A Meditator Needs No Personal Guidance

Meditation gave my life direction and joy and grace and more. Now, I realize that I have always had a need for personal guidance from somebody tuning into me and my questions. Would you please comment The way you are growing in silence, in your meditations, in your grace, and the way the gratitude is coming to you, you don't need any personal guidance. You need to be more and more open to the impersonal existence. The idea o personal guidance is mind's old habit to become dependent on someone! and " am struggling hard against your habits. The whole existence is a#ailable to guide you $ and you are now in a position to be in direct contact with the uni#erse. As your gratitude deepens, as your grace becomes more and more clear, as your silence becomes more and more rooted in you $ it is the uni#erse itsel which ta%es you into its own hands. Those hands are in#isible, but they are there! you are not orphans in the uni#erse. You are immensely needed and lo#ed, you are &ust not aware o it. My own suggestion is to drop the idea o personal guidance, because anybody will try to guide you according to his mind, according to his ideas o how you should be. That's what all the teachers o the world ha#e been doing' imposing their idea, their image on people who are searching and see%ing guidance. "t is one o the most dangerous games to play, because in it you are always the loser. " the teacher succeeds in imposing certain directions, certain patterns, disciplines, according to me it is not guidance! it is misguidance. (ecause nobody %nows your uni)ue sel $ only you can %now it. And you ha#e to grow according to your nature, not according to anybody's guidance. To me, to be natural, to be spontaneous is enough. All guides ha#e been misguides. And you can see it' the whole uni#erse o humanity is li#ing in tremendous misguidance. *therwise why should there be so much insanity+ ,hy should there be so much misery, so much agony and spiritual su ering+ The reason is that nobody has been allowed to be &ust himsel , his natural being. Your so-called religions don't trust nature. They trust in holy scriptures! they trust in dead words spo%en thousands o years be ore by people we do not %now. ,hether they %new anything, or they were &ust creating ictions...unless you %now, you can ne#er be certain. (ut they are molding you according to patterns created in the past. This process o molding people into -hristians, .indus, Mohammedans, (uddhists, goes against the #ery basic human right! it does not allow you to be your natural sel . And unless you are yoursel , you cannot be happy. /ust thin%, i there were teachers teaching roses that they ha#e to become lotuses.... 0ortunately, roses don't care about teachers and religions and churches. (ut &ust thin% or a moment' i people were there who were telling the roses to be lotuses, the marigolds to be roses, what would be the ultimate outcome o it+ 1oses would try to become lotuses, which they can ne#er become! it is not their sel 2 nature. They can only be roses, beauti ul, immensely grace ul, ragrant. (ut i this idea

o being somebody other than what their nature is, is imposed on them, two things will happen' they will ne#er become lotuses, but their whole energy will be wasted in trying to become lotuses. And the second thing is they will not be roses either, because rom where will they ind the energy to be roses+ That whole energy is ma%ing an e ort or the impossible. Actually the same has happened with humanity. 3#erybody is gi#ing you an idea! e#erybody is ready to tell you how you should be. All "shoulds" and all "should nots" have to be abandoned. You simply ha#e to listen to your own inner #oice. And where#er it leads, &ust go without bothering whether people thin% it is right or wrong. " you can become &ust your own sel , i you can blossom into your intrinsic nature, only then will you ha#e bliss ulness $ a peace which cannot be expressed in words, and a certain poetry to your being! a certain dance to your being, because you will be in tune with existence. To be in tune with yoursel is the only way to be in tune with existence. Nobody needs personal guidance, because all personal guidance is a beauti ul name or dependence on somebody and he is going to distort you. " don't gi#e you any discipline $ " don't tell you, you should be this or that. " simply say you should become silent, so that you can listen to your still, small #oice. That is your real guide! the guide is within you. " %now hundreds o psychoanalysts, psychologists, so2called counselors. They are burdened with all %inds o problems, but they ha#e &ust learned the techni)ue, either rom education or rom the libraries. And they go on ad#ising $ to ad#ise is so simple. "n their own li#es they are not what they are ad#ising. " you watch the li e...as " ha#e watched #ery closely the li e o people li%e 4igmund 0reud $ the topmost counselors in the world' 5arl Gusta# /ung, Al red Adler, Assagioli $ " ha#e been simply shoc%ed to see that these people ha#e become the guides to millions o people. " remember one small incident... ,ilhelm 1eich, as a young psychoanalyst, was deeply interested to meet 4igmund 0reud, the ounder o psychoanalysis. .e had read in the uni#ersities and he was a genius, perhaps o a ar greater )uality than 4igmund 0reud himsel . 