to compulsive satisfaction and orgasm based on selfish and narcissistic ejaculation, and the desperate and opportunist submission of women who were dissatisfied and undermined. The divine nature of the penis and vagina, their innate intelligence and capacity for merging had been betrayed over the centuries and completely forgotten, said Barry Long with such passion and conviction that it left you breathless. But as well as merciless statements, there was the proposal of a direction, a journey into sexuality; the most radical and fascinating I had ever come across.
Just a few months previously, a relationship that I had been completely involved in for the past five years came to an end in a somewhat painful way. Quite simply, it was over because it was over. It was over because we both had different needs and our paths were moving further apart. It was over because new and unknown parts of us were being explored and we needed different models and traveling companions, and our friendship, our understanding, our spiritual closeness and gratitude went its way with the pain of that separation. It was also clear that she wasn’t the one to accompany me on my new journey, the one that Barry Long was proposing, and that the emptiness she had left behind her would attract someone else, because by its very nature this is what emptiness does, inviting and appealing to be filled once more.
For a few months I reacted by throwing myself mentally and physically into martial arts, my work and meditation, and my soul began to find itself once more, also stimulated and excited by those tapes and the possibilities they opened up. Kali was performing her dance, and I realized, also thanks to what Barry Long pointed out, that I was not yet Shiva, that my surrender was not yet complete, that my faith in myself and in my ability to be “absolutely present” in the act of love, was still distorted by some tensions, in my body, my mind and my emotions.
The central element to Barry Long’s approach was understanding how repressed emotions and expectations created and supported an unconscious and mechanic approach to making love, and how the lack of presence made it impossible for love to be manifested and shared: All the things that Osho had taken great pains to emphasize. The approach that Barry Long proposed was clearly explained and well: to first find a partner, preferably someone with whom there wasn’t already a steady relationship; to recognize together the desire to penetrate one’s own defenses and to let go of any form of conditioning still present and, finally, to give voice to the frustration that one’s conditioning was still producing. Then to arrange to meet on set days and times, and with absolute commitment to respecting that agreement, to get into bed naked, unite the genitals without foreplay and stay present one with the other, communicating what was happening internally and leaving the genitals to respond on their own accord. The orgasm, the back and forth, the various techniques and positions and manipulations and enticements and push and pull, in short, the classic routine, were avoided in order to break down the habitual and the known, to facilitate a falling of the normal masks of coitus and to make oneself naked in a situation where neither partner was, or tried to be, in control.
It began to become clear to me that the primary reason for the tensions I still felt was a subtle but persistent attachment to my power and the control that I was able to exert on myself and on women. I also began to look deeper inside.
Perhaps another month passed, maybe two, until one day I was having lunch in one of the Commune canteens, a restaurant next to a wonderful swimming pool, and while chatting with some friends, I saw a woman I knew sitting at a table not so far away. Her name was Halima, blonde, tall, with the look of an Amazon, a primal and tantra retreat leader, and something in me said, she’s the one! Almost without realizing it, as if being pulled by invisible strings, for sure driven by Eros, I got up, went over to her and, falling to my knees, I asked her if she would be willing to make love with me every day, for at least two to three hours per day, for two weeks to start with, and the answer was yes.
The two weeks turned into a month and the month turned into more months.
Together we looked under every single stone, communicating eye to eye, sex to sex, whatever we found, under every reluctance, under every attempt to escape, under every need to manipulate, into the pain of isolation, the need to dominate the other, fear of failure, into crystallized images of my masculinity and her femininity, the vulnerability of not having control, the fear of being abandoned, betrayed, the desire to possess and, one step at a time, one date after the other, with the falling of the masks and our defenses, the mistrust and anxiety that had been hiding somewhere turned into an intimacy I’d never before experienced, into a being whose soul was laid bear, in innocent and deep-rooted honesty, in friendship and closeness, in recognition of the divine incarnated, in me, in her, in my penis and her pussy.
There were tears and laughter, storms and serene lakes, long hours passed without separating, with movements of a subtle and unfamiliar intensity in the genitals, dozens and dozens of meals skipped and substituted with cashews and dates, the food of the tantric lovers. There was sharing of secrets and vulnerability, moments of wild fury and overpowering memories, embraces so strong that our skin burned and dissolved, holding onto each other in order to feel the breath of life, our smiles gentle and timid, illuminated by a light that was love, fragile and delicate, caresses and sighs. We left each other only to go home to sleep or meditate or offload uncontrollable emotions. Halima discovered the fierce sweetness of Kali, I discovered the power and vulnerability behind Shiva’s surrender. Together we discovered a love that was both friendship and freedom.
Excerpt from chapter 11, Kali, of Avikal’s new book, ‘When the Ocean Dissolves into the Drop: Osho, Love, Truth and me’ – photo of Goddess Kali by Piyal Kundu
Note by the editor: the Osho quotes are from From Sex to Superconsciousness, Ch 5 – 1 October 1968
Dedicated page: facebook.com/whentheocean
Available as Kindle from www.amazon.de – integralbeing.com/books
Review on Osho News: When the Ocean Dissolves into the Drop
Avikal is founder and director of the Integral Being Institute which is active in Europe, Asia and Australia. In his newest books published by O-Books – Freedom to be Yourself and Without a Mask – with the respective, revealing subtitles Mastering the inner judge and Discovering your authentic self – Avikal provides far-seeing insight into his world of training and personal development. Avikal lives in Sydney, Australia. www.integralbeing.com – articles by Avikal on Osho News

