The cross of love

Jayesh, just now I have been talking about love. Your question opens another dimension of love.

There is a cross on which a man like Jesus was crucified; it is of destruction and death, hate, violence and anger. It does not create anything, it only destroys. It is ugly.

But there is also another cross, the cross of love. It destroys in you all that is false, and it resurrects in you all that is authentic, all that is true. It kills you on one hand, and it revives you on the other hand. It kills only that which you are not, but you have been identifying yourself with it. It destroys your false identity, your personality, your hypocrisy.

And as your falseness is destroyed, your truth shines forth – radiates with tremendous beauty. The ancient seers of the East have called the master a death and a resurrection. The disciple goes through the being of the master; all that is false will be burned, and all that is true will come out in its immense glory and splendor, freed from all chains and bondages, in absolute beauty, freedom, grace and eternal joy.

Jayesh, I am certainly crucifying you – but this is the you that you are not. Every creator has to destroy to create. Just see a master sculptor…

I am reminded of a very beautiful story about Michelangelo. He was passing through the market where marble rocks were sold, and in front of the greatest shop he saw lying on the other side of the road a huge marble rock. He asked the shopkeeper, “How much will it cost for me to take that rock?”

The shopkeeper said, “It has been lying there for almost a decade. Nobody seems to have any interest in it; you are the first man in these ten years who has even inquired about it. I will give it to you for free. You just take it away; it is unnecessarily taking up my space. It is so ugly and so strange that I don’t think you can make anything out of it.”

The sculptor took it, and after three years he came back to the shop and invited the owner to see something that he had made. He had made a beautiful statue of Jesus with his mother, when Jesus was brought down from the cross. He is lying almost dead, bleeding, unconscious, in the lap of his mother.

Just a few years ago the statue was destroyed by a madman. It was thought to be one of the greatest pieces of art, and the madman destroyed it, and told the court, “I have destroyed it deliberately to become world famous.” He became world famous; his picture was all over in all the magazines and papers. His name suddenly became world known.

But in this beautiful statue – I have seen a picture of it – Jesus looks so beautiful, and his mother with tears in her eyes…

The statue looks so alive that it seems Jesus is going to stand up. It is one of the most mysterious creations of man.

The owner of the shop could not believe it when the sculptor said, “It is from the same rock that you have given me for free.

The shopkeeper asked him, “But how could you even dream that that ugly rock could be transformed into such a beautiful piece?”

The sculptor said, “I had not dreamt about it. In fact, as I was passing by the side of the rock, Jesus called, ‘I am encaged in this rock, help me to be freed’ – and all that I have done is not to create Jesus and Mary, I have simply taken away the unnecessary parts of the rock. My work has been only of eliminating the false, the unnecessary, and what has remained is God’s grace.”

The function of the master is the same – to take away all that is false in you. And the real, the true and the authentic will be revealed the moment the false is taken away. The master never gives you anything; he only takes away the false, and the truth is already there. Just the unnecessary has to be eliminated.

Yes, Jayesh, I am crucifying you so that you can have a resurrection. But my cross is that of love; it is not to kill you. In fact you are dead as you are. It is to give you a taste of eternal life. It is to revive you, it is to call you from your grave to come out. Yes, in the beginning it looks like crucifixion, but it is really part of the process of resurrection.

Your question is significant. And you are asking me also, “Could you tell me if you are crucifying me or burning me?”

As far as burning is concerned…

Just the other day, a woman came from England. Her sister was a sannyasin. Almost ten years ago, in an accident – and it was her own fault – she burned herself. We tried everything that was possible here and when we saw that in India perhaps she would not be able to recover – all her skin had been burned – I sent one of our doctors to take the girl back to England where better and more up-to-date facilities are available.

He took her to England. We arranged all the expenses for her traveling, for her medical care in England, but she could not be cured. She died. And after ten years this woman comes, very angry, saying “We cannot forget it ever. My mother is still angry… I am angry that you killed my sister.”

Amrito said, “This is strange. It was her own fault she got burned. We managed every expense here, and seeing that perhaps she needs better facilities, more up-to-date technology, we took her to England. We made every arrangement… Accidents can happen anywhere.”

When I heard this I said, “These people seem to be absolutely stupid. They don’t know anything about India.”

Here, everybody finally gets burned! There is of course one alternative: you can get burned and then you can die, or you can die first and then you can be burned. The choice is yours! Most people choose the second – it is just a question of liking – but everybody here in this country has to be burned finally.

So if you are asking about burning, it will happen – but not right now, Jayesh; there is much more for you to do. And as far as you are concerned, burning is not your problem; it is the problem of other sannyasins. You will be dead – unless you choose the other alternative.

You are too young yet to think about such things. I will give you a few maxims to think over instead:

“The saints are the sinners who keep on trying.”

Meditate over it….

“Take a risk. Even a turtle gets nowhere until he sticks his neck out.”

“A man does not need twenty-twenty eyesight to appreciate a thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six vision.”

“Nothing wrong ever happens at the right time.”

“Save your money…” – it is particularly significant for Jayesh, because he is my treasurer – “Save your money; you never know when your friends will need it.”

Jayesh is a busy man, extremely busy, hence a special maxim for him:

“A busy man is usually a happy man, unless he is busy scratching.”

“Never judge a woman’s feet by the shape of her shoes.”

“Success is when you have your name in everything except the phone book.”

“Salesmanship is the difference between rape and rapture.”

“Whiskey may not cure a cold, but no remedy fails with such satisfaction.”

“Not all philosophers are married men, but all married men become philosophers.”

Jayesh, this is not the time for you to be burned, this is the time to have a good time.

The priest, traveling on a first class sleeper train, had a double compartment all to himself. Having just finished his dinner in the dining car, he returned to his compartment, but was shocked to find two scantily-dressed, sexy-looking girls inside.

He immediately cried out, “You girls are in the wrong compartment. I’m a respectable man, the pillar of my community, and there has never, ever been the smallest whiff of scandal about me in my whole life. So,” the priest continued, pulling himself up to his full height, “one of you girls will have to go!”

Jayesh, when the burning will come, it will come. We will celebrate it – it is a promise. Meanwhile, enjoy life as much as you can. It is none of your business to worry about things which are going to happen after your death.

Life is so precious, not a single moment has to be wasted in thinking what will happen after death. Here in India, it is certain, burning will happen. So you can be absolutely unworried and unconcerned. You will not be the one who will have to take care of the burning, and you will not be the one who will be burned on the funeral pyre. You will be a witness standing in the crowd of the celebrant sannyasins. The only difference will be – that you will not be visible anymore.

But that is not a misfortune. Just think of the great adventures when you become invisible!

Osho, Satyam Shivam Sundram, Ch 4, Q 2