Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy

Talks given from 20/7/70 to 5/10/70 Original in Hindi

19 Rituals, Fire and Knowledge

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 19 Rituals, Fire and Knowledge 4 October 1970 pm in Question 1 QUESTIONER: YAJNAS OR RITUALS HAVE AN IMPORTANT PLACE IN SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE, AND THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF YAJNAS OR SACRIFICIAL RITUALS MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES. BUT THE GEETA ATTACHES SPECIAL IMPORTANCE TO JAPA-YAJNA AND JNANA-YAJNA – THE RITUALS OF CHANTING AND KNOWLEDGE. TALKING ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JAPA OR CHANTING, YOU MENTIONED AJAPA OR WORDLESS CHANTING....

2 Krishna is Complete and whole

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 2 Krishna is Complete and whole 26 September 1970 am in Question 1 QUESTIONER: WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO SPEAK ON KRISHNA? AND WHAT IS THE CENTRAL THEME OF THIS DISCUSSION? If a man has to think, understand, and say something, for him there can be no more meaningful a topic than Krishna. He is the most significant person in all of history....

20 Base your Rule on the Rule

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 20 Base your Rule on the Rule 5 October 1970 am in Question 1 QUESTIONER: WHAT IS THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCE, IF ANY, BETWEEN MAHAVIRA’S TRANSCENDENCE OF ATTACHMENT, CHRIST’S HOLY INDIFFERENCE, BUDDHA’S INDIFFERENCE AND KRISHNA’S NON-ATTACHMENT? AND IN WHAT WAY ARE THEY THE SAME? There is a good deal of similarity between Christ’s concept of neutrality, Buddha’s idea of indifference, Mahavira’s transcendence of attachment, and Krishna’s non-attachment....

21 Choose the Flute or Perish

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 21 Choose the Flute or Perish 5 October 1970 pm in Question 1 QUESTIONER: SPEAKING IN THE CONTEXT OF KRISHNA AND JESUS, YOU OBSERVED, “THE CIVILIZATION THAT BEGAN WITH THE CROSS HAD TO END UP IN AN ATOMIC WAR, AND THEREFORE THE MODERN CIVILIZATION IS FACED WITH A CHOICE BETWEEN THE CROSS AND THE FLUTE.” BUT EH QUESTION IS THAT THE CIVILIZATION THAT BEGAN WITH THE FLUTE ALSO ENDED UP IN A WAR – THE WAR OF MAHABHARAT....

22 Sannyas is of the Highest

< Previous | Contents ‌CHAPTER 22 Sannyas is of the Highest 28 September 1970 pm in September 28, 1970 was a memorable day. At Manali in the Himalayas, Osho initiated His first group of sannyasins. This event was followed by this special evening discourse, on the significance of Neo Sannyas. To me, sannyas does not mean renunciation; it means a journey to joy bliss. To me, sannyas is not any kind of negation; it is a positive attainment....

3 Where Buddha Ends Krishna Begins

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 3 Where Buddha Ends Krishna Begins 26 September 1970 pm in Question 1 QUESTIONER: THROUGHOUT THE GEETA KRISHNA APPEARS TO BE UTTERLY EGOISTIC, BUT THIS MORNING YOU SAID IT WAS BECAUSE OF HIS EGOLESSNESS THAT KRISHNA ASKED ARJUNA TO SURRENDER TO HIM, GIVING UP EVERYTHING ELSE. BUT BUDDHA AND MAHAVIRA DON’T SAY THIS TO THEIR DISCIPLES. SO IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEIR KINDS OF EGOLESSNESS?...

4 Religion has no History, It is Eternal

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 4 Religion has no History, It is Eternal 27 September 1970 am in Question 1 QUESTIONER: WHAT IS THE TIME OF KRISHNA’S BIRTH? WHAT INVESTIGATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE UP TO NOW? AND WHAT IS YOUR OWN VIEW ON THIS MATTER? DO YOU THINK AN ENLIGHTENED PERSON CANNOT RIGHTLY ANSWER SUCH A QUESTION? No record has been kept about the time of Krishna’s birth and death....

5 Follow No One but Yourself

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 5 Follow No One but Yourself 27 September 1970 pm in Question 1 QUESTIONER: WHAT WERE THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS OF HIS TIMES THAT MADE IT NECESSARY FOR A SOUL LIKE KRISHNA’S TO TAKE BIRTH AMONG US? PLEASE EXPLAIN. All times and all conditions are good enough for a consciousness like his does not depend on any social and political conditions....

6 Nudity and Clothing Should go Together

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 6 Nudity and Clothing Should go Together 28 September 1970 am in Question 1 QUESTIONER: PLEASE EXPLAIN THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH KRISHNA WAS BORN. AND IS THERE SOME ANALOGY BETWEEN KRISHNA AND CHRIST IN REGARD TO THEIR BIRTHS? Whether it is the birth of Krishna or Christ, or anybody else, it does not make a great difference. But we have always made a distinction between one birth and another, because of our failure to understand the meaning of some symbols of birth as given in mythology....

7 Make Work a Celebration

< Previous | Contents | Next > ‌CHAPTER 7 Make Work a Celebration 28 September 1970 pm in Question 1 QUESTIONER: YOU SAY THAT MARRIAGE IS IMMORAL. AND HERE IS KRISHNA WHO PERHAPS GOES FOR THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF MARRIAGES IN HISTORY. IS HE GUILTY OF ENCOURAGING THE IMMORALITY WHICH MARRIAGE IS? I say marriage is immoral, but I don’t say marrying is immoral. A man and a woman in love with each other would like to live together, so a marriage stemming from love will not be immoral....