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Part V : Controversy about Sex
People were shocked when I spoke about sex at the first meeting
last month, in Bombay. I received many angry letters asking me
not to talk in this fashion, letters saying I should not speak
on this subject at all. I wonder why one should not discuss this
subject? When this urge is already inherent in us, why should
we not talk about it? Unless we can understand its behavior, can
analyze it, how can we hope to raise it to a higher plane? By
understanding it we can transform it, we can conquer it, we can
sublimate it. Unless that happens, we will die and still we will
be unable to free ourselves from the grip of sex.
My point is that those who forbid talk about sex are the same
people who have pushed humanity into an abyss of sex. Those who
are frightened of sex, and have therefore convinced themselves
they are innocent of sex, are lunatics. They have conspired to
make the whole world a gigantic asylum.
Religion is concerned with the transformation of man's energy.
Religion aims to integrate the inner being of man - both his chaste
aspirations and his basic urges. It is also true that religion
should guide man from the lower to the higher, from darkness to
light; to the real from the unreal, to the eternal from the ephemeral.
But to reach somewhere, one has to know the starting point.
We have to start from where we are; it is imperative we know this
place first. And this is more important at the moment than the
place we want to reach. In this context, sex is the fact, the
reality; sex is the starting point. But God? God is far from here.
We can reach the truth of God only by understanding the starting
point of the journey; otherwise we cannot move an inch. We will
be lost. We will be on a merry-go-round, going nowhere.
When I spoke to you at our first meeting I could sense you were
not prepared to face the realities of life. Then what more, if
anything, can we do? What can we achieve? Then all this hullabaloo
about God and the soul means nothing. It is all empty of conviction;
it is all just false talk.
It is only by acquiring real knowledge about something that
we can rise above it. In fact, knowledge is transcendence. And
first of all, one fact must be comprehended fully: man is born
out of sex. The whole of his being exists because of the practice
of sex. Man is filled with the energy of sex. The energy of life
itself is the energy of sex.
What is this sex energy? Why is it such a powerful disturbance
in our lives? Why does it pervade our entire beings? Why do our
lives revolve around it, even to the end? What is the source of
this urge?...
What I wish to emphasize is that this strong and recurring pull
toward sex is for the momentary realization of samadhi. super02
The concept of nakedness is a subjective one. To a simple mind,
to an innocent mind, nudity is not offensive; it has its own beauty.
But up to now, man has been fed on poison, and gradually, with
the passage of time, this poison has spread from one pole of his
existence to the other. Consequently, our attitude to nakedness
is completely unnatural.
When I spoke on this topic at the first meeting, at the Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan Auditorium, a lady came to me and said, "I am
very upset. I am very angry with you. Sex is a scandalous subject.
Sex is sin. Why did you speak about it at such length? I really
despise sex."
Now, you see, this lady despises sex although she is a married
woman with sons and daughters. How can she love the husband who
leads her into sex? How can she love those children who have been
born out of sex? Her attitude to life is permeated with poison;
her love will remain poisonous. And so there is bound to be a
basic and deep rift between this woman and her husband. There
will also be a fence of thorns between her and her children because
the latter, to her, are the fruits of sin. The relationship between
her and her husband is sin-oriented; she is haunted by an unconscious
guilt complex where sex is concerned. Can one live in harmony
with sin?
Those who slander sex have disturbed everyone's marital life....
super03
I am also informed by letter that Freud's opinions on sex may
be worthy and acceptable, but asked how mine can be considered
true and sincere.
How can you decide whether I am honest and sincere or not? In
this connection, whatsoever I say, it won't be decisive because
I myself am the subject under consideration. If I say I am honest
it is meaningless. It is also meaningless if I say I am not honest,
because the very subject under debate is whether the person making
these statements is an honest man or not. So whatever I say in
this context will be meaningless; it will be futile. I say, experiment
with sex and find out for yourselves whether I am honest or not.
You will come to know the truth of my statements when you attain
to the experience for yourselves. There is no other way.