4igmund 0reud was in his old age, &ust in his last years, and this ,ilhelm 1eich was as%ing again and again or an appointment. 0inally he got the appointment. And the way 4igmund 0reud treated him is so inhuman, &ust because he was a young man, resh rom the uni#ersity. .e had come with some signi icant )uestions, and he had created in his own mind a great image o 4igmund 0reud, naturally. .e as%ed, 6" ha#e come rom ar away to in)uire a ew things' *ne, you insist that unless a man is psychoanaly7ed, completely psychoanaly7ed, he will ne#er be out o con usion and misery. -an you show me a man who has been completely analy7ed, so " can &ust meet him and see what a completely clear man would be li%e+ " ha#e read about it, but " don't ha#e any personal experience o meeting somebody who is beyond con usion and is pure clarity.6 4igmund 0reud became angry, and he said, 6,hat %ind o nonsense... psychoanalysis is not a simple thing. "t ta%es decades or anybody to become completely psychoanaly7ed.6

1eich was shoc%ed, but he said, 6You ha#e been wor%ing your whole li e. .a#e you psychoanaly7ed any person completely, so that " can go and see the person+ (ecause other than that there is no proo that what you are saying has any signi icance as ar as science is concerned.6 And seeing 4igmund 0reud getting angry...because 4igmund 0reud was not accustomed to such )uestions, he was surrounded with cronies, yea2 sayers. ,hate#er nonsense he would say, they would say that it was a great truth. 4eeing 4igmund 0reud getting so angry, 1eich said, 68rop that sub&ect. " want to %now whether you ha#e been psychoanaly7ed totally or not.6 And 4igmund 0reud had to tell him, 6Get out9 And ne#er again try to come to me! you don't %now how to beha#e.6 The reality is that all his li e 4igmund 0reud was being as%ed by his colleagues again and again, 6/ust as you psychoanaly7e us, now we %now the techni)ue, why don't you get psychoanaly7ed, by any o us you choose+ ,e would li%e to ha#e a loo% into your inner world o dreams, imaginations, desires, to see whether what you claim to be absolute clarity, peace, integrity is there inside you or not+6 .e re used continuously! he ne#er allowed himsel to be psychoanaly7ed, and he is the ounder o psychoanalysis. ,hy was he so a raid to be psychoanaly7ed+ .e %new per ectly well that it is easy to ad#ise others, but it is di icult to trans orm yoursel . .e was su ering rom ordinary human problems, the same tensions, the same misery, the same repressions, the same inhibitions, the same taboos. And he was a raid to open up his dream world because that would show things which would be a proo that although he was the ounder, he himsel was not what he was trying or the whole o humanity to be. The same is the situation today. Psychoanalysts themsel#es once in a while go to another psychoanalyst to be psychoanaly7ed, because they ha#e become too burdened with problems. "t is such a stupid game. " Gautam (uddha says anything about meditation it is his own experience, not &ust a theoretical, intellectual ormulation. " he says something about the inner light, he has seen it. " he says it is possible to go beyond mind, he has gone beyond mind, only then he says it. And the people who watched him or orty2two years continuously ne#er ound any law, ne#er ound him at any time angry, at any time miserable, at any time sad. *ne cannot pretend or orty2two years continuously! one needs holidays9 3#en to pretend or a ew hours to be what you are not is such a tension and such a burden that you are going to drop it and expose yoursel at the slightest excuse. This is the difference between the Western psychoanalytic movement and the Eastern movement for meditation. " ha#e told you a 4u i story... A woman was #ery much impressed by a 4u i mystic, and she was #ery worried about her only son. 4he was li#ing or him! the ather was dead. That boy was her li e, and she wanted him to become something. The boy was too attached to eating sweets and all %inds o &un%. 4he tried hard! e#erybody, the teachers, the priests all tried, but the boy was absolutely indi erent to their ad#ice! he continued to eat sweets. .e was the only son, so inally the mother would relax and would gi#e him what he wanted! otherwise, he would remain hungry. (ut he would not eat anything that he did not want to eat! he would eat only things that he wanted to eat. And those were things

