Osho - Enlightenment is your nature

“A man who is enlightened...who has come to know who he is, who has faced himself...has no masks, has no character, has no rules to follow. There is no need, because each moment his consciousness is there, and his actions arise out of his consciousness.” - Osho

To those in the know, Osho, also known as Rajneesh, is a divisive character. In a recent Netflix documentary, “Wild Wild Country”, Osho was introduced to a new generation of people, and some who may not count themselves among the spiritual community. I haven’t seen the documentary yet, but it’s on my list of things to watch. I’ve been far too busy with reading recently, that and work are enough to keep me occupied. 

The book’s main title, “Enlightenment is your nature”, was certainly enough of an attention grabber. But it was the subtitle that really hooked me. “The fundamental difference between Psychology, Therapy and Meditation.” This is the sort of title I live for. These areas of study have been a passion of mine for the longest time. Being taught meditation as a child, I always felt an affinity for contemplative texts and ancient methods such as Yoga. Osho is strong proponent of his own brand of “Dynamic Meditation” still practised in the west today. The idea behind Osho’s specially designed meditation is to unburden the western mind from all its neurosis. In the preface, Osho outlines his theory about modern man, stating that he is burdened by so much unnecessary baggage, that basic meditation will not work for him. If a very simple mind, a child like mind sits down to meditate, very soon it will glimpse the infinite. But sit a modern man down and tell him to watch his thoughts, he will become confused, frustrated and be pulled further into unconsciousness. 

Osho says that enlightenment is: “...Simply the process of becoming aware of your unconscious layers of personality and dropping those layers.” What I’ve noticed is that spiritual texts, often use different language but point to the same truth. That who you are is not in your thoughts, your feelings, your whims and desires. Who you are is much deeper than that, it is the infinite, the everlasting and unchanging state of presence. Having read a lot of Eckhart Tolle’s work in the past, I can see the similarities in the underlying message. Meditation, being present, staying conscious, watching the thinker. All different terms for the same non-thing. What is perhaps most exciting about this book is its capacity to challenge the reader to look deeper within their own self. The question who am I, is one we begin to forget to ask as we grow older. But that question is the start of all creativity. When you were younger, surely you had those nights where you sat staring up at your ceiling, wondering where it all came from. Those moments are the beginning of presence, understanding that you are a drop of water in a great, vast ocean. But you are not the droplet, you are the ocean and the ocean is you. The universe is moving with life energy, that same life energy is within you.

To Osho, Enlightenment is not something to be achieved. It is not something you have to strive for, but rather, your natural state. Without God, the world becomes accidental, there is no longer a creator. The mind has an intrinsic incapacity to live with meaninglessness. So it decides to create fictions, Heavens, Gods, Afterlife, it all fulfils a psychological need. Osho’s goal is to make your mind so mature, that you can live with this meaninglessness. What is the meaning of the rose? What is the meaning of the sky? There is no meaning, just tremendous beauty. Moment to moment, if you can live without reason, without meaning, just to breath and to be. Simply to be alive is enough. The more you become silent and more attuned with the existence, the more you realise that there does not need to be any meaning.

Next week, we'll be taking a look at "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield