Question - Do you know anything

Osho on Charan Singh

Charan Singh (fourth Satguru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas)

Osho on Radha Soami religion and its Master Saint, Charan Singhji

Question - Do you know anything about the Radha Soami religion and its Master Saint, Charan Singhji? I have recently read three books from the radha soami and would like you to comment on their beliefs:

First: that there has always been at least one living master since before buddha's time and charan singh is the current one.
Second: that their 'audible sound current' and five sacred mantras are the only valid meditation.
Third: that only Charan Singh can 'connect' one to the sound current.
Fourth: if you become his disciple you may have to go through other incarnations, but never lower than you are now.
Fifth: that there are at least seven heavens, each higher than the other, and only charan singh can take you up. Other saints can only take you up to the second heaven, where jesus and buddha live.
I am not a disciple of Charan Singh and have no desire to become one, but the radha soami books did leave me very puzzled.

Osho - It is all bullshit.
FIRST: THAT THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT LEAST ONE LIVING MASTER SINCE BEFORE BUDDHA'S TIME AND CHARAN SINGH IS THE CURRENT ONE.

If all is divine, then this is nonsense. These are old ego games. The whole existence is full of God. And it is not that somebody is more of a God and somebody else is less of a God -- God is not a quantity. It can't be 'more' and 'less'. The idea that only one or two or three or four or five Masters are there makes it appear as if God also has limitations. There are no limitations.
The Master is hiding in everybody; the real Master is never outside, the real Master is inside. The outside Master is just to provoke the real Master within you, that's all. Somebody has awakened, and you are fast asleep -- but you have as much capacity to be awake as the one who has become awakened. The capacity is there, intrinsic in you. And the outer Master, the person who is awakened, cannot give you awareness; he can only shake you -- awareness will well up within you. He is not going to give it to you; nobody can give anything to you. You need not have anything from anybody; God has given you all that you need, all that you will ever need.

When you shake up somebody, when you call him, and he opens his eyes and becomes awake, have you given him anything. You have not given him anything, you have simply created an occasion in which his capacity to be aware started functioning.
A Master is just a device.

There are thousands of Masters around the world, and the people who claim 'I am the only one', be certain that they at least are not, because how can the person who has arrived claim that 'I am the only one'? He will know -- at least this much he will know -- that there are others; the earth is big. And life does not exist only on the earth, it exists on at least fifty thousand more planets. Just one Master, Charan Singh?... It will be too much for him to manage. Think of poor Charan Singh too -- it will be too much. The world is vast. There are thousands of Masters, and not only on the earth but on other planets too. Wherever there are people asleep, there are always a few people who are awake.

And, remember, the person who is awake cannot claim anything about his awareness, about his awakened state, because he knows that he is awake only because he is capable of falling asleep. And those who are still asleep are capable of becoming awake: you can fall asleep only because you can have awareness, otherwise how can you fall asleep? Awareness is a must. Sleep and awareness are both manifestations of awareness. In sleep, the awareness becomes a seed form; it closes itself just as you close your windows and doors in the night and you go to sleep. In the morning you wake up, you open the doors and windows again, and you allow the light to enter again.

And people who are asleep sometimes become awake even without a Master, because life itself sometimes can pro-voke you into awareness. The Master is not a must. There are people who have become awakened without any Master: just by going deeply into the misery of sleep, into the night-mares of sleep, they have become awakened. The very agony has disturbed their sleep.
The Master is only one of the situations, and nobody who has arrived can claim 'I am the only one.' If the claim is there then it shows only one thing: that this man is fast asleep and dreaming.

SECOND: THAT THEIR 'AUDIBLE SOUND CURRENT' AND FIVE SACRED MANTRAS ARE THE ONLY VALID MEDITATION.
There are millions of meditations in the world, invented, discovered, down the centuries. And any meditation is valid if it wakes you -- validity has nothing to do with meditation. You will be surprised to know that the English poet, Tennyson, used to use his own name as a mantra. 'Tennyson, Tennyson, Tennyson...' He would repeat it a few times, and that would give him such peace and silence. Now, your own name can do it -- it is not a question of any special sound, that when you repeat 'Rama, Rama...' or 'Aum, Aum...' or 'Allah, Allah...' then you will wake up. It is again as if somebody is asleep; create any noise around him -- 'Rama, Rama...' or 'Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola...' or 'Live a little hot, sip a Gold Spot' -- anything, just go on repeating it, and the man will open his eyes and say 'What are you doing? Why are you disturbing my sleep? Have you gone mad?'

