Osho speaks!

Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian rbalasub at ECN.PURDUE.EDU
Mon Aug 18 17:03:09 CDT 1997


Venkat Puntambekar wrote:

>I thought I would not respond to these mails. I am sure Jaladhar and >Ramakrishnan would
>jump on me and call me a wimp and label me "this guy cannot argue".
>Actually thats fine with me, I am not at all perturbed. Btu I had to say this..

We are not having a boxing match here, but a discussion, and I have done
my best to be civil.

>Now if understanding
>Advaita was like knowing if something is mass poisning, then I am probably one
>of those low IQ folks Ramakrishnan alluded to. If it were that simple, then we >would

What are you trying to say? The fact is this:

1. All advaita teachers point out that some basic things like self
control etc. Eg, see upadeshasAhasrI by shrI sha.nkara or
vichArasa.ngraha by Ramana Maharshi. I'll quote those verses tomorrow.
2. The exact opposite is advocated by Osho. Frankly I don't give a damn
what Osho thinks. I just pointed out the stuff about indulging etc (to
which I responded) makes no logical sense.

>not be having this list nor these outbursts. As Martin pointed out "our heart
>and intuition CAN help us know", but it takes practice whihc should lead
>to experience. Scriptures can help you authenticate your experiences. Thats the >role
>of scriptures and they help you keep the excitement of the spritual journey.

I think a roller coaster ride will provide better excitement. "This
heart will tell you" stuff may work in exceptional cases, but is usually
used only by people like Hitler to justify obnoxious behavior.

>the fly. Can we now hear some experiences. I am serious. Infact I have asked
>Giri also the same. SO why dont we hear from the rest of the list members about >their
>experiences, how they translate the teachings into practice. ANd please lets get
>off the moral high ground.

There is no high ground or low ground. I don't go around criticizing
anyone for behaving in any way. Frankly, I have my own sAdhana to take
care of. If you think a guy who says things contradicting every advaita
teacher and telling his followers to jump and shout yahoo as a greeting
because he became scared of contracting aids from them should be taken
seriously, just because he talked some mumbo-jumbo about a finger
pointing to the moon or the fact that he had a huge beard, well it's
your choice. And it's a fact that people who claim "anything is right"
etc derive pleasure by thinking that they are superior people because
they are more "open-minded". In that case, I would say it's a case of
the pot calling the kettle black. Well, I am open minded too, but not
open enough so that my brains fall out of my ears.

I stand by my statement about the women and men who left their families
and caused them suffering, without pausing to think about whether what
he said makes any logical sense. They do have low IQ, that's my opinion
and I am _not_ going to change that.

The point was that some preleminary qualifications are a must for
advaita, that's all. I am not claiming perfection etc. I have changed
many of my views over the years, hopefully for the better. I didn't
claim to have reached the acme of self-control either, I have a long way
to go. If you want to know about this I can send e-mail. This is the
advaita list not my-personal-history list.

As for practicing etc, it should be clear from my posts that I lay
emphasis on practice also. Mere theory will get one no where. As for
what it is, I have no interest in telling anyone that. It is held that
one should not reveal these details to anyone but the guru. If the
question was intended to find out whether I hear bells clanging inside
my head or see revolving lights when I meditate, the answer is no.
Frankly, I don't see what this has to do with what I said in my mail.

I have had disagreements with Jaldhar, but I can understand where he is
coming from. If you have any problems with the logic Jaldhar or I used,
please point that out, so that we can learn. Handwaving stuff does no
good in a discussion and neither does diverting the topic at hand.

Ramakrishnan.



More information about the Advaita-l mailing list