which were not healthy, which were not nourishing, which could create problems later in his li e. The 4u i mystic had come wandering into the #illage, and the woman thought it was a good chance. That man has such a tremendous and power ul aura around him, perhaps he may be able to change this stupid boy's mind. 4he too% the boy...she had been ta%ing him to anybody who could help! it had become almost a routine thing. The boy went there #ery reluctantly, #ery resistant! it had become almost a )uestion o his own sel 2respect. ,hen the woman told the 4u i master about the situation, he said, 6You will ha#e to orgi#e me. 1ight now " cannot say a single word to this beauti ul boy. " am old, " am se#enty years, but it will ta%e at least two wee%s or me to be able to say something to him.6 The woman could not belie#e him. Anybody, any idiot was ready to ad#ise. And a great mystic ollowed by many many people, says to the boy, 6You will ha#e to orgi#e me! you came and " cannot ad#ise you right now. You will ha#e to gi#e me two wee%s at least.6 The boy or the irst time dropped his reluctance, his resistance. 0or the irst time he was respected, he was accepted as a digni ied human being! he was not condemned out o hand. And the old man was really concerned, he wanted to gi#e him some ad#ice which would be o importance! he needed at least two wee%s' time. The mother was absolutely shoc%ed, could not belie#e that this great mystic cannot ad#ise a small boy right now on such a tri#ial matter. (ut what to do+ They had to wait two wee%s. A ter two wee%s she came again. This time the boy came #ery &oyously. "n act, he was #ery eager about how ast the days were mo#ing, and he was counting because he wanted to see the mystic again. 6.e is a totally di erent man rom all other men you ha#e ta%en me to.6 The woman was surprised because the boy was always resistant, reluctant. .e went against his will, was orced to go $ and this time he is so eager9 .e cannot wait or two wee%s! those two wee%s loo% li%e two years. 0inally the day came, and in the early morning the boy too% a shower, changed his clothes, got ready. The mother said, 6,hat is the hurry+6 .e said, 6" want to see the man. .e is the only man that " ha#e elt respects others.6 *therwise, ad#ising others is a %ind o humiliation! it is saying' " %now and you do not %now. " am the guide and you are the guided. " am the teacher and you are the taught. "t is en&oying a certain egotism at the cost o humiliating the other person. They went, and the woman irst as%ed, 6(e ore " as% about the boy, " want to %now why it too% two wee%s or you $ is it such a great philosophical problem+6 The mystic said, 6" it were a philosophical problem " would ha#e answered immediately! it is an existential problem. " am se#enty years old! he is &ust se#en years old. " ha#e li#ed ten times more than the boy, still " lo#e to eat sweets. And as long as " mysel eat sweets " cannot say anything. These two wee%s " tried not to eat sweets and to see what happens. My ad#ice will depend on my own experience, not &ust on the common opinion that sweets are bad. They may be bad, but i " cannot drop them at se#enty years o age, to expect a small boy to drop them.... " cannot

ad#ise that.6 The boy was immensely impressed. A man at this age tortured himsel or two wee%s+ And he said to the boy, 6My son, it is #ery di icult. " managed to drop sweets, and " ha#e managed now or the rest o my li e $ but to ad#ise you " eel a little sha%y. You are so young. To drop sweets i you lo#e them will be arduous, and to impose this idea on you " will be almost being #iolent and #iolating your indi#idual right. 4o all that " can say is, it is good and it is healthy, but it is #ery di icult. "t is a challenge. You can choose whether you are ready to ta%e the challenge. " ha#e dropped them or the rest o my li e! only now ha#e " the authority to say to you that you can also drop. (ut it is certainly a di icult thing. Are you ready or a challenge, an ad#enture+6 The boy said, 6" drop them right now, and or my whole li e. " you can drop them, why can't " drop them+ And you are so old! " am so young. You are getting wea%er! " am getting stronger. " can ta%e the challenge! you don't eel worried about it.6 The mother could not belie#e what is happening' it is a miracle. The boy is persuading the old man, 6" will be able.6 The old man said, 6My eeling is, you should also thin% about it or two wee%s, try....6 The boy said, 6No. " am dropping them right now in your presence, with your blessings.6 The people you go to or personal counseling are in the same boat in which you are! they ha#e the same problems. .ere, " ha#e all %inds o psychotherapists, and they are good at their wor% technically. They %now how to