For example, if I were to talk to you about a certain swimming
technique, you might doubt whether my method were feasible or
not. My reply to that would be to ask you to come along to a place
where you could wade into the river. If my advice were useful
in helping you to swim across the river, then you would know that
what I had said was neither worthless nor insincere.
As far as Freud is concerned, I wish to explain to this particular
friend that it is quite probable Freud was not aware of what I
am telling you here. Freud was one of the few seers who guided
mankind in the direction of sexual liberation, but he had no idea
whatsoever that spiritual sex existed. The knowledge Freud systematized
was that of sick sex; his research was with the pathological.
Freud was a kind of doctor and his discoveries were used like
treatments, doled out to sick people. Freud hadn't studied normal,
healthy sex. He was a research scholar dealing in sickness, in
perversion, and his mind was primarily set on treatment, on cure.
Therefore, if you are bent on confirming the truthfulness of what
I say, you will have to turn to the philosophy of Tantra. Tantra
made early attempts to spiritualize sex, although we banned thinking
about Tantra thousands of years ago....
The Tantrikas tried to transform sex into spirituality, but the
preachers of morality in our country did not allow the message
to reach the masses. These are the same people who wanted to put
a stop to my talks. super05
On my return to Jabalpur, three days after my talk at the Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan Auditorium here in Bombay, I received a letter from
a friend telling me that if I continued these talks I would be
shot. I wanted to reply to him, but the trigger-happy gentleman
seems to be a coward: he neither signed his letter nor gave his
address; he was probably afraid I would report the matter to the
police. Nevertheless, if he is present here, he should accept
my reply now. Even if he is here, I am sure he is either hiding
behind a wall or a tree. If he is anywhere around I wish to tell
him that I am not going to report the threat, but that he should
give me his name and address so that I can at least send him a
reply. But, if he doesn't even dare that much, I will give him
my reply here. He ought to listen carefully.
He is probably not aware of this, but in the first place he shouldn't
be in a hurry to shoot me, because with the striking of the bullet,
what I am saying will become eternal truth. Had Jesus not been
crucified, the world would have forgotten him long ago. In a way,
the persecution was beneficial to Jesus....
This is the brighter side to being crucified. Therefore, I say
to my friend not to be in too much of a hurry to shoot me, otherwise
he will repent his action for the rest of his days.
The second thing is that he should not worry too much about it,
because I have no intention of dying in bed. When the proper time
comes, I will do my best to see that someone or other shoots me.
He shouldn't be hasty; I myself will arrange it. Life is useful
but when one is assassinated, death also becomes useful. A bullet-ridden
death can often accomplish what life could not....
So, my friend, if he is here, should not act thoughtlessly, otherwise
he will quickly find himself to be the loser. I won't be harmed;
I am not one of those whom bullets can destroy. I am one of those
who will survive bullets. He shouldn't be in a rush to shoot me.
He shouldn't be upset either, for I will do my best not to die
in bed. That kind of death is unbecoming. That kind of death is
a worthless death.
And the third point for him to remember is not to be afraid to
sign letters, not to be afraid to give his address. If I am convinced
there is someone brave enough and ready enough to shoot me, I
will keep the appointment without informing anyone, so that, later
on, he will not be involved.
But there is nothing so very strange about this man. He wrote
with the conviction he was protecting religion. He wrote because
he thought I wanted to destroy religion, and he wants to restore
religion. His intentions were not malicious. His feelings were
very sincere and, to him, very religious. super05
Another friend of mine has sent a message saying that no saint
or guru ever talks about sex. He writes that the high esteem he
had for me has lessened because of my talks on sex. I wish to
tell him there is no reason to be disappointed in me. First of
all, if you once had respect for me, it was your mistake. Why
was it necessary to honor me? What was your motive? When did I
ask you for respect? If you were paying me respect, it was your
error; if you are not so inclined any more, it is your privilege.
I am no mahatma, nor am I inclined to be one.
