“When the shoe fits, the foot is
forgotten.”
I could easily lead this discussion
towards opinions of Osho, whether his philosophies were unique to him
or uniquely retold, whether his life and lifestyle followed his own
teachings and whether his popularity was more influenced by the era
than his truths but I won't. Rather, I will focus on the book “When
the Shoe Fits” and the parables transcribed between the covers.
In my opinion, this book is a tedious
read with many redundancies. Most of Osho's work was transcribed by
others after his death rather than by Osho himself. I admit finding
many truths in the redundant lines and that in itself makes the book
a worthwhile read.
Before going into Osho's teachings, the
reader benefits from a rudimentary understanding of Chuang Tzu, an
influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE.
He is credited with writing a work known by his name which expresses
a skeptical philosophy, arguing that life is limited whereas
knowledge to be gained is unlimited. Osho's teachings are firmly
grounded in this philosophy.
The book, “When the Shoe Fits,” contains ten chapters of parables used to teach others how to live
in a way that brings enlightenment. I have copied some of the
passages here for examples and discussion.
On confidence:
Everybody keeps on repeating to
himself: I am confident. Why? What are you hiding? If this confidence that you talk about is
really there then there is no need to say anything about it. A really confident man is not even
aware of it. This has to be understood – whenever something is false you are aware of it,
self-conscious. When something is real, you simply forget it. Do you remember that you are breathing? If
something goes wrong, yes. If it is hard and there is something wrong with your lungs and you have a
cold or asthma, then you remember that you are breathing. But when everything goes okay, you
are not conscious. WHEN THE SHOE FITS, THE FOOT IS FORGOTTEN. When you are really
confident, confidence is forgotten.
On unresolved:
If there is anger and you fight,
what will happen? Half of your being will be with the anger, and half
with this idea of fight. It is as if both your hands are fighting
each other. Who is going to win? You will be simply dissipating
energy. No one is going to be victorious. You can fool yourself that
you have now got your anger suppressed, now you are sitting on your
anger, but then you will have to sit on it continuously, not even a
single moment’s holiday is allowed. If you forget about it for a
single moment, you will lose your whole victory. So people who have
suppressed something are always sitting on those suppressed things
and they are always afraid. They cannot relax. Why has relaxation
become so difficult? Why can’t you sleep? Why can’t you relax?
Why can’t you be in a let go? Because you have suppressed so many
things.
On ego:
Ego is the deepest violence and if
you want to strengthen the ego you have to go on fighting
continuously. And the ego is very fragile; every moment it is on the
verge of dying. And anybody can kill it, just a gesture can kill it,
just a look. Somebody looks at you, and the ego is troubled. That man
seems to be an enemy. A gesture of enmity and you feel a trembling
because the ego is fragile. It is a false, artificial thing, it has
to be maintained. That is why there is so much fear – and amidst
this fear, this oceanic fear, you manage to create a few islands of
bravery. Otherwise it would be too difficult.
Ego is a false phenomenon. It is the
accumulation of others’ opinions, it is not a knowledge of the
self. This self, the so-called self
which is really the ego, is nothing but the accumulation of
reflections
– and then there is always fear.
Others may change their mind, you are always dependent on them.
If they say you are good you have to
follow their rules to remain good, you have to follow them to
remain good in their eyes, because
once they change their opinion you will no longer be good. You
have no direct approach to your
being, it is via others. So you not only advertise, you magnify, you
falsify. You may have a little
truth, a little beauty, but you magnify it and it becomes ridiculous.
On love:
The very wanting, the very desire to
prove, means that you are not. A man who is really wise will never in
any way be searching for opportunities to prove that he is wise. A
fool is always in search of a way to prove that he is wise. A man who
is really in love, who has become love, will not try to prove that he
is in love. When you are not in love you try to prove in many, many
ways that you are in love. You bring presents, you go on talking
about love, but all your efforts say just the opposite.
If you really love a person you will
not even mention the fact that you love them. What is the need? If
the other cannot understand your love without words, the love is not
worth anything. If you have to say it, it means that something is
false.
Of Tao:
A man of Tao remains ordinary,
absolutely ordinary. Nobody knows who he is, nobody knows what
he carries within him, what
treasure. He never advertises, he never tries to display. But why do
we advertise? Because of the ego.
You are not satisfied with yourself, you are satisfied only when
others appreciate you. You may have
a valuable stone, but it is not enough; others must appreciate it.
Others’ opinion is more valuable – not your being. You look into
others’ eyes as if they are mirrors and if they appreciate you,
applaud you, you feel good.
So if you want to prove something it
shows that you are doubtful about it. You want to destroy your
doubt through others’ eyes,
through their opinions. You are not really convinced of your
beautiful
person, you would like others to say
that you are beautiful.
As I read, I found
it interesting that Osho taught that we need to return to our child.
Most of us can remember things beginning at the age of four with
perhaps a few memories prior to that age. We don't remember the
earlier years not because the brain isn't capable of remembering but
during those years we were free and wild. At about the age of four,
we were being domesticated, given societal expectations and suddenly
there were things that we had to remember. I think I would enjoy
being a three-year-old again (potty-trained, of course.)
I'm Beth Winter and
I hope you join us for the discussion of Osho's teachings at this New World Creative Union Facebook Event. All are welcome to participate and I am sure that the
many teachings and viewpoints will spark some lively discussions. Thank you.
