Osho excerpts Jan 2014

From Page 358:

Madhouse

Always remember one thing: that you are, as everybody is, you are already mad. Humanity is mad; this earth is a madhouse. So you can only go sane, you cannot go mad.

If you are afraid of becoming sane, that is one thing, but don't be afraid of going mad, because what else can happen? The worst has happened already! We are living in the worst kind of hell. So if you fall, you may fall into heaven. You cannot fall anywhere else.

But people are afraid, because whatever they have been living, they think that is the normal thing. Nobody is normal. It is only very rarely that there is a normal man like Jesus or Buddha: All others are abnormal. But the abnormal are in the majority, so they call themselves normal; Jesus looks abnormal. And naturally the majority can decide; they have the votes to decide who is normal and who is not. It is a strange world: Here normal people appear abnormal, and the abnormal are thought to be normal.

Watch people, watch your own mind: It is a monkey, a mad monkey. For thirty minutes just write down whatever comes into your mind, and then show it to someone. Anybody will certify you, go with that call, follow that hint. And if you disappear, disappear! What have you got to lose?

Reminds me of this quote:

"They called me crazy, I called them crazy, and damn them! They outvoted me!" ~ Nathaniel Lee

Page 30:

Emptiness

Meditation simply means becoming empty of all the contents of the mind: memory, imagination, thoughts, desires, expectations, projections, moods. One has to go on emptying oneself of all these contents. The greatest day in life is when you cannot find anything to throw out; all has already been thrown out, and there is only pure emptiness. In that emptiness you will find yourself; in that emptiness you find your pure consciousness.

That emptiness is only empty as far as mind is concerned. Otherwise it is overflowing, full of being - empty of mind but full of consciousness. So don't be afraid of the word empty; it is not negative. It negates only the unnecessary luggage, which you are carrying just from old habit, which does not help but only hinders, which is just a weight, a mountainous weight. Once this weight is removed you are free from all boundaries, you become as infinite as the sky. This is the experience of God or Buddhahood or whatever word one likes. Call it dhamma, call it Tao, call it truth, call it nirvana - they all mean the same thing.

Page 38:

Unconditional

Love never bothers much about whether the other is worthy of receiving or not. This is a miserly attitude, and love is never a miser. The cloud never bothers about whether the earth is worthy. It rains on the mountains, it rains on the rocks; it rains everywhere and anywhere. It gives without any conditions, without any strings attached.

And that's how love is: It simply gives, it enjoys giving. Whoever is willing to receive, recieves it. He need not be worthy, he need not fit any special category, he need not fulfill any qualifications. If all these things are required, then what you are giving is not love; it must be something else. Once you know what love is, you are ready to give, the more you have. The more you go on showering on others, the more love springs up in your being.

Ordinary economics is totally different: If you give something, you lose it. If you want to keep something, avoid giving it away. Collect it, be miserly. Just the opposite is the case with love: If you want to have it, don't be miserly; otherwise it will go dead, it will become stale. Go on giving and fresh sources will become available. Fresh streams will flow into your being. The whole of existence starts pouring into you when your giving is unconditional, when it is total.

Unconditional love

Mastery of Love

Page 69:

Control

Ordinarily, we say that we breathe and that's not true - life breathes us. But we go on thinking of ourselves as doers, and that creates the trouble. Once you become controlled, too controlled, you don't allow life to happen to you. You have too many conditions, and life cannot fulfill any.

Life happens to you only when you are unconditionally accepting it; when you are ready to welcome it. Whatever form it takes. But a person with too much control is always asking life to come in a certain form, to fulfill certain conditons - and life doesn't bother, it just passes these people by.

The sooner you break out of the confinement of control the better, because all control is from the mind. And you are greater than the mind. A small part is trying to dominate, trying to dictate. Life goes on moving, and you are left far behind, and then you are frustrated. The logic of the mind is such that it says, "Look, you didn't control it well, that's why you missed, so control more."

The truth is just the opposite: People miss many things because of too much control. Be like a wild river, and much you cannot even dream, cannot even imagine, cannot even hope, is available just around the corner, just within reach. But open your hand; don't go on living the life of a fist, because that is the life of control. Live the life of an open hand. The whole sky is available; don't settle for less.

Quotes about acceptance

A few links -

Looking 4 the book

101 Osho quotes

He has a LOT 2 say about meditation!

The Chopra forum has an entire thread of meditation advice

This is EXACTLY from the book - on being friends with yourself first!

Enlightenment happens when it happens

His thoughts about happiness

“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height. Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches. Happiness is like a tree going into the sky, and sadness is like the roots going down into the womb of the earth. Both are needed, and the higher a tree goes, the deeper it goes, simultaneously. The bigger the tree, the bigger will be its roots. In fact, it is always in proportion. That's its balance.”

Click here 4 more - 195 quotes in fact!

“One thing: you have to walk, and create the way by your walking; you will not find a ready-made path. It is not so cheap, to reach to the ultimate realization of truth. You will have to create the path by walking yourself; the path is not ready-made, lying there and waiting for you. It is just like the sky: the birds fly, but they don't leave any footprints. You cannot follow them; there are no footprints left behind.”

"And this process of watching is the very alchemy of real religion. Because as you become more and more deeply rooted in witnessing, thoughts start disappearing."