http://www.oshonews.com/2016/07/11/kali-avikal/ 

Humour is Health

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Osho on Humour

God has a tremendous sense of humor!
Religion remains something dead without a sense of humor as a foundation to it.
God would not have been able to create the world if he had no sense of humor.
God is not serious at all.
Seriousness is a state of disease; humor is health.
Love, laughter, life, they are aspects of the same energy.”

Osho, Ah, This! Ch 5

Osho: Before You Make Love, Meditate

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Osho on Tantra
The buddhist and the hindu Tantra are totally different things. Just the name is the same. If you are confused about them, that can create a very deep conflict in your body. Forget both, mm? because it will be difficult for you to come to a harmony between these two. I will give you a simple method.
Don’t be bothered about hindu and buddhist Tantra.
While making love, three things have to be remembered. One is: before you make love, meditate.

Never make love without meditating, otherwise the love will remain sexual. Before you meet the woman you should rise higher in your consciousness because then the meeting will happen on a higher plane. For at least forty minutes sit looking at the wall with just a very dim light on so that it gives a mysteriousness.
Sit silently and don’t move the body; remain like a statue. Then when you make love, the body will move, so give it another extreme of first being unmoving so the body gathers momentum to move deeply. Then the urge becomes so vibrating that the whole body, every fibre is ready to have a movement. Then only tantric orgasm is possible. You can have some music on… classical music will do; something that gives a very subtle rhythm to the body.
Make the breathing as slow as possible because when you make love the breathing will go deep and fast. So just go on slowing down, but don’t force it, otherwise it will go fast. Simply suggest that it slows down.
Both meditate together and when you are both feeling meditative, that is the moment to love. Then you will never feel tension and energy will be flowing. If you are not feeling meditative, don’t make love. If meditation is not happening that day, forget all about love.
People do simply the opposite. Almost always couples fight before they make love. They become angry, nag each other and bring all sorts of conflict — and then they make love. They fall very low in their consciousnesses, so of course love cannot be very satisfying. It will be frustrating and you will feel a tension.
The second thing is: when you are making love, before you start, worship the partner and let the partner worship you. So after meditation, worship. Face each other totally naked and worship each other, because Tantra cannot be between man and woman. It can only be between a god and a goddess. It is a gesture, but very significant. The whole attitude has to become sublime so that you disappear. Touch each other’s feet, put garlands of flowers there.
The man becomes transformed into Shiva and the woman is transformed into Shakti. Now your humanity is irrelevant, your form is irrelevant, your name is irrelevant; you are just pure energy.
Worship brings that energy into focus. And don’t pretend. The worship has to be true. It cannot be just a ritual, otherwise you will miss. Tantra is not a ritual. There is much ritual in it, but Tantra is not ritual.
You can repeat the ritual. You can bow down to her feet and touch them; that won’t help. Let it be a deeply meaningful gesture. Really look at her. She is no more your wife, no more your girlfriend, no more woman, no more body, but a configuration of energy. Let her first become divine, then make love to her. Then love will change its quality. It will become divine. That’s the whole methodology of Tantra.
Then in the third step you make love. But let your making love be more like a happening than like a making. The english expression ‘making love’ is ugly. How can you make love? It is not something like doing; it is not an action. It is a state. You can be in it but you cannot make it. You can move in it but you cannot do it. You can be loving but you cannot manipulate it. The whole western mind tries to manipulate everything.
Even if the western mind comes to find God someday, God will be in trouble. They will harness Him in some way or other, manipulate Him. They will put Him to some use, some utilitarian purpose.
Even love has become a sort of doing. No.
When you make love, be possessed. Move slowly, touch each other’s bodies; play with each other’s bodies. The body is like a musical instrument. Don’t be in a hurry. Let things grow. If you move slowly, suddenly both your energies will rise together, as if something has possessed you. It will happen instantly and simultaneously together. Then only Tantra is possible. Move now into love ….
Just feel energy descending on you and let that energy have its movement. Sometimes you will start shrieking, shriek. Sometimes you will start saying things, say. Sometimes only moans will be coming out, or some mudras, gestures; allow them. It is going to be a maddening thing, but one has to allow it. And don’t be afraid, because it is through your allowing that it is happening. The moment you want to stop it, it stops, so you are never beyond control.
