the-golden-future-20

Osho,
A few months before his death Edgar Cayce, in one of his trance “sleep talks” said, “Through Russia comes the hope of the world. Not in respect to what is sometimes termed communism or bolshevism, no; but freedom, freedom! That each man will live for his fellow man. The principle has been born there. It will take years for it to be crystallized. Yet out of Russia comes again the hope of the world.” Could you please comment?
Edgar Cayce was one of the strangest human beings, a category in himself…. There have been utterly conscious people having clear visions of the world – like Nostradamus; but Cayce was not anything special when he was conscious. Only when he was in a sort of unconsciousness, a trance-like sleep, would he start saying things of tremendous importance, many of which have come true.
Many of these are bound to happen, sooner or later, for the simple reason that whatever he has seen in his trance state is absolutely transparent, clear, without ifs and buts – it is absolute. And because it was not coming in his conscious state, his ego was not involved. It was coming out of his innocence; and anything that comes out of innocence has a validity, has an authority of its own.
There are thousands and thousands of pages of notes collected by his disciples from when he was speaking in his trances; almost a whole library exists containing his predictions. When he used to come to consciousness, out of the trance, he himself was not aware what he had said – as if it was not said by him but by an unknown source, by an unknown energy, as if existence itself had spoken itself through him. He had been only a vehicle, and a very correct vehicle, because his ego was not in the way, his mind was not in the way. He was simply transmitting whatever was coming from the very roots of life. There have not been many people like him. There have been a few people, but none has the height and the depth, and immensity of Edgar Cayce.
In one of his trance-sleeps he said, “Through Russia comes the hope of the world.” Once it had already come: the Russian Revolution in 1917 was the end of an old world and the beginning of a new. It proclaimed many truths about man – that property should not be individual, that property is of the commune. The founders of the revolution, particularly Lenin, wanted marriage to be dissolved; because marriage came into existence with private property, it should go out of existence when private property is being dissolved.
It is a historical fact that because of private property, man became interested in marriage, in monogamy; otherwise, by nature, he is polygamous. But to protect his property, so that even after his death it should remain in the hands of his own sons, man decided in favor of monogamy – which was not natural to him. Hence, on the one hand marriage came into existence, and on the other hand, prostitution. They both are by-products of private property.
Property should belong to all – just as the air belongs to all, and the water belongs to all, and the sun belongs to all. Private property creates immense problems. On one hand, people go on becoming richer; on the other hand, people go on becoming poorer. And the poor man is the producer: he toils in the field, he works in the orchards – and he remains hungry. He weaves the clothes – and he remains naked. He makes the beautiful mansions and palaces – and he has no house, not even a hut to hide his head in.
This exploitation was condemned by the Russian Revolution, and against this exploitation a new age of a classless society was declared, where everybody would have the equal opportunity to grow. A great hope had arisen with the Russian Revolution, but it died. The revolution fell into wrong hands. Instead of bringing a new age and a new humanity, it repeated the old game under new names. The only change was of labels: where in the past there were the rich and the poor, now there were the bureaucrats and the people. But the distinction was the same, and the exploitation was the same.
For sixty years Russia has lived in a new kind of slavery. Nobody else in the world has known that kind of slavery. The whole country has become a concentration camp. Beautiful words sometimes prove very dangerous: instead of bringing equality to man it has taken away all freedom, even the freedom of expression. It has made the whole society a society of slaves.
For a moment in 1917 a great hope arose around the world, particularly in those who were intelligent enough to see the immense possibility that was opening up – but the bud never became a flower. But you cannot keep millions of people in a concentration camp forever. There is a limit to tolerance – and that limit has come. There is great restlessness for a new revolution in the Russian youth. And Gorbachev simply represents the tremendous longing for freedom, for equality, for the dignity of being human beings, for self-respect. He has given another chance to the intelligent people of the world, for a new hope again.
Where Lenin left off, Gorbachev has to begin.
The sixty years in between have been a long nightmare – but that which is gone is gone, that which is past, is past. And the Soviet youth, with the courage and insight of Gorbachev, is looking, not backward to the sixty ugly years of inhumane dictatorship, but to a new future of an open society, in the authentic sense.