help people, but they don't %now how to help themsel#es. They write their problems to me, and they are the same problems or which they are %nown to be good counselors, good therapists. To %now something technically is one thing, and to %now something existentially, experientially, is another thing. As ar as you are concerned, you are already mo#ing on the right path. These are good symptoms that you are eeling a sense o direction, &oy, grace, and more! these are indications that you are on the right path $ you don't need any personal counseling. You need to be yoursel more and more, more integrated, more natural, more spontaneous. You ha#e ound the path, now anybody else can disturb it. "t is possible that you may go to a counselor who has not e#en grown as much as you, but he is #ery %nowledgeable. .is expertise is great! he can tal% about things and distract you rom the path. A meditator needs no personal guidance. A meditator on the contrary needs only one thing! the atmosphere of meditation. .e needs other meditators! he needs to be surrounded by other meditators. (ecause whate#er goes on happening within us is not only within us, it a ects people who are close by. "n this communion people are at di erent stages o meditation. To meditate with these people, &ust to sit silently with these people, and you will be pulled more and more towards your own intrinsic potentiality. " don't want you to become somebody else, a Gautam (uddha or a /esus -hrist. " want you to become &ust yoursel , anonymous, nobody special, but bliss ul. And you are already on the right path. You ha#e ta%en a ew steps! now &ust go on mo#ing, trusting

yoursel , and on each step your con idence will become deeper. Ne#er as% or ad#ice, because e#erybody is so uni)ue and so di erent that there has ne#er been any person li%e you be ore, nor is there going to be another person li%e you again. 4o really, no guidelines or you exist. (ut existence is greatly compassionate. "t has gi#en you the whole program o your li e in a seed orm. " you don't as% anybody, and &ust silently listen to your own heart and go on ollowing it, you will reach the space where you can eel at home! where suddenly you reali7e who you are, where suddenly you eel a synchronicity with the whole existence. All that is natural, the trees, the clouds, the mountains, the oceans, with all o them you will ind a certain harmony. You will not ind harmony with machines, big and great computers, actories, automobiles, railway trains. You may not ind any harmony... there is no )uestion, because these are heartless, li eless things. They don't %now how to sing! they don't %now how to dance. .a#e you seen any computer dancing+ .a#e you heard o any computer alling in lo#e with a woman computer+ *nly machines will be le t out. ,ith all that is natural and all that grows, all that blossoms, all that mo#es and breathes, all that has a heartbeat, you will ind a tremendous harmony. Your heartbeat will be merging and melting into the uni#ersal heartbeat $ no personal counseling. " am not a counselor. Ne#er e#en or a single moment in my li e ha#e " thought that somebody should be according to my ideas. " share my ideas, " share my experiences $ not so that you should become a certain ideal! " share with you as ellow tra#elers. "t may harmoni7e with you. You may ind that it comes suddenly to your awareness that this is #ery natural or you! that you were not aware o it, you ha#e become aware. (ut it is not my idea then. "t is your own idea o which you ha#e not been aware. " share my ideas with you, not to ma%e you into certain prototypes, but to gi#e you an insight into your own nature. " %now mysel , " %now my nature! " %now that all my well2wishers, my parents, my teachers, my pro essors, my riends, ha#e tried their hardest to ma%e me something else. And " am immensely grate ul to existence that " ne#er listened to anybody! " simply went on ollowing my own inner #oice. ,hether it leads me into hell or into hea#en " ha#e not cared, because my eeling is that i my nature leads me into hell then perhaps that is the place where " belong. "n hea#en " will be an outsider, " will eel un it. ,here#er my nature leads is the place that can gi#e me the eeling o &oy and the eeling that li e has tremendous meaning, that it has great splendor! that it is a miracle &ust to breathe in and breathe out! that nothing can be more per ect i you reach to the climax o your own nature. A#oid ad#isers $ because they are so a#ailable all around that whether you as% their ad#ice or not they will gi#e it. People lo#e to gi#e ad#ice! it has a certain &oy. People would lo#e to create their own carbon copies, and they will eel #ery happy that they are the original and e#erybody is &ust at the most a true copy. You ha#e your own originality. "t is better to remember it always.