Had I the slightest desire to become a mahatma or a guru, I would
never have selected this subject in the first place. A man can
never become a mahatma if he isn't very clever in selecting the
topics for his discourse. I have never been a mahatma, I am not
a mahatma, and I certainly do not want to become a mahatma - that
desire itself is a projection of a subtle, refined ego. I am a
man, and that is good enough for me. Is it not enough, just being
a man? Can a man not be happy without riding the shoulders of
other men, without imposing himself on others, without acquiring
power in one form or another? Can a man not be happy simply by
remaining a man? In whatever position I find myself I am happy
and contented.
I long for greatness in humanity; I want to see a greater man.
Isn't it greatness to become a man, to attain to the full measure
of manhood? Every man can become great; every man is capable of
becoming great in the true sense of the word. The days of the
mahatmas and the gurus are gone; they are not needed any more.
A great mankind is essential; the need of the hour is for a great
humanity. There have been many great men, but what have we gained
from them? The need is not for great men, but for a great mankind,
for a greater humanity.
At least one person is disillusioned; at least one man has come
to know that I am not a great man. This is a great relief, this
man's disillusionment. He wrote me to tempt me with mahatmadom;
he says I could become a great guru if I stopped discussing such
topics. Up to now, the mahatmas and the gurus have been fooled
by such approaches, and as a result, those great but weak people
did not discuss subjects that might have proved disastrous to
their own guruships, to their mahatmadoms. In their concern to
save their own thrones, they never cared how many people they
were harmfully influencing.
I am not concerned with being on some high pedestal. I do not
dream about it; I have no designs on one. On the other hand, I
am concerned that someone may want to make me a mahatma some day.
These days, there is no shortage of gurus and mahatmas, and to
be considered as one it is very important to adopt the correct
pose. It has always been so. But the crux of the matter is not
the availability of mahatmas, but how an authentic man can evolve.
What can we do to achieve that goal? How can we apply ourselves
to that task?
I trust and believe that what we have discussed will guide you
on the proper road toward breaking those barriers that stand in
the way of the evolution of an authentic man. A path is visible;
the gradual transformation of your lust is possible. Your sex
can become your samadhi.
Now, as you are today, you are your lust; you are not your souls.
You can also become souls, but only by the gradual transformation
of your sexuality. Only then can your journey to God begin. super05
Osho concludes the series:
A spiritual sex can evolve. A new life can begin for mankind.
During the last four days, I have spoken to you about the possibility
of reaching a new level of spiritual existence. You have listened
to my talks patiently and with much love, although to listen to
such discourses peacefully must have been very difficult for you;
you must have felt embarrassed at times.
One friend came to me and voiced his fear that a few men, feeling
that such a subject should not be talked about, might stand up
and raise a cry to stop the lectures. He felt some people might
strongly and loudly protest the discussion of such a topic in
public. I told him it would be a better world if there were such
brave people around. Where will you find a man who is so courageous
that he will stand up at a public gathering and ask the speaker
to stop his discourse? If such courageous people existed in this
country, then the glib and nonsensical talks delivered from the
high platforms of this country by a long line of foolish men would
have stopped a long time ago. But they haven't stopped yet and
they will never stop. All along, I have been waiting for some
brave man to get up and ask me to stop my talk. Then I could have
discussed the subject with him in detail. It would have been a
source of great pleasure to me.
And so, to such discourses, on such a topic - despite the fact
that many friends were afraid someone might get up to protest,
that someone might create pandemonium here - you have quietly
listened. You are all very kind. I am grateful for your patient
and peaceful attention.
In conclusion, from my heart of hearts, I desire that the lust
inside each of us may become a ladder with which to reach to the
temple of love, that the sex inside each of us may become a vehicle
to reach to superconsciousness.
And finally, I bow to the Supreme enthroned in all of us.
Please accept my respects. super05
I have tried almost all one hundred and twelve methods (of meditation).
That list is exhaustive, there is no possibility of adding a single
method more. You can make a method of combinations, but those
one hundred and twelve are exhaustive.