Perhaps Edgar Cayce is going to be true again in his prediction: Through Russia comes the hope of the world. Not in respect to what is sometimes termed communism or bolshevism, no; but freedom, freedom! That each man will live for his fellow man. The principle has been born there, it will take years for it to be crystallized. Those years have passed. The principle is now crystallized.
Yet out of russia comes again the hope of the world – the second great revolution. Russia seems to be a land of destiny – not only for its own people, but for the whole world. It was the first to revolt against capitalism; it is going to be again the first to revolt against dictatorial communism. The future is of a democratic communism, a communism rooted in the freedom of man.
Equality is valuable, but it is not more valuable than freedom. Freedom cannot be sacrificed for it. Freedom cannot be sacrificed for anything else. It is the most precious treasure of your being. There are all signs that the Soviet Union is going to fulfill the great hope, the great dream. Millions of people have been hoping for it, dreaming for it – it has been the utopia for centuries. Gorbachev is in a position to make it a reality. A tremendously great responsibility has fallen on his shoulders. And as I can see, he seems to be strong enough, intelligent enough to fulfill the expectations.
Only one thing I would like my Russian sannyasins to convey to Gorbachev from me: if the dimension of meditation also opens for him, he cannot allow the opportunity to be distorted.
Joseph Stalin destroyed the whole revolution for a single reason, and the reason was materialism. He believed that man is nothing but matter. According to Karl Marx, consciousness is only a by-product of matter, and as you die matter disperses; nothing is left as consciousness – there is no soul. Because of this wrong idea he could manage to kill at least one million Russians in the name of revolution without any trouble; otherwise even to kill one man would destroy your whole life’s sleep. It would haunt you – you would never be able to forgive yourself. But to kill one million people without any concern was possible under the umbrella of materialism.
I would like Gorbachev not only to introduce freedom to the Soviet Union and its people, but also some spiritual dimension so that it is clear that they are not just matter. Matter cannot have any dignity – matter can be used, but cannot be respected. Matter can be destroyed, but you need not feel that you have committed a crime, or a sin.
Unless the Soviet Union and its people not only desire freedom, but also desire a search for the soul…because what will you do with freedom? Freedom for what? There are two kinds of freedom: freedom from and freedom for. Freedom from is not much of a freedom. The real freedom is the second freedom – freedom for spiritual growth, freedom for inner search, freedom for knowing the secrets and the mysteries of life.
If Gorbachev can introduce the Soviet Union to Gautam Buddha, to Mahavira, to Zarathustra, to Lao Tzu…why be so confined to Karl Marx? Why be so poor? Why not make the whole sky yours? – all the stars and the whole beauty of the night, yours. Why remain confined? If he can open the doors for the spiritual search, then, certainly, he can fulfill the prophecy of Edgar Cayce that Russia is the hope for all of mankind.
And I think him a man intelligent enough to understand that materialism is as confining as Christianity, as confining as Hinduism. I am making my people available to all dimensions because the whole past is your heritage. Why remain so poor, clinging to one small tradition? Why not allow the whole sky to be yours? Why not open your wings?
Communism missed the first revolution because it was not revolutionary enough. It was a reaction against Christianity; and whenever you react to something, you start behaving in the same way. In America they are becoming more and more a closed society because of fundamentalist Christianity. You will be surprised to know that in America thousands of books have been removed from the libraries – in this twentieth century, just now in this year – because they do not conform with the fundamentalist Christian attitudes, with the fanatic and fascist Christian mind.
Even in American education Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution cannot be taught; it has been prohibited, because it goes against Christianity. Christianity believes in creation. Perhaps you have never thought that the idea of creation and the idea of evolution are diametrically opposite. God created the world; now there is no question of any evolution. You cannot improve upon God.
Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution is against Christianity. In no other country is it banned. But some American states have banned it; now it is a crime to teach it. And all books – and there are thousands of books written on the theory of evolution – have been removed from the libraries of colleges, universities and national libraries.
A strange polarity. The Soviet Union has been up to now a closed society, and America at least pretended to be an open society. Now the Soviet Union is making every effort to become an open society, and America is becoming more and more closed.