"ever go against your inner feelings. :ery ew people in the world ha#e come to the lowering, and the reason is that #ery ew people ha#e been rebellious enough against the so2called ad#isers. :ery ew people ha#e dared to ind their path and ha#e not ollowed the superhighway where e#erybody is going. (ut those are the ew people who ha#e helped humanity, its whole e#olution, its whole intelligence. /ust ta%e away those ew people and man will be bac% to where 8arwin thin%s he started growing to be a human being. The crowd must ha#e laughed at that time also. ,hen a mon%ey came down rom the trees and stood on the ground on his two eet, the whole crowd o mon%eys must ha#e laughed, giggled' 6;oo% at that character9 ;oo% at that ool who is going against tradition, against our ore athers, against our religion, against our race.6 (ut they must ha#e condemned that mon%ey who rebelled against the whole culture o the mon%eys, their ci#ili7ation! they must ha#e said, 6You ha#e allen down.6 Naturally, he has allen down rom the trees. And as time passed, he must ha#e become wea%er. Mon%eys are ar stronger than you are! they ha#e to be, they are doing continuous exercise &umping rom one tree to another. You ha#e to do something else! you cannot do that %ind o &umping now. You are not capable! your body has changed completely. (ut the irst mon%ey who came down must ha#e been a genius, must ha#e wanted to explore li e on his own rather than with the crowd and the mob. *ther mon%eys are still hanging on the trees $ they are traditional people9 They belie#e in their ancestors, they belie#e in their golden past and they don't want to change. To change, one needs courage $ and to be alone, and to ma%e your path. And ma%e your path by wal%ing it! don't loo% or a ready2made path. "t may ha#e ser#ed somebody else but it was not made or you. " one remembers some sel 2respect and dignity o his own being, then there is no need o anybody to teach you, to help you. You are born as a complete being, with all the potential. You &ust ha#e to wor% on your potential and you will ind the goal. ;eo Tolstoy is reported to ha#e said $ and be ore " )uote him, " ha#e to gi#e you the bac%ground.... .e had the most miserable li e possible. .e was born in a super2rich amily, a distant cousin to the royalty. .e himsel was a count! his wi e was a countess. (oth amilies were within the ten topmost amilies o 1ussia, but he was utterly miserable. .e could not manage to li#e his li e with his amily, with his wi e, and the reason was simply that both were o totally di erent natures. The wi e could not e#en loo% at him. To him the way he was beha#ing was saintly. .e used rotten clothes the way beggars do, old secondhand shoes, and li#ed in a way only a beggar is supposed to li#e. Naturally, the wi e could not tolerate him. 4he has li#ed li%e a )ueen, and she was one o the richest women in 1ussia. (ut ;eo Tolstoy was a Gandhian, you will be surprised to %now. Although Gandhi came later, in the last days o ;eo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi and he had written a ew letters to each other. And Mahatma Gandhi declared that he has been under three masters! one is ;eo Tolstoy, another is .enry Thoreau, and the third is a /aina mon%, 4hrimad 1a&chandra. These three people impressed Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was wor%ing in 4outh A rica but he was #ery much impressed by the li estyle o ;eo Tolstoy. .is wi e was so angry that they were not e#en tal%ing to each

other. Tal%ing meant always a ight. They had di erent natures. Tolstoy was trying hard to ma%e his wi e li#e a simple li e, the li e o po#erty because, 6blessed are the poor.6 .e was a anatical ollower o /esus -hrist. ;iterally, he was li#ing a poor li e $ and the wi e was eeling absolute repugnance. 4he wanted him to li#e li%e a prince, as he really was. They )uarreled their whole li#es, both trying to ma%e the other be according to his ideas, or her ideas. This is an extreme case, but this is the story o all amilies' nobody is allowed to be himsel $ people go on manipulating. Maneesha is writing a boo% about her experiences with me. /ust the other day " heard that her mother rom Melbourne, Australia, has written a #ery angry letter, 60irst you made me condemned by the -hristian society here in Melbourne, and now you are trying to write a boo%, " hear. That means you would expose it to the whole world, and particularly in Melbourne where " will ha#e to su er.6 And it is not any exception. 