Any sound will work because all sounds are divine. All names are his, yes, Coca-Cola too. Remember Ramakrishna again. If a cup of tea is God, why not Coca-Cola? In fact Coca-Cola is the only international thing in the world -- the only thing. Even in Soviet Russia, Coca-Cola... They may not love the American way of life, but they love Coca-Cola. That should be the universal symbol of brotherhood and love. You may not believe in somebody else's God, in his church, in his temple, in his scripture, but as far as Coca-Cola is concerned nobody is a Mohammedan, nobody is a Hindu, nobody is a Christian. Coca-Cola is a Christ symbol.

Any sound will do; all that is needed is a constant repetition, and with awareness. When you are repeating a sound just remain watchful. If you are not watchful then no sound will do, then you can have the best mantra in the world, given by the most enlightened person -- it won't work. It works only when you are in a witnessing state. You repeat the word, and you remain a witness to it: you repeat 'Rama, Rama, Rama...' and deep inside you are watching -- watching that you are repeating it, watching the sound arise, watching the sound taking form, moving, slowly disappear-ing, watching the gaps between two Rama's.

And slowly slowly make the sound more and more subtle. So, there are four stages of mantra. First: repeated loudly, so others can hear it. Because you are not alert enough, if you only repeat it inside without your lips moving, you may not be able to be aware. It has to be shouted, it has to be loud, as if somebody else is repeating it: 'Rama, Rama, Rama...'. You have to be alert; you cannot fall asleep. When you have learned that, then repeat it with closed mouth, your lips not moving at all. Just repeat it inside. It will be in your throat; it has become a little more subtle than the gross loud repetition. Then go a little farther, deeper. Then don't repeat it -- at the third stage don't repeat it -- let it happen. If you have worked on the sound for long, then it repeats itself -- it becomes autonomous. And you know, you know that sometimes a line of a song becomes autonomous and it goes on repeating itself. You don't want to repeat it; you are doing something, and it comes suddenly and starts repeating. It drives you crazy too. The same happens if a person has been working years on a sound: there is no need to repeat, he simply sits silently and the sound comes up; it starts repeating. You are just a listener, a watcher: this is the third stage. And the fourth stage is when the sound disappears completely. There is no repetition, only the watcher is left.

These four stages of sound repetition or mantra or chanting are just to learn how to be aware. You can use any sound, that's why I say that this is all nonsense: THAT THEIR 'AUDIBLE SOUND CURRENT' AND FIVE SACRED MANTRAS ARE THE ONLY VALID MEDITATION. You can create your own meditation, and my feeling is that will be fir more valid because whatsoever you like and love is going to have a deeper impact on your being than anything else.

THIRD: THAT ONLY CHARAN SINGH CAN 'CONNECT' ONE TO THE SOUND CURRENT.
You are connected with it. You are not disconnected from it -- nobody is needed to connect you with it. These are the people who exploit you. If you are not connected with that current of life, you cannot live for a single moment. You are alive; your life is a proof that you are connected with the sound of God, with that silence, with that music, melody. You are part of it -- a note of that melody. What happens when you live with a Master is that he is consciously connected and you are unconsciously connected; not that he is connected and you are not connected -- the difference is only of consciousness. He is consciously connected: he knows that he is connected, and you don't know that you are connected. You are also connected; he simply helps you to become aware of the phenomenon. He makes you aware of the fact -- he does not connect you. These are the people who exploit you, these are cunning people. Beware of them.

FOURTH: IF YOU BECOME HIS DISCIPLE YOU MAY HAVE TO GO THROUGH OTHER INCARNATIONS, BUT NEVER LOWER THAN YOU ARE NOW.
Have you ever heard of anybody going lower? There is no way to go lower -- nobody has ever gone lower -- because whatsoever you have learnt, you have learnt, and whatsoever you have known, you have known. You cannot fall back -- there is no way of falling back -- everything moves ahead. That's why I say these are cunning people. They can make you afraid that if you don't become a disciple you may become a dog or a crocodile. And then, naturally, fear arises. 'A crocodile? A dog? Then why not protect oneself... become a disciple of Charan Singh?' At least you will not become a crocodile, you will not become a dog, or there are worse things also: cockroaches, and rats. You can choose your own idea. Just think of becoming a cockroach, and great fear arises. And one would like not to become a cockroach...

