The Fish in the Sea is Not Thirsty Talks on Kabir

Everything is part of a circle. Who is first -- the hen or the egg? Now the question is so patently foolish that only philosophers can ask it. And they argue, and there are people who say the hen is the first.

I used to know an Indian philosopher, a Buddhist philosopher, Rahul Sankrityayana. He believed that the egg came first. He has written many articles to prove that the egg is the first. But how can the egg be the first? Some hen will be needed; and how can the hen be the first? Some egg will be needed. Those who know, they say something else. They say the hen and the egg are not two things -- the hen is the egg's way of producing more eggs; or vice versa: the egg is the hen's way of producing more hens. They are not two but one process: the egg becomes the hen -- so how can one be first and the other second? The hen becomes the egg....

But these questions have persisted down the ages, and people think they are doing great work when they are thinking about such stupid questions. Buddha was right: "Don't ask such questions. Be practical."

Each Buddha is pragmatic. If you asked a question of Buddha, he would ask, "First answer a few things: if I say yes or no, is it going to change your life? You ask, 'Who created the world?' If I say, 'God,' how is it going to change your life? If I say, 'No one,' then is it going to change your life?"

In fact, if you look at the atheist and the theist you will not see any difference in their lives. Both go to the same movie, both see the same TV programme, both eat the same food, both are members of the Rotary Club... you will not see any difference, atheist or theist. Can you tell about somebody, just by seeing his behaviour, whether he is an atheist or a theist? You cannot see any difference. They remain the same person.

So Buddha used to say, "If it is not going to make any real difference in your life, forget about the question -- it is meaningless. Ask me something which will help you to go deeper into meditation; ask me something which will bring enlightenment to you -- ask me something which will make you free from all imprisonments. Ask me something which will take you beyond all misery and death. Ask me something which will take you beyond all time and space, and will make you part of eternity."

Yes, one day when they have become a great tree, with great foliage, and flowers and fruit, people will become aware of them, and many people will be benefitted, many people will rest in your shadow and many people will quench their thirst and their hunger, and many people will be made aflame by your flowers, and many people will start moving towards God -- just by seeing you, just by feeling you, just by being close to you.

But nothing has to be said, nothing has to be explained. And even if you try, it is not possible. And trying to explain and trying to know may disturb the whole process -- something that is going to happen may be stopped.
The seventh question
Question 7

OSHO, ARE THE POLITICIANS REALLY AS STUPID AS YOU SAY THEY ARE?

What is politics basically? The desire to dominate others -- and that is the most stupid thing in life. The intelligent person tries to be a master of himself, and the stupid person tries to be master of others. And how can you be a master of others if you are not a master of yourself?

If you are not a master of yourself, then trying to be a master of others is just a substitute to befool yourself, to deceive yourself, and that is what the stupidity consists of.
Two politicians were sitting on a park bench in New Delhi. "I will tell you the truth," said one. "I am afraid to fly. Those airplanes ain't too safe!"

"Don't be a baby," said the other. "Didn't you read last week there was a big train crash and three hundred people were killed?"

"Three hundred killed on a train -- what happened?"

"An airplane fell on it!"

"For what?"

"It will give us shade in the summertime, shelter in the winter-time, and the birds a chance to speak for us all."
The eighth question
Question 8

OSHO, A FEW DAYS AGO IN LECTURE I REALIZED THAT WHEN I AM RELAXED THE BODY GOES INTO A MOST COMFORTABLE POSTURE OF ITS OWN ACCORD. IT MUST BE JUST THE SAME WITH LIFE. IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF TRUST?

Small things need to be done -- if you want more money, the money is not going to come on its own; you will have to run after it. If you want political power, it is not going to come to you on its own -- you will have to fight for it, you will have to struggle for it. Small things are those which never HAPPEN, which never come from God. Man has to struggle and do them. And great things are those which if you try to do them you will miss. Great things happen only when you are in a total relaxation.

That's what must be happening. This is happening to many people who are here. You are not here just to listen to me: you are here just to BE with me. Talking and listening is just an excuse to be here. It will be difficult for you to sit still, silently for one and a half hours if I am not talking to you. If I am talking to you, your mind remains engaged and your whole being becomes relaxed.

