OSHO MEDITATION TECHNIQUES - 3

Experiments to Relax the Mind

Taken from:
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,
Dynamics of Meditation,
Bombay, India, 1972
page 275

Meditation means SURRENDER, TOTAL LET-GO!
As soon as somebody surrenders himself,
he finds himself in the hands of the Divinity.
If we cling to ourselves,
we cannot be one with the Almighty.
If the waves leave themselves,
they bcome the ocean itself.

Meditation is neither action nor practice.
Meditation is just being,
to be in non-doing.
But we can do some experiments in order
to understand what is meant by meditation.
Let us begin:

Sit in such a way that no one touches you.
Now close your eyes slowly,
and keep your body loose.
Relax completely so that there is no strain,
no tension in the body at all.
Now imagine that between two mountains
one river is flowing very fast,
with tremendous force and sound.
Observe it and dive in,
but do not swim.
Let your body float without any movement.
Now you are moving with the river, just floating,
with nowhere to reach, no destination,
so there is no question of swimming.
Feel as if a dry leaf is floating endlessly in the
river.
Experience it clearly so
that you can know what is meant by "surrender",
"total let-go".

We have understood how to float,
and now discover how to die
and how to be dissolved completely.

Close your eyes.
Let your body become loose,
and relax completely.
Observe that a pyre is burning.
There is a pile of woodsticks
that have been set afire.
The flames of the pyre seem to be
running toward the sky.

Remember one more thing:
that you are not just observing the burning pyre,
but you have been placed on it.
All your friends and relatives
are standing around.

It is better to feel this moment consciously,
as one day or other, this is sure to come.
With the flames growing higher and higher,
feel that your body is burning.
Within a short while the fire will be put out by
itself.
People will disperse,
and the cemetery will be silent and empty again.
Feel it, and you will see that everything has become
quiet,
and nothing but the ashes remain.
You have dissolved completely.
Remember this experience of being dissolved,
as meditation is also a kind of death.

Now we can switch over to the next experiment,
and it is that of "suchness".
By "suchness" is meant things are "such", life is
"such".

Keep your eyes closed and relax completely.
You have not to do anything,
and really there is no necessity to do anything.
Things were such before we were,
and they will be the same even after us.

Now feel that whatever is happening IS HAPPENING.
It is so.
It can only be in this way.
There is no other way possible.
So why resist?
By "suchness" is meant "no-resistance".
There is no expectation against what is.
The grass is green.
The sky is blue.
The waves of the ocean roar.
Birds sing.
Crows are crowing.
But there is no resistance fom our side,
as life is "such",
and suddenly a transformation takes place.
What we consider normally as a disturbance
seems now to be amiable to us.
We are not against anything
and happy with everything as it is.

Now let us refer to what we have experienced.

The first thing was,
we had to float
rather than to swim,
in the Ocean of existence.
For the one who is ready to float,
the river itself takes him to the ocean.
If we do not resist,
life itself takes us to Divinity.

We had to dissolve ourselves
rather than to save ourselves from death.
What we want to save is sure to die.
And what is going to be there eternally
will be without our effort.
And the one who is ready to die,
is able to open his doors
to welcome the Divinity.
Otherwise, if one keeps the doors closed,
due to the fear of death,
he does so at the cost of not attaining Divinity.
Meditation is to die.

And the last thing was that of "suchness".
Only acceptance of the qualities of "thorns and
flowers"
can bring you peace.
Peace after all,
is the fruit of "total acceptance".
Peace will come to him, who is ready even to accept
the absence of peace.

We will enter the next experiment of meditation
by using the former experiments.
Make space around you
so that even if somebody falls down
no one is disturbed.
If you are ready to float, to die and
to be in "suchness",
really you cannot be disturbed;

Close your eyes.
Let loose your body,
and feel as if there is no life in the body.
I will go on giving suggestions,
and you should feel and act accordingly.

Feel as if your body is relaxing.
Go on feeling,
and within a short time you will know
that you are not the master of the body,
and every cell, every nerve of the body,
will feel relaxed - as if the body does not exist.
Leave the body as if it is floating on the river.
Let the river of life take you anywhere it wants to,
and float upon it just like a dry leaf.

Now feel that your breath is
gradually becoming quiet, silent.
As your breathing becomes silent,
you will feel that you are being dissolved;
you will feel as if you are on the burning pyre,
and you have been burnt completely;
Not even ashes have remained.

Now feel the sound of the birds,
the sun's rays,
waves of the ocean,
and just be a witness to them -
receptive and yet aware, watchfull.

The body is relaxed;
breathing is silent,
and you are in "suchness"...
You are just a witness to all this.
Gradually you feel some transformation within,
and suddenly something becomes silent inside.

The mind has become silent and empty.
Feel this.
Be a witness to it,
and experience it.
The river has taken away your floating body,
the pyre has burnt it,
and you have been a witness to it.
In this nothingness,
a blissfulness enters
which is what we call Divinity.

Breathe deeply twice or thrice, slowly,
and with each breath you will feel freshness,
peace and blissfull pleasure.
Open your eyes slowly.
Try to do this experiment nightly
before going to bed,
going to sleep just afterwards.
Gradually your sleep will turn into meditation.