OSHO Classics

Eleven classic anecdotes provide starting points to demonstrate the relevance of Zen to every aspect of 21st-century life. From the professor so full of his own ideas that he has no room for any new learning, to the monastery cook who solves a koan by kicking over a jug of water, readers will see themselves, their friends, and even modern-day celebrities and politicians reflected in the characters who populate these fascinating Zen stories. In each chapter, following the discussion of the story at hand, Osho responds to questions from his audience about matters of love, life, relationships, and 'the search. ' Throughout the book he emphasizes the importance both of honoring our "roots" in the simple pleasures of everyday life, and nourishing the "wings" that allow us to experience our connection with that which is universal, transcendent, and eternal.

The feeling that it is five minutes to midnight is known to many by now, and is often referred to as the "Doomsday Clock." As the many crises faced by humanity and planet Earth gather and tumble toward an emergency, some have even reduced the time left to two and a half minutes. It is no wonder that we feel increasingly helpless and at a loss what to do. Osho calls Zen not a teaching but an alarm to wake us up, because as individuals we are all deeply asleep, and this sleep has to be shattered. "For centuries, you have been asleep. Sleep has become your nature. You have forgotten what awareness is, what to be awake means." He wants us to wake up…before it is too late. Zen, more than any other religious or spiritual tradition, is relevant to such times as these, when none of our old approaches to solving problems will do. Immediate, urgent, and direct, Zen is not interested in answers or in questions, not interested in teaching at all, because it is not a philosophy. As Osho begins here, by quoting the great Zen master, Diae: "All the teachings of the sages, of the saints, of the masters, have expounded no more than this: they are commentaries on your sudden cry, 'Ah, This!' "In this series of talks, Osho unfolds a selection of classic Zen stories and responds to questions. Along the way, we learn how the tools of Zen can be used to embrace uncertainty, to be at ease with not-knowing, to act decisively and with clarity and awareness. To "get woke," in other words, so that we can use each moment between now and midnight for transformation.

In this early record of his talks and conversations with seekers, Osho shares the foundational underpinnings of his work in a systematic, straightforward, and accessible way. What does he mean when he talks about "consciousness?" And how does this consciousness differ from the bundle of anxieties, rationalizations, plans, and remembrances that fill most of our everyday thoughts? Does consciousness evolve and grow as we mature, or is it somehow timeless and eternal, merely waiting to be discovered? Or is it maybe both? If free will and awareness of death are what sets us apart as human beings from the animals, what are our responsibilities in deciding what choices to make, both individually and in relation to the world in which we live? As Osho puts it, "To be or not to be? To do or not to do? To do this or to do that? 'No choice' is not possible. If we do not choose, then we are choosing not to choose; it is a choice. So we are forced to choose; we are not free not to choose. The dignity, the beauty and the glory of humans is this consciousness. But it is a burden also. The glory and the burden come simultaneously the minute you become conscious. Every step is a movement between the two. With man, choice and conscious individuality come into existence. You can evolve, but your evolution will be an individual endeavor. You may evolve to become a Buddha or you may not. The choice is yours." The intellectual rigor and precision of these talks are reminiscent of Osho's days as renowned debater and university professor. And at the same time, as always in his work, the mysterious, the unknowable, that which cannot be put into words, is honored on every page. Readers who are new to Osho's work will discover the science behind his revolutionary active meditations, and why he feels they are urgently needed for 21st-century human beings. Those who have wondered what all the "sex guru" hype is about will learn how he views sex energy as an essential seed that, rightly nourished, will flower into meditation. Readers drawn to the book by the "esoteric" aspect of its title will benefit from his explorations of astral bodies, kundalini, and the significance of dreams - although some might find a few favorite fairytales and sacred cows challenged along the way. And, last but not least, longtime readers of Osho may find, in this precise and succinct yet comprehensive presentation of his work, the "click" that brings new insight and depth to familiar, much-loved texts.

The book you hold in your hand or you are just ordering from an online store is a unique book. It is the first book by the contemporary mystic Osho. At the beginning of his public life, Osho who is at that time a professor of philosophy at Jabalpur University, introduces people to a new and unique understanding of meditation during experiential meditation camps. He speaks to the participants and responds to questions. This book is the first published records of Osho's first meditation camp in Rajastan, India. In fifteen small chapters he gives a condensed presentation of his understanding of meditation which he then elaborates in many more talks and publications - but the essential message is already available in this book. Osho speaks to the individual, not to a collective, not the abstract collective of humanity, or a collective defined by religion or nationality or race but to individuals as the core element of existence. We used one of his opening comments as a longer quote on the front cover of the book as it seem so important "The individual is the unit of the whole and it is through him that both evolution and revolution can take place. You are that unit. "Osho, mentions this book on several occasions in his later talks. When the second prime minister of India traveled to Russia, a copy of The Perfect Way was with him. And when someone in contact with Osho at the age of ninety stumbled upon The Perfect Way, he commented, "All my learning of the scriptures was futile, only this small book is enough. "In The Perfect Way the reader meets a human being who knows, but who also knows how to convey what he knows. His genius in full flight, he points us as far as one can with words toward the inner world of the self, toward the zone of silence. What starts on a hot summer day in the early 1960's will prove to be the first seed of a revolutionary experiment in the flowering of human consciousness – one which will eventually transform the lives of millions of people all over the world. "To be without thoughts is meditation," Osho says. "When there are no thoughts, it is then we come to know the one hidden by our thoughts. When there are no clouds, the blue sky is revealed. "This book is page after page of blue sky.

