Zooming Grace - with Chaitanya Keerti

Deva Dosa contemplates miraculous healings and insights gained from a profound Upasana Meditation, shared globally for the first time via an Internet platform.

In the last 6 months, Existence has birthed a global Buddhafield in a virtual world that transcends nations and borders. The essential sharing of Osho’s meditations through Internet-based technology is the brilliant result of crisis meeting opportunity in pandemic times. Through generous daily meditations by long-time facilitators and master healers, thousands of people around the world have benefitted from sparks of compassion, healing, and understanding.

Chaitanya Keerti’s sessions always gong a “loud silence” into my soul. I was captivated by his telling of the first time he met Osho in 1971. With quiet electricity, Keerti shared, “My real life began when I came in touch with Osho.” He conveyed how his love for the Master was total, instant, spontaneous, pure, and free. Keerti has been sharing Osho and meditation ever since, for almost 50 years.

Most recently, Keerti offered a profound Upasana Meditation, shared globally for the first time via an Internet platform. He emphasized that while structure is helpful for beginners, it can be an imposition for more experienced meditators. He described Upasana Meditation as a total freedom, a festive waiting without structure.

In his Hindi discourse on Upasana, Osho explains: “Sitting in the presence of the Guru is Upasana. When the sun is rising, getting immersed by the rising sun is Upasana. When the birds are singing, being drowned and immersed with their song with closed eyes is Upasana. Wherever there is emergence of Soundarya, Satya, and Shivam (beauty, truth and godliness), just sit there and open your heart, and invite the divine and just be waiting. Upasana is passive waiting, non-aggressive waiting, effortless effort. Upasana is wonderful alchemy.” ¹

This natural meditation focuses on spontaneous happenings in the inner dimension, through a combination of gratitude, prayer, Latihan, Zazen, Devavani and more. As meditators we are simply to invite the presence of the Divine into our hearts. But how is it possible to trust this much and not do anything?

Osho says, “Once you are near a master, not near a teacher, you can trust. Even if you don’t attain enlightenment in this life, there will be a continuous subtle guidance for you – even if you don’t realize that you are being guided.”

Preparing to receive the session fully, I felt vague unease about these times of isolation and violence. I had felt heart stress all week and needed relief. Relaxing into “festive waiting” and deep breathing, I felt a deep hysteria arise, constellating around my heart. I kept breathing and watching the discomfort. Finally, my heart released into a spontaneous vision of my most beloved natural spring swimming park. The beautiful park was revealed as a grand, sentient being who really loves me as much as I love it. I was amazed to discover that the Mother of Nature feels my love and gratitude every time I swim there. When Nature’s own love started pouring into me, I felt my heart resist the enormity. Then I said to my heart, “ALLOW.” My heart expanded as all the gratitude I have given to these divine waters began pouring back into me, overflowing. In deep relaxation, a grand contact was felt, beyond words – an intermingling with the living spirit of the cosmos, the Maker.

Osho says, “When somebody says that Buddha exists beyond time and space, it makes no sense to us. When you say that Buddha exists beyond space, it means he does not exist anywhere in particular. How can somebody exist without existing anywhere in particular? He exists, simply exists! You cannot indicate where; you cannot say where he is. In that sense he is nowhere, and in that sense he is everywhere. For the mind which lives in space, it’s very difficult to understand something beyond space. But whoever follows Buddha’s methods and becomes a master immediately has a contact.” ²

Indeed, Upasana is the essence of most rare meditation, and the beauty of the unstructured meditation is profound. The Divine intelligence that can open is unfathomable. With sudden knowing, I saw that whatever you love is a love storehouse. You may feel that few can reciprocate real love, but love is never wasted. Festively waiting, Love is stored and always circles back magnified, at the right time. I also learned that if you try to identify the exact location from where a thought arises, thinking stops. Awareness looks and looks and cannot find the natural spring from whence the thought arises.

When I returned from the altered state of consciousness, my heart was completely healed and stress symptoms were gone. As a pulsating organism in a chaotic society, I just needed to know and feel that I was really and truly loved. I needed and received real contact. We all need this, especially now.

Perhaps the magic of Upasana Meditation is hidden here:

“Whenever somebody following Buddha becomes enlightened, a relationship immediately comes into existence. He is suddenly joined with Buddha – Buddha who is no longer in the body, Buddha who is no longer in time and no longer in space, but still is; Buddha who has become one with totality, but still is. This is very paradoxical and very difficult to understand because we cannot understand anything which is beyond time. Our whole understanding is within time; our whole understanding is within space.” ²

Deepest gratitude to author, editor, master healer, and facilitator Chaitanya Keerti for his wonderful books and long-time efforts in sharing Osho and meditation. Special thanks to hosts, Prem Vivek of Osho Amritam Meditation Center, Edison, New Jersey, and Osho Atlanta Meetup, led by Anuradha and Paritosh. Your sincere dedication and heartful efforts have blessed us all immensely.

Osho’s discourse excerpts –
¹ Santo Magan Bhya Man Mera, संतो, मगन भया मन मेरा, Ch 14 (translated from Hindi)
² The Heart of Yoga, Ch 5

Chaitanya Keerti was initiated into Osho’s Neo-Sannyas movement in 1971. He has been dedicated to sharing the world of meditation for almost 50 years. Keerti has been the spokesperson for Osho Commune International and the founding editor of Osho Times International, published from Pune since 1975. He is presently the spokesperson of Osho World Foundation and the editor of Osho World monthly Hindi magazine, published from New Delhi. He has been the editor of many Osho Hindi books and the author of five books on Osho: Allah to Zen – An Insight into the World of Osho, “The Osho Way in Romance with Life, Osho Fragrance, Mindfulness The Master Key” and The Alchemy of Zen.

Chaitanya Keerti regularly contributes articles on meditation and other subjects to several newspaper and magazines. He travels extensively to conduct meditation camps in different parts of the country and abroad.