Out of them all I have chosen witnessing, because most of them
are based on this in different ways.
For example, if while making love you also witness, it becomes
tantra. Tantra has taken one method, used it for love, and changed
the whole sexual energy into a spiritual phenomenon. That's what
I have been talking about, and I have been misunderstood by almost
everybody. They think I am teaching free sex. I am teaching meditative
sex, and they think I am teaching free sex. I was simply teaching
that if you can make sex an object of meditation you can become
free of it - because with meditation the energy starts moving
higher and higher....
And the people who have been condemning me - that is their own
imagination, their own creation, the whole idea of free sex. But
it is sensational, particularly in a country which is very repressive
about sex.
To me, sex is as natural as everything else. If we can make sleeping
a meditation, if we can make eating a meditation, why leave sex
out? And sex is so powerful that it should not be left out; otherwise,
that will create disturbance. It should be absorbed into your
total meditative process. It should become an organic unity....
Tantrikas were the first scientific religious people who took
possession of their energy - which was already available. They
managed to transform it in the same way that later somebody transformed
the electricity from the clouds to become a light in your house.
Nobody would have conceived before that the electricity flashing
in the clouds could run your fans - and your air-conditioners
and your railways.
Tantrikas had the first insight that man's sexual energy can be
transformed easily. The only barrier is repression. If you repress
it, then you cannot transform it. Don't repress sexual energy,
don't condemn it, but create a friendship with it, that's what
I have been saying. Don't think of it as a sin; it is not - you
are born of it. The whole life is sex. If you call sex sin, then
the whole life becomes sin, then the whole existence becomes sin
- and this is not a religious approach to the world. We should
make the whole world divine - not sin.
But nobody reports what I have been saying; they just go on
misinforming people. This is a misfortune - that journalism still
is not literature. last415
I have never taught free sex.
What I have been teaching is the sacredness of sex. I have been
teaching that the sex should not be degraded from the status of
love to the status of law. The moment you have to love to your
woman because she is your wife - not that you love her, it is
prostitution, legalized prostitution. I have been against prostitution,
whether it has been legalized or illegalized. I believe in love.
If two persons love each other they can live as long as they love.
The moment love is gone, they should gratefully separate.
I have never taught anything concerning free sex. This is the
idiotic Indian yellow journalism that has made my whole philosophy
confined to two words. I have written four hundred books. Only
one book is concerned about sex, three hundred ninety-nine books
nobody bothers; only one book that is concerned about sex, and
that too is not for sex, that too is how to transform sex energy
into spiritual energy. It is really anti-sex....
What they have been doing all along is misinforming people and
condemning that misinformation. They have never represented me
fairly; otherwise, I don't think India is so unintelligent.
A country which has produced the philosophy of tantra, a country
which has made temples like Khajuraho, Konarak, cannot be so stupid
that it will not understand what I am saying. Khajuraho is my
proof. All the literature of tantra is my proof. And this is the
only country where something like tantra has existed. Nowhere
in the world any effort has been made to transform sexual energy
into spiritual energy.
And that's what I was doing, but the journalists are not interested
in reality; they are interested in sensationalism. I have been
misinformed on. last414
I am not the sex guru.
I am the anti-sex guru, if anything....
So those who call me the "sex guru" are simply stupid.
They don't understand a simple thing.
I repeat again: I am the most anti-sex person in the whole world.
If I am listened to there will be no pornography, there will be
no homosexuals, there will be no lesbians - there will be no perversions
of any kind. And you call me the "sex guru"! mystic21
It is difficult to find a greater enemy of sex than I am. I do
not mean to imply that I abuse or reproach sex; I said it apprehensively,
as a guide in the direction of transcendence, as an indication
of how lust can be transformed. I am an enemy of sex in the sense
that I favor the transformation of coal into diamonds. I wish
to transform sex.
How can this be done? What is the procedure?
I say that another door must be opened, a new door. super03
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