I would like to add a few words to Edgar Cayce’s prediction: If the Soviet Union is the hope for mankind, then the United States of America is the greatest danger for mankind. It is preparing for human death. And if the Soviet Union becomes not only politically open but also philosophically open – not confined to the out-of-date ideas of Karl Marx, but open to all kinds of theories, philosophies, religions; experiences of Zen, and Sufism, and Hassidism, of Tao and Yoga – it can certainly prove the savior of humanity.

Osho,
I have often heard you speak of aloneness and loneliness as being opposed; of aloneness being a state in which one is so full – fulfilled; of loneliness being a state in which one is missing the other, feeling very empty. Reading Ryokan’s poetry, I feel some loneliness, yet the man is known as an enlightened Zen monk.
“Standing alone beneath the solitary pine,
quickly the time passes.
Overhead the endless sky.
Who can I call to join me on the path?”
In the hankering for a true companion, in the need to share that richness, I wonder if in the heart of aloneness, there is a kind of loneliness. Please explain if aloneness and loneliness are interrelated.
Loneliness is loneliness, and aloneness is aloneness – and the two never meet anywhere. They cannot by their very nature. Aloneness is so full, so abundantly full of yourself there is no space for anybody else. And loneliness is so empty, so dark, so miserable that it is nothing but a constant hunger for someone to fill it…if not to fill it, at least to help you to forget it.
You are quoting from Ryokan’s poetry. I don’t think Ryokan is yet enlightened. He was certainly a Zen monk, and a great poet, but he fell short of being a mystic. He reached very close, but even to reach very close is not to be enlightened.
I have also loved Ryokan’s poetry. But beware of poets, because they appear so close to the mystics. Sometimes their words are more juicy than the words of the mystics, because the poet is the artist of words; the mystic is an expert of silence.
Ryokan was a Zen monk; hence something of the mystic echoes in his poetry. But that is because he lived in an atmosphere in communion with the mystics. But he himself was not a mystic.
These are his lines, and you can see immediately what I mean:
Standing alone beneath a solitary pine,
Quickly the time passes.
Overhead the endless sky.
Who can I call to join me on the path?
He is still in need of a companion, and he is still searching. He is still talking of “the path,” and the enlightened man knows there is no path. All paths are wrong, without exception, because every path leads you away from yourself. And to come to yourself you don’t need any path: you have to be just awake and you are there.
It is almost like you are asleep in your room and dreaming that you are far away in London, in New York, in San Francisco. Do you think that if suddenly you are awakened you will find yourself in San Francisco? You were there, but that was only a dream. Awake, suddenly you find you are in your miserable room, and you have not even gone out of the door. You may be angry with the person who has awakened you, but he has brought you back to the reality. And there was no need of booking a ticket, because you had never gone out; you were only dreaming.
You are only dreaming what you are. If you wake up, suddenly you will find all that you used to think your personality, your body, your mind, your knowledge, your feelings, your love – they were all dreams. You are only a witness. But you cannot dream about the witness; that is an impossibility.
The witness remains a witness, never becomes a dream. Your aloneness is your witness, is your being. And it is so full, there is no need of any companion. And what is the need of a path? Where are you going? You have arrived.
Ryokan was a beautiful poet, and perhaps a very disciplined monk, but he was not a mystic and certainly not an enlightened man.
Let this be an opportunity to remind you again: beware of poets. They are like false coins, although they look exactly like authentic coins. But the false is false, and there is no way to make it real. Ryokan has still to wake up and see there is no solitary pine tree standing alone, there is no need of a companion, and there is no path.
One is, and has always been, at home.
To realize this at-homeness is aloneness.
Going around in your dreams you will always find yourself lonely. Loneliness is a misunderstanding. Aloneness is an awakening.

Osho,
The other night I heard you speak of betrayal, and how it is impossible to disappoint you. My eyes filled with tears. Your eyes were so luminous, shining with enough love to fill this universe. I realized that I have been trying not to disappoint the people I love all my life, and my tears were of gratitude for your love, a love that cannot be touched or tarnished whatever happens. Your look had a burning intensity, yet a wholly impersonal quality too. What kind of love is this?
