The Hindustan Times
New Delhi, 29 August, 2001
MEDITATIONS/ Swami Chaitanya Keerti
“God is not an ascetic, otherwise there would be no flowers, there would be no green trees, only deserts. God is not an ascetic, otherwise there would be no song in life, no dance in life – only cemeteries and cemeteries.
God is not an ascetic; God enjoys life. God is more Epicurean than you can imagine. If you think about God, think in terms of Epicurus. God is a constant search for more and more happiness, joy, ecstasy. Remember that.” reminds Osho in The Ancient Music In The Pines.
To Osho, laughter is prayer. It is not a grim and serious affair. Mankind has already been suffering so much and the priests of traditional religions have made our life even more burdensome with endless commandments. That’s why the religions don’t attract the young and the intelligent – their heaviness is really repulsive. If religions have to survive and flourish in the future, they need to go through a radical transformation and rejuvenation process now.
First they would have to drop the burdensome baggage of guilt and misery to come alive and breathe. They need a fresh breeze of life and vitality. The vitality is possible with song and dance, love and laughter. The prayer is the celebration of gratefulness for this beautiful gift of life. The prayer has to be something like the Baul mystics of Bengal do. It is something spontaneous arising from your heart that’s not burdened with too many rules imposed by priests.
Osho talks about Bauls who say, “Let your prayer arise in each moment. What is the need to carry the past? Can’t you talk to your God directly? What is the point of repeating the same thing again?”
Today is different from yesterday – the prayer has to be new, as new as the morning sun or the morning dewdrop. Say something that arises in your heart. If nothing arises, bow down in deep silence, because He knows. He will understand your silence.
Some day you feel like dancing – dance. Now that is the prayer for that moment. Some day you want to sing – but don’t repeat anybody else’s song, because that is not your heart, and that is not the way you can pour your heart into the divine feet. Let your own song arise. Forget about metre and grammar. God is not too much of a grammarian, and He is not worried about what words you use.
He is more concerned about your heart; He is more concerned about your intention. He will understand.
“So Bauls make their own songs on the spur of the moment. It is spontaneous. They just relax in the moment: they let the dance happen, they let the singing happen.”