This is a meditation! This is not a discourse. I am not preaching, I am not a preacher; and I am not teaching, I am not a teacher either. I have no philosophy to impart, no knowledge to transfer. It is a device; talking to you is simply a device.

This is another kind of meditation. I go on talking, your mind remains occupied with my words, and your whole being relaxes with me -- the real thing is that relaxation.
You say: A FEW DAYS AGO IN LECTURE, I REALIZED THAT WHEN I AM RELAXED THE BODY GOES INTO A MOST COMFORTABLE POSTURE OF ITS OWN ACCORD.

The body has great wisdom -- allow it. Allow it more and more to follow its own wisdom. And whenever you have time, just relax. Let the breathing go on on its own, don't interfere. Our habit to interfere has become so ingrained that you cannot even breathe without interfering. If you watch breathing, you will immediately see you have started interfering: you start taking deep breaths, or you start exhaling more. No need to interfere at all. Just let the breath be as it is; the body knows exactly what it needs. If it needs more oxygen it will breathe more; if it needs less oxygen it will breathe less.

Just leave it to the body! Become absolutely non-interfering. And wherever you feel any tension, relax that part. And slowly slowly... first begin while you are sitting, resting and then while you are doing things. You are cleaning the floor or working in the kitchen or in the once -- keep that relaxedness. Action need not be an interference in your relaxed state. And then there is a beauty, a great beauty, to your activity. Your activity will have the flavour of meditativeness.

Yes, Mukti Gandha, it is exactly so with your whole life -- this is the secret. But people go on making unnecessary efforts. Sometimes their efforts are their barriers; their efforts are the problems that they are creating.

She said, "In? I am trying to get out!"

There is no need to make any effort. Why? Because God is our intrinsic nature. We ARE Gods already. If we relax, we will know; if we don't relax, we will not know. Relaxation becomes the door to that great knowing -- enlightenment.

WHY DO I MISUNDERSTAND YOU, OSHO, CONTINUOUSLY?

THAT IS NATURAL. Understanding will be a surprise -- misunderstanding is not a surprise. You are bound to misunderstand me because you ARE. You will understand me only when you are not. That 'I' is the cause of all misunderstanding. [t remains between me and you. It do- i not allow me to say what I am saying -- it interprets, it colours it, it distorts, it chooses, it adds, it deletes -- it docs a thousand and one things, and only then does it allow it to go in. And by the time it reaches you it is something totally different. It is not what was said to you: it is something that your mind has made out of it.

You will have to disappear if you want to understand me. Less than that won't do.
Lorenzo was extolling the virtues of his newly adopted homeland. "This is-a great-a country." he declared. "Look-a at Sinatra -- where else could a piece of spaghetti wind up-a with a-so much-a gravy!
Everybody is carrying his idea, his conditioning, his knowledge, his past with himself. That's what your 'I' consists of.
The Ozark farmer's wife had a baby each year for the past twelve years in a row. He finally went to a doctor for some advice. "Here's a gross of rubbers,' said the doctor. "Just read the instructions on the label."

A year later, the hillbilly brought his wife in, pregnant again. "Did you follow the instructions on the box?"

"Yep, Doc! Sure I did! The only thing was I didn't have no organ so I put them on the piano."
Your understanding is going to be your understanding. How can it be my understanding? If you disappear, if you put yourself aside, then there is no barrier, then there is no censor between me and you, then the communication is immediate. Then it is not even a question of words: it is a question of energy.

If your mind is put aside, my vibe will start stirring your heart, my being will touch your being, will trigger something that is fast asleep in you -- will awaken it.

And the more I see that my sannyasins are dropping their egos, the more and more my work will change -- it will become less and less concerned with words and will become more and more concentrated on energy. That's exactly what is slowly slowly happening.
I will be speaking less and less to you. If you are not there then I can just enter in your being, can just call you: Friend, wake up!
One night Mrs. Mantoni got into a taxi. After riding a while, she realized she had forgotten her pocketbook and had no money to pay the fare. The meter now read $7.50.