Two little children were playing with their dog by the sea when the dog was carried out to sea by a big wave. A passing rabbi dived in, saved the dog and revived it by artificial respiration.
The children asked, “Hey, rabbi, are you a vet?”
“Am I wet?” replied the rabbi. “I am absolutely soaked!”

I am talking about a love in which you are not only wet, but absolutely soaked.
And there is no need to make any effort for it. Just being here, slowly, slowly, you will find your hardness melting. It cannot resist the temptation, because love is such a joy, such a bliss, that once you have seen a man of love you can never be the same again.
Seeing the man of love, you have seen your own future. And things will start happening. The hardness which prevents you from being loving, melts; the heart which you have completely forgotten is suddenly remembered. The mind which has become your permanent residence is no more your residence, but only a workshop – useful as far as work is concerned and utterly harmful as far as love is concerned. Your heart becomes your home, and your life starts radiating without any effort on your part.
Love is a contagious disease which has no cure. The world is loveless so much because very few people are there to spread the disease.
I have heard that the doctor of Mulla Nasruddin knocked on his door. He was very angry, and he said, “I have waited for one month, and you have not paid me and I cured your child of smallpox!”
Nasruddin said, “Listen. I have been patient enough; otherwise, the reality is that you owe much money to me.”
The doctor said, “What? I owe money to you?”
Nasruddin said, “Yes. Who do you think spread the disease to the whole school? My child! And from all that you have earned during this whole month, I have a percentage. I was being a gentleman and not asking for it, but you are being such a nasty fellow, so miserly, and you have some nerve, too.”
Love has disappeared from the world for the simple reason that there are not enough lovesick people to spread it, not enough love-soaked people to spread it. It is something which is not taught, which is caught.
Just don’t be worried about it. Being here you are going to be soaked. My whole presence, my silence, my words are nothing but to push you into the ocean so that you can be soaked.

Osho,
I love to watch you retreat so gracefully backward out of the hall until you are safely inside. I wonder how you avoid the door and the wall. But tell me, beloved one, are you afraid to turn your back on us?
I will have to tell you a story. Mulla Nasruddin was invited to a conference where many wise people were gathered. He had his own disciples. He collected all the disciples and rode on his donkey.
But the disciples said, “What are you doing?” – because he was riding on the donkey in the wrong way, not facing where the donkey was going. He was facing the disciples who were following him.
They said, “Mulla, we know that to go with you anywhere is to get into trouble. Now the whole city will laugh and we will feel embarrassed because we are your disciples.”
He said, “Don’t be worried about the city. I will see to those idiots.”
“But,” they said, “at least to us you should explain the great principle.”
He said, “The great principle is simple. If I ride on the donkey in the usual way, my back will be toward you. That is insulting you. I cannot do that. I respect you as much as you respect me. If I tell you to walk ahead of me, then your back will be toward me. That will be even worse – the disciples insulting the master.
“I could not sleep the whole night until I discovered this great principle: I can ride on my donkey facing you; neither I am being disrespectful to you nor are you being disrespectful to me. And as far as the donkey is concerned, he is accustomed to me; he knows that I am a little crazy. He will giggle a little. As far as the city people are concerned, let them laugh. You need not feel embarrassed – you are disciples of a great master.”
They said, “The principle seems to be great, but still we are feeling very much afraid.”
And it happened just the way the disciples were thinking. People came out of the shops, crowds gathered. People started asking, “What is the matter?”
The disciples said, “It is a very complicated thing. Its name is the Great Principle. If you want to understand you will have to come to the school where our great master teaches us.”
They said, “It is a strange principle: sitting the wrong way on a poor donkey. But, if he says it is a great principle, it must be” – because they have known him, and every time he has proven himself right. He has his own way. They said, “We are going to come tomorrow to the school to understand the Great Principle.”
And when the Great Principle was explained to them, they all looked at each other. Of course, it was right, because Mulla Nasruddin said to them: Unless a master respects his disciples, he should not expect any respect from them.
It is the Great Principle.