And when gods make love it is almost wild. There are no rules, no regulations. One moves just on the spur of the moment. Nothing is taboo… nothing is inhibited. Whatsoever happens in that moment is beautiful and holy; whatsoever, I say, unconditionally. If you bring your mind into it you will destroy it completely. If you suddenly feel like sucking her finger and you say ‘What nonsense!’ then you have brought in the mind. You may feel like sucking her breast; nothing wrong in it.
Nobody knows what is going to happen. You are simply left in the divine vortex. It will take you, and it will take you wherever it wants. You are simply available, ready to move with it. You don’t direct it… you have simply become vehicles. Let energies meet in their own ways. The man should be dropped out of it — just pure energy. You will not be making love only through the genital organs; you will be making love through your whole body.
That’s the meaning of shivalingam: no face, no hands, no feet — just the phallic symbol. When Shiva made love he became just the phallus — the whole of his body. It is very beautiful… no face, nothing.
Everything has disappeared.
It is not that you are using your sexual organs only; the sex has spread all over. You head is as much a part of it as your feet. You have become a phallus. You are no more man; you are just energy. She is also no more a woman; just energy, a vulva. It is a very wild thing.
If you meditate before and then worship each other, there is no danger; everything will move rightly.
You will attain to a peak of orgasm that you have never known. Sometimes you will achieve it: a very great orgasm in which the whole body throbs and pulsates. By and by you reach a climax; again you come down. It will cleanse your whole being, the whole system. Sometimes there will be no ejaculation but orgasm will be there.
There are two types of orgasm: the peak orgasm and the valley orgasm. In the peak orgasm you will have an ejaculation and she will have also an ejaculation of some subtle energies. In the valley orgasm you will not have any ejaculation. It will be a passive orgasm… very silent, very subtle. The throb will be there but almost imperceptible. In the peak orgasm you will feel very very blissful. In the valley orgasm you will feel very very peaceful. And both are needed; both are two aspects of Tantra. Every peak has its valley, and every valley has its peak. A peak cannot exist without the valley nor vice versa.
[Osho said not to be too concerned about having an ejaculation. The western mind tends to be too concerned about it happening and feels that something is wrong when it doesn’t happen. The whole thing is to be totally in it and to leave things in the hands of God; it is His business. Your business is just to enjoy, delight, celebrate.]
And when it has happened and you have both achieved to a deep orgasm, don’t pull yourself out of her. After the orgasm, remain inside her and rest for a few moments. That rest is very very deep.
After an orgasm a rest is like a valley. You have reached to the very peak and now you have come back to the valley. It is very cool and shady and you rest.
And really much happens after the orgasm… the merging, the melting. Bodies are tired, exhausted, spent. The mind is shocked. It has almost been like an electric shock.
When you come out of your love state, again pray together; end with a prayer. The difference is that when you meditate, you meditate separately and she meditates separately, because meditation cannot be done together. Meditation is a lonely effort. It is not a relationship. So you may be meditating together but still you meditate alone; you are alone and she is alone.
Then you worship each other. That’s again different. The other becomes the object of worship.
Then you make love and you are completely lost. You are not yourself, she is not herself. Nobody knows who is who. All is lost in a whirlpool of energy. The polarity of man and woman is no more a polarity; boundaries merge, mingle. Sometimes you will feel like a woman and she will feel like a man. Sometimes she comes on top of you. Sometimes you become passive and she becomes active and the role changes. It is a great drama of energies. All is lost, abandoned. Then you come out of that innermost experience; pray together. That’s the fourth thing.
Just thank God. And never complain. Whatsoever happens is right. Don’t say ‘This has not happened. This should have happened.’ Who are we? He knows better. So just thank Him, whatsoever happens; thank Him with deep gratefulness. Bow down and put your head on the earth and remain there for a few moments in deep gratefulness.
Meditation is alone. In worship, the other is important, and in prayer you both pray to God. So these three things have to be involved. They will create the ecology in which Tantra happens. And once a week will do.
If you are moving in Tantra then no other love should be allowed otherwise it dissipates energy. But whenever you want to make love, make sure you have enough time. It should not be done in a hurry. It should not be like work. It is a game, play, and these energies are so subtle that if you are in a hurry, nothing happens. Tantra is not a fragment. You cannot practise it unless you create the situation. It is like a flower.
You have to sow the seed and take care of the plant and water it every day. You look to whether the sun is reaching it or not. You cannot bring the flower, but you can create the situation in which one day the flower comes and the bud opens.
So these three things are sowing the seed, caring for the plant, watering it and being continuously concerned about it; being careful, protecting it. Then one day suddenly — the flower of Tantra. It will happen.
Osho, Beloved of My Heart, Ch 17

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