"Mista driver," she cried. "You betta stop. I no canna pay you!"

"Oh, that's all right," said the cabbie. "I'll just pull down a dark street, get in the back seat with you, take off your panties...."

"Mista, you gonna get gypped," said the Italian lady. "My panties only cost-a forty-nine cents!"

And finally even the heart has to be put aside. Then you will not find any difference between me and you; then my understanding will simply be your understanding, without any transfer, without any communication, because then we will meet at the center. And your center and my center are not different. Your body is different from my body; your mind is less different from my mind than my body and your body. Your heart is even less different than my heart. But your being and my being are the same; they are not different at all.

If the disciple is ready to drop mind, heart, everything. then immediately he becomes the Master, he has arrived. Then there is no more to learn, no more to know, no more to ex-perience. And life continues as it was before, but now there is nobody inside to suffer, to dream, to be anxious, nobody there to live or to die. Then one exists in God and God exists in one.
The last question
Question 10

OSHO, I KNOW THAT SEX REPRESSION IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF ALL NEUROSIS, BUT THEN WHY DO I GO ON REPRESSING IT?

YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT to do it from the very beginning. It has become part of you, your conscience. Listening to me now you understand that sex repression is the root cause of all neurosis, but this understanding is very new. And 'sex is dirty', and 'sex is sin', is very old, it may be fifty years old. And this understanding is very new. The weight of the old is too much.

So you understand intellectually that sex repression is the root cause of all neurosis, but deep down, even in your body, even in your chemistry, the idea has penetrated, from the very moment you were given milk, you have been poisoned about sex, that it is sin. It is such a long long hypnosis that it will take time for you to be awake.

It is a good beginning that an intellectual understanding Is happening, but it is only intellectual -- it has to become existential.

"Now, my dear," she tells her, "I am afraid Bertie will often want to be beastly to you after you are married."

Cynthia, shocked, is quite unable to believe that her beloved Bertie would ever do such a thing.

"Yes, it is so," mother insists, "and I want you to remember: whenever he wants to be beastly, grit your teeth. clench your fists, and think of England!"

If you really want to understand me, or Kabir, this has to be the very foundation: that life has to be loved because it is divine, life has to be affirmed with your total being because God is hidden in it. God is another name for life, another name for love. Life is to become your God -- then whatsoever LIFE implies becomes divine.

But it will take time. Slowly slowly, chunks of your old conditioning have to be dropped. If you can remain here. Narayana, for a few months, the miracle is possible. It is happening to others. Thousands of my sannyasins have started accepting life -- not accepting out of any helplessness but out of great joy, with a rejoicing heart.

I am all for rejoicing. am I am all against, deadly against renouncing. I am all for transformation and absolutely against repression. If you repress, remember Kabir: repress sex, it becomes anger; repress anger, it becomes agreed; repress greed, it becomes pride... and so on and so forth. It goes on and on. And the farther you are away from nature, the more complex is the journey, the more difficult it is to come back home.

Come closer. Lose your pride, let it become greed; lose your greed, let it become anger; lose your anger, let it become sex. Sex is the original energy. And from sex there is a possibility of transformation, because sex gives you the first glimpses of samadhi. Sex lived totally, sex loved totally, will make you aware for the first time of the peak moments, of the climaxes.

And on those sunlit peaks, great silence prevails; the ego has been dropped far behind in the valleys, time has disappeared somewhere on the way. You are no more separate; you are not a person but just a pulsation, a presence. Sex gives you moments of that experience when you are simply pulsating in rhythm with the whole. That pulsation is what orgasm is all about, and orgasm is the window to samadhi.

Narayana, what is happening intellectually now, allow it to happen existentially too. Only then the long long tradition of centuries can be dropped. It is an arduous effort, it is difficult, but it is worth it.

And once chunks of your conditioning start disappearing you will feel such freedom, such buoyancy, you will feel so weightless, you will start feeling wings are growing in you. You will start feeling that you can do anything; you will start feeling that you are entitled to do miracles.