8e#ageet has recei#ed a letter rom his mother saying, 64top writing the boo%,6 because he is also writing a boo%. Now these poor mothers are in great anxiety. ,hat are these people going to write about them+ $ that must be a deep ear. 4econdly, they will expose that -hristianity is no longer rele#ant, that something new, something basically discontinuous with the past is needed. And that's what sannyas is. 4o they must be a raid o the crowd, o the church, o the congregation, o the priest! what they will say' 6;oo% what your son has done,6 or 6;oo% what your daughter has done. You did not bring them up rightly! they ha#e gone astray.6 Everybody is concerned that everybody else should not go astray. And what do they mean by astray+ You should not go in a di erent direction than they are going. And you %now their whole li e is misery, you %now their whole mind is ull o anxiety and agony! you ha#e ne#er seen them &oyous. You ha#e ne#er elt a deep harmoniousness with your own parents. And they ha#e tried in e#ery way $ in your helplessness, because e#ery child is helpless $ to orce you onto the way that they thin% is right. (ut their whole li e pro#es that they are not right. " their li e was a li e o &oy and songs and celebrations, the children would ha#e ollowed without any punishment, without any harassment, without any torture. And now Maneesha and 8e#ageet are not small children! they ha#e their li#es, they ha#e their li estyle and they want to share it with the whole world. ,hy should their mothers be so concerned+ ,hat is the ear+ ;eo Tolstoy says, 6All happy amilies resemble one another, but each unhappy amily is unhappy in its own way.6 " cannot agree with him! " would rather change the whole statement to the contrary' All unhappy amilies resemble one another, but each happy amily is happy in its own way. And the same is true about indi#iduals' All unhappy indi#iduals resemble each other! only happy indi#iduals ha#e a uni)ueness. .appiness, growing towards bliss ulness, ma%es you uni)ue in a world which is ull o misery. Always remember, the whole e ort o psychoanalysis and other therapies, and other so2called wise men is nothing but to help you remain normal, to help you remain part o the crowd. The moment you try to become an indi#idual you will be condemned, because i#e billion people cannot be wrong $ although they are su ering in hell. (ut

the number is ne#er decisi#e about truth. 1alph ,aldo 3merson has made a statement' 6To be great is to be misunderstood.6 " %new one #ery beauti ul man... There were only two men in "ndia who were respected so highly as to be called Mahatma! Mahatma means the great soul. *ne was Mahatma Gandhi and another was Mahatma (hagwandin. " was #ery much interested in Mahatma (hagwandin, &ust as he was #ery lo#ing towards me. " was a small child when we became riends, because he had stayed with my amily. .e had come to deli#er some lectures in the town, and we used to go or morning wal%s together. (y and by, we orgot completely that he is #ery ancient, old. ,e started arguing and discussing. "t was &ust by coincidence that he was on his deathbed in Nagpur and " was coming rom ,ardha, rom a lecture tour. 4omebody in the train told me, 6Mahatma (hagwandin is #ery #ery sic%, and there seems to be no possibility that he will sur#i#e more than a wee%.6 4o " stopped at Nagpur and went to see him. .e was almost dead! he had become absolutely li%e a s%eleton. .e opened his eyes and he too% my hand in his hand, and he said, 6" am worried about you, that you will be misunderstood your whole li e. There is still time or you to agree with the masses, whether they are right or wrong.6 And he was saying it out o compassion. .e said, 6(ecause " ha#e su ered my whole li e, and " ha#e been condemned, " don't want you to be condemned.6 " said, 68o you want me to be a hypocrite and respectable+ 8o you want me to be something other than my nature allows me+6 .e said, 6" %new you would argue, and " %now that you are right. "t is &ust a atherly eeling! " ha#e su ered my whole li e because " always was in a#or o unpopular mo#ements, unpopular ideologies... and you are ar more dangerous, you are against e#erybody.6 " said, 6" ha#e to be against e#erybody. " ha#e to be &ust mysel . And anybody who wants to pull me in some other direction is not my riend.6 " said, 6" understand your lo#e, but you should also understand my situation. " would rather be condemned by the whole world than go against my nature. (ecause who cares about the world+ They cannot bring me the truth! they cannot bring me the meaning! they cannot bring me the signi icance. ,hat can they gi#e to me+ $ respectability, honor+ And what am " going to do with respectability and honor+ Those are all bogus words used to cheat people. " simply want to be nobody! " am going to stic% to mysel . And this is my promise to you as you are dying. 1emember my words e#en when you are dead, that " will...6 .e said, 6" %new you wouldn't listen. And " am happy that you are absolutely determined.6 .e had tears o &oy in his eyes $ not o sadness, &oy. .e said, 6" you had agreed with me, " would ha#e elt #ery sad that the world has lost another indi#idual. (ut you don't agree with me, e#en when you see " am dying. "n such a situation anybody will say, &ust to be polite, 'Yes, whate#er you say " will do.' 3#en in such a situation you are not ready to accept. " can die &oy ully because " ha#e lo#ed you and " ha#e watched how you are growing $ o course with a concern that you will be condemned by religions, by go#ernments, by masses.6

