Originally article from Viha Connection Magazine at oshoviha.org
Meditation: Slow Down
Keep silent as much as you can. Walk silently... Don’t be in a hurry; there is nowhere to go. Eat silently... Don’t just go on stuffing; there is no need to be in any hurry. The whole of eternity is there, waiting for us.
In the West there is too much hurry because of a certain Christian concept that there is only one life and that with death you will be gone and will not be able to come back again. That has created a very crazy idea in people’s minds. So everybody is in speed, running fast. Nobody is worried about where you are going; just go faster, that’s all. So nobody is enjoying anything, because how can you enjoy at such a speed? The whole of life has become a hit-and-run affair.
To enjoy anything one needs a very relaxed attitude. To enjoy life one needs eternity, otherwise one cannot enjoy life. How can you enjoy when death is going to come so soon? One tries to enjoy as much as one can, but in that very effort all peace is lost, and without peace there is no enjoyment. Delight is possible only when you are savoring things very slowly. When you have enough time to waste, then only, delight is possible. When there is no scarcity of time, then only, delight is possible.
The Eastern concept of reincarnation is beautiful. True or not true, that is not the point. Do you understand me? It is not the point...but it gives you a very relaxed attitude towards life. That is the real thing. I am not worried about metaphysics. It may be true, it may not be true; that’s not the point at all. To me it is irrelevant. But it gives you such a beautiful background.
So move slowly, move silently, and allow life to happen. Don’t run. Otherwise it is almost as if you are in a fast-running train and beautiful scenery is passing by – the moment you see it, it is gone. That’s how the mind is functioning, the modern mind – always in speed. So by the time you see it, it is gone. So slow down.
Live life as animals live, as trees live, as if there is no death. Then a luxury arises. That is the Eastern concept of luxury. You may not have a big palace to live in, and you may not have four or seven cars, but the Eastern concept of luxury is that we have enough time to rest, to relax, and be lazy.
So relax and get more and more in tune with silence. Wherever you see that silence is – the night is silent – listen to the silence. Just in the middle of the night sit in your bed and listen to the night and its silence...the music of that silence. And whatsoever can make you silent, move towards that. Make friends with people who are silent. Listen to music that gives you silence, not excitement. Read any book that gives you silence, not excitement.
In the time that you are here relax completely, and whatsoever you want will happen. Now that is my work. Just listen to me and follow!
A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose, Chapter 1
