by Amelia Kinney; True Activist
Indian-born Shree Rajneesh, best known as Osho, was a mystic and spiritual leader that gained recognition during the mid-twentieth century. His teachings were considered controversial because of his socialist perspective. Osho was deported from the United States in 1985 following political upheaval and serious accusations stemming from his movement. He was then denied entry in more than 21 countries, forcing his return to India, where he passed away in 1990.
Osho’s teachings revolve around meditation , love and courage . He believed every human being was capable of enlightenment. According to Osho, this is achieved by shedding social conditioning and the “illusory sense of identity”. He teaches respond to life, rather than react to it, and let the self participate fully , rather than be limited by small patterns of thinking.
Despite the controversy that surrounds his name, Osho has made beautiful contributions to the study of enlightenment.
Here are some special selected quotes from Shree Rajneesh aka Osho, courtesy of Good Reads :
1. “Experience life in all possible ways — good-bad, bitter-sweet, dark-light, summer-winter. Experience all the dualities. Don’t be afraid of experience , because the more experience you have, the more mature you become.”
2. “Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it. ”
3. “Take hold of your own life.
See that the whole existence is celebrating.
These trees are not serious, these birds are not serious.
The rivers and the oceans are wild,
and everywhere there is fun,
everywhere there is joy and delight.
Watch existence,
listen to the existence and become part of it.”
4. “If you love a flower, don’t pick it up.
Because if you pick it up it dies and it ceases to be what you love.
So if you love a flower, let it be.
Love is not about possession.
Love is about appreciation.”
5. “Listen to your being. It is continuously giving you hints; it is a still, small voice. It does not shout at you, that is true. And if you are a little silent you will start feeling your way. Be the person you are. Never try to be another, and you will become mature. Maturity is accepting the responsibility of being oneself, whatsoever the cost. Risking all to be oneself, that’s what maturity is all about.”
6. “You feel good, you feel bad, and these feelings are bubbling from your own unconsciousness, from your own past. Nobody is responsible except you. Nobody can make you angry, and nobody can make you happy.”
7. “Falling in love you remain a child; rising in love you mature. By and by love becomes not a relationship, it becomes a state of your being. Not that you are in love – now you are love.”
8. “Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, but nobody is equal either. People are simply unique, incomparable . You are you, I am I. I have to contribute my potential to life; you have to contribute your potential to life. I have to discover my own being; you have to discover your own being.”
9. “Your whole idea about yourself is borrowed — borrowed from those who have no idea of who they are themselves.”