(ut what about all your psychotherapists, your leaders, your teachers, your uni#ersities $ what is their unction+ Their unction is to %eep you within the old! to %eep you &ust a sheep amongst the crowd o sheep and ne#er allow you to be yoursel . They are all angry with me or telling this to young people who ha#e not yet died $ because people mostly die nearabout thirty years o age, that is a#erage. And then they are buried when they are se#enty. That is almost orty years that people li#e a posthumous li e! they ha#e died long be ore. The day you decide that it is better to be a hypocrite and &ust do whate#er e#erybody else is doing and not be di erent, you ha#e died $ you ha#e committed suicide. My whole teaching is' #on't commit spiritual suicide. You don't need anybody else to guide you, because whoe#er guides you will guide you wrongly. .e cannot %now your nature and he cannot loo% into your uture. .e has no eyes, and there is no possibility. .ow can you see in a seed the lowers that will come one day years a ter+ All that can be done is that the seed should be gi#en a right soil $ not right ad#ice. Not that you ha#e to be a lotus, or you ha#e to be a rose. -are should be ta%en that the seed is not destroyed, that when small lea#es start growing out o it, they are not destroyed. That's the unction o the master' not to guide you but &ust to protect you when you need protection, when you are so ragile, so new. /ust growing, the new lea#es coming out o the earth, entering into an un%nown world where strong winds blow, hea#y rain alls, there is e#ery possibility that you may be destroyed. The unction o the master is not to lead you. The unction o the master is to help you, to protect you, but only to the moment when you can stand on your own. Then slowly, slowly detach himsel rom you so that you can dance alone in the s%y under the stars in your ull glory. /ohannes ,ol gang #on Goethe has made a beauti ul statement' 6All theory, dear riend is grey. (ut the golden tree o actual li e springs e#er green.6 A#oid theories! they are all grey. ;et the dead people discuss theories. The li#ing ha#e something more golden, something more ali#e. They ha#e to lo#e! they ha#e to meditate. They ha#e to become enlightened be ore death %noc%s on their doors. Also remember that li e is not the way it is li#ed in -ali ornia9 -ali ornia is almost a #ast cra7y place where people are going rom one master to another master, &ust li%e any ashion. /ust as they change their toothpaste, they change their masters. /ust as they change their soaps, they change their teachers, their counselors, their psychoanalysts. *scar ,ilde used to say, 60ashion is a orm o ugliness, so intolerable that we ha#e to change it e#ery six months.6 There is no need. /ust the other day, " recei#ed a letter rom a sannyasin saying that he is going to a teacher! has he my blessings+...can he go+ People are in a strange situation! they want to ride on many boats. They are creating their li e in such a way that it will be a

disaster. " you are growing well...and he writes that his meditation is going well, he is starting to see things that ha#e so ar been only words. Now at this ragile moment, going to somebody is dangerous. (ut i " say, 68on't go,6 " inter ere. And " would not li%e to inter ere, e#en i you are going wrong. 4o " ha#e in ormed him' " cannot bless because " don't %now to whom you are going, but you are intelligent enough. " you eel that the person is going in some way to nourish your growth, which is going per ectly right e#en according to you $ you are eeling that you are absolutely on the right path, that misery is disappearing, that su ering is disappearing, that you are no more worried! that a %ind o play ulness, weightlessness is arising $ i you are aware o all this... 1emember, that i anybody can be o nourishment, it is per ectly good to go. (ut in act, there is no need to go anywhere, you are going so right. Go more deeply into it, rather than going sideways. Go straight li%e an arrow. *sho, The "n#itation, <=>
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