Kabir is a 15th-century Indian mystic. Born a lower-caste weaver, Kabir opposed superstition, empty ritualism and bigotry. His teachings include scathing attacks against Brahmanical pride, caste prejudice and the very concept of untouchability, as well as exposing the dogmatism and bigotry he perceived around him. Unusually, even for his time, he was embraced by disciples who had been raised in both Hindu and Muslim traditions, who saw in him the embodiment of a life-affirmative approach that transcended the narrow dogmas that divide people and set them against one another. A poet, weaver, husband and father, Kabir lived his life as a buddha and yet as an ordinary man. His poetic songs tell of the ecstasy and the pitfalls on a seeker's journey on the path of love. In this book, Osho introduces the reader to this extraordinary mystic and his songs, bringing both to light in such a way as to show how they are both timeless and utterly relevant to our time. The path of love as described by Osho, and though the songs of Kabir, is a journey that seeks out and celebrates the divine that is hidden in the ordinary, the love that becomes not just a feeling one has, but ultimately a state of being that one is. "Each song of the bird, and each cloud floating in the sky, is something like a message, a coded message. You have to decode it, you have to look deep into it; you have to be silent and listen to the message."

Yoga is now internationally an integral part of our health-conscious cultural landscape. It is practiced by millions for health and fitness reasons. While Yoga is seen and practiced mostly as a body exercise program, the interest in the philosophical and spiritual dimension of Yoga is growing. This book introduces us to Patanjali, the founder of ancient Yoga in India. It takes us step by step into a deeper understanding of the essence and origins of Yoga. Osho introduces and unlocks Patanjali's ancient sutras, revealing how contemporary this ancient message truly is. It quickly becomes clear that we are just on the cusp of a gaining a much deeper understanding of Yoga and its place in our evolving world. Surprisingly, the mind even more than the body is the focus of Patanjali's teaching. He says: "Yoga is the cessation of mind. "As Osho says: "This is the definition of Yoga, the best definition. Yoga has been defined in many ways; there are many definitions. Some say Yoga is the meeting of the mind with the divine; hence, it is called yoga – yoga means meeting, joining together. Some say that Yoga means dropping the ego, ego is the barrier: the moment you drop the ego you are joined to the divine. You were already joined; it only appeared that you were not joined because of the ego. There are many definitions, but Patanjali's is the most scientific. He says: Yoga is the cessation of mind. "What is the mind? What is the mind doing there? What is it? Ordinarily we think that mind is something substantial there, inside the head. Patanjali doesn't agree, and no one who has ever known the inside of the mind will agree. Modern science also doesn't agree. Mind is not something substantial inside the head. Mind is just a function, just an activity. "

Understanding our minds and consciousness are topics high on everybody's list of important issues. Science and psychology are delivering every day captivating news of understanding in this area. In this extraordinary series of talks, Osho lays out a clear understanding of the difference between mind and consciousness, and the role that the brain plays in the two - a difference that Western science has been struggling to define for decades, but that Zen has known for centuries through first-hand experience. Along the way he also sheds light on the differences between meditation as practice and as a state of being, and what choiceless awareness really means in everyday life and relating. Osho relates to a classic Zen work, Hsin Hsin Ming, Verses on the Faith-Mind by Sosan [Seng-t'san] which is considered to be the first Chinese Zen document. It is extraordinarily straightforward in its message, cutting straight to the point of where it aims to take the Zen experience - to a state of thought-free awareness in the present moment.

Can Yoga make you happy – what is the secret of happiness? While the practice of Yoga is now being widely embraced by the West in context with health benefits, body flexibility and as a relaxation method, in a world where most of us now have on a material level almost everything we need, the spiritual aspects and questions of quality of life, happiness and well-being are center-stage questions now. To be happy is now more valued than material riches, money and prestige, which many have but realize that they did not find happiness through them. Osho continues his presentation and analysis of the original Yoga sutras by Patanjali, Yoga: The Science of the Soul, with ten extraordinary talks addressing key issues in our lives. Such incredible teachings and lessons are hidden in these ancient scriptures. According to ordinary thinking, to be friendly with someone who is happy is very easy. The truth is it is not! In fact, it is one of the most difficult things in life. If somebody is happy, immediately you are shocked – how is it possible? How come you're not happy and the other is? This seems like injustice. With the happy you feel jealous – in a subtle competition. You feel inferior with happy people. Or you may show your happiness, but that's just a facade, a show, a mask. Learn about the secret and once the secret is known, once you know how one becomes happier, and how with others' happiness you create a situation for yourself to be happy, there is no barrier; you can go as far as you like. Learn the secret of being happy with the whole universe, with every flower, river, rock and star; become one with this continuous eternal celebration. This remarkable OSHO Classic belongs in everybody's library!

Human beings have an inbuilt drive or urge to search for the inner power that is needed to reach our true potential. This search is the search for the origins and meaning of life itself. We are here, we have life - but we don't know what life really is. We can feel our energy, but don't know where this energy comes from and to what goal this energy is going. We are that energy, we have glimpses of its true source and our connection to it, and those glimpses keep us going even when it seems we will never find what we are seeking - but still we do not know what that energy is. An ancient Zen story symbolizes the search for the source of this life. Zen master Kakuan's story of The Ten Bulls of Zen is a teaching that uses ten images, each representing a particular step on the journey of experiencing and understanding it means to be a conscious and aware human being. Osho takes us through this story and its lessons for the traveler on a journey into the inner world - that's what meditation is all about according to him. But reaching the pure, uncluttered freedom of meditation is not the end. The circle is only complete when the seeker comes back into the marketplace of the world, but as a transformed person. This is a book that belongs in the hands of everyone who is on the search, beginning the search, or just thinking about the search. The book is illustrated with ten original images of Gomizen's Ten Bulls of Zen from the Fuzoku Tenri Library, Tenri University, Japan.

The Heart Sutra, originally a very short set of verses, was given in privacy. It was a message to one of Buddha's close disciples, Sariputra, and was specifically addressed to him. Over time, the Heart Sutra became one of Buddhism's core teachings. In these ten talks Osho presents the powerful message of these ancient words and brings them to a modern audience - one with different minds and needs than the original audiences of Buddha more than 2, 500 years ago. Osho's message is not about Buddha the historical figure: instead, he addresses his readers and listeners and encourages them to discover their own inner reality, their own buddhahood. Like Buddha's, Osho's message is about meditation and meditation alone - "rely only on your meditation and nothing else." Osho also speaks on the seven chakras, the energy centers of the human body, and their corresponding relationships to the physical, psychosomatic, psychological, psychospiritual, spiritual, spiritual-transcendental, and transcendental aspects of human growth and consciousness.

Osho sees Zen not as a historical spiritual tradition, but as the future of a humanity that has matured to the point that people no longer need religions controlled by 'priesthoods' and based on fearful superstitions that cripple people's innate intelligence and divide them from one another. This book offers a deeper understanding of the underlying differences between Eastern and Western approaches to religion and the nature of consciousness. It's a beautiful introduction to a world where each individual has the capacity for an instant and profound understanding of existence, and a rebirth of the trust in life that each of us are born with. Dang Dang Doko Dang represents the sound of the drum beaten by a Zen master in an existential lesson for a disciple. As well as symbolizing the poetic quality of Zen, the title represents the special flavor of this collection of Osho's commentaries on well-known Zen stories. This volume is part of the OSHO Classics series and also includes Osho's responses to questions about the meditation technique of Zazen.

In the 'Tantric Transformation' we are introduced to the sacred and ancient tradition of Tantra by a contemporary Tantric master, Osho. We are given a detailed map of Tantra: inner man, inner woman; the meeting of man and woman; the transformation of energy through sex, love and meditation. Based on the Royal Song of Saraha, we are not just introduced to an Asian sex tradition but with Osho we enter the higher levels of transformation. Here we find Tantra as a door to freedom: freedom from all mind-constructs, mind games; freedom from all structures and freedom from the other. Love and meditation merge and provide a path to liberation. 'Tantric Transformation' is a very alive, concrete book for exploration of our own energy, of our own inner space. You don't just read Osho, you undefine yourself.

What if Jesus were not a supernatural being conceived by a virgin, but a real human being who had experienced the awakening of consciousness known as "enlightenment" in the East? This extraordinary line-by-line commentary on selected Gospels from Matthew and John tests the hypothesis that Jesus was a mystic, not a miracle worker of supernatural origin. Osho convincingly makes the case that the stories of Jesus' life were never meant to be a factual record of history, but rather are teaching parables designed to provide ongoing spiritual guidance for generations to come. I Say Unto You introduces us to a dynamic, compassionate, intelligent, loving Jesus, who speaks in a plain and simple way that everyone can understand. This is not the long-faced, sad and tortured man often depicted down the centuries. Osho looks with a crystal-clear perception at Jesus' work, inviting us to see the parables and miracles as metaphors of the inner world. He gives insight into Jesus' own search, and his journeys to the ancient mystery schools of Egypt, Kashmir, and Tibet that transformed him into one of the most evolved masters of the paths of love and meditation, with insights that are still relevant for today's world.