In the name of religion people have been exploited down the ages; and these have been the trade secrets: create fear and create greed -- these are the two trade secrets. If somebody is trying to create fear in you or is trying to create greed in you, escape from that place. That place has nothing to do with religion, because real religion has to free you from all greed and all fear. These are the symptoms of a pathological situation. The man who is creating fear or greed -- which are two aspects of the same coin -- will make you afraid of hell, hell fire, and he will make you greedy for heaven.

But Charan Singh seems to be really clever and cunning, because if you talk of only one heaven, then Jesus can lead you there, Buddha can lead you there, Kabir can lead you there, and Nanak can lead you there -- anybody can do it. There are 'seven heavens'; now, he has invented six more. And when people talk about such things, of course, one starts feeling that 'Others talk about only one heaven, and this man says there are seven... he must know more!'

Have you heard... you may not have heard the name. In Mahavir's and Buddha's time, there was a man -- may have been a past incarnation of Charan Singh! -- his name was Matli Ghosal. He talks about seven hundred hells and seven hundred heavens. Now, he 'knows', and many people followed him. And the reason was that Mahavir talks only about one, and Matli Ghosal says 'Look! He only knows about one -- he has only entered the first -- I know about seven hundred.' Now, if you want to go a little ahead you can know seven hundred and one; nobody can prevent you.

These are stories which you can invent. These stories have prevailed in the name of religion: these are the stories that have destroyed the credibility of religion. These stories and these cunning people are the root cause of irreligiousness in the world. Because of these people suspicions have arisen. Remember, let me repeat it again, a real Master never makes you afraid; in fact, he makes you fearless. He says there is no hell, he says there is no heaven; these are all psychological states. Hell is nothing but a projection of inner agony, and heaven, also, a projection of inner ecstasy. The states are inner. And you can be free only when you are free of both.

It happened... A mystic woman, Rabiya, was seen in Baghdad one day. People used to think she was mad. She was a real Master: real Masters have always been thought to be mad, because they speak a language that people don't understand. They speak the language of fearlessness, freedom, truth. They don't talk about fear and greed, and what is understood in the market-place. People saw Rabiya running, and they asked Where are you going?' And she was almost creating a scene. A crowd gathered, because in one hand she had a burning torch and in the other hand she was carrying an earthen pot full of water. And she was running so fast that people thought that there must be some emergency. And they asked 'Where are you going, Rabiya? What has happened?' And she said 'Unless I drown hell with my water and burn heaven with my fire this world is going to remain irreligious.'
When you come close to a real Master, he gives you the taste of fearlessness. There is no way of falling back; no-body has ever fallen back, nobody can fall back. This is a stupid idea, but there are millions who become very impressed by stupid ideas; in fact, they only become impressed by stupid ideas.

And, FIFTH: THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST SEVEN HEAVENS, EACH HIGHER THAN THE OTHER, AND ONLY CHARAN SINGH CAN TAKE YOU UP. OTHER SAINTS CAN ONLY TAKE YOU UP TO THE SECOND HEAVEN, WHERE JESUS AND BUDDHA LIVE.

So generous of Charan Singh... At least he allowed these poor fellows, Buddha and Jesus, to live in the second -- he might not have allowed! It is his story. Generous... I am thankful... And what about Nanak and Kabir, and what about other saints and Masters who are not so well known as Buddha and Jesus? He has allowed Buddha and Jesus just to attract Buddhists and Christians. But what about lesser known Masters? Kabir and Nanak must be in the first! What about poor Mohammed? If Charan Singh can allot him some place in the first that will be too much. And what about Yoka? or sinners like me? If we can get a place even in the seventh hell that will be too great! This type of game is very old, it is not new. These people are mad egoists. Beware of such people, avoid them.

And you say: I AM NOT A DISCIPLE OF CHARAN SINGH AND HAVE NO DESIRE TO BECOME ONE BUT THE RADHA SOAMI BOOKS DID LEAVE ME VERY PUZZLED.
There is danger. If you are puzzled, you have already become impressed. If you are puzzled, you have already taken one step towards disciplehood. Why should you even be puzzled? Can't you see that crap is crap? Why should you be puzzled? It is so simple. Please, don't be puzzled, otherwise there is danger. Once you are puzzled, you have started thinking about it. And once you start thinking about it, you will need some explanations. And these people are very clever at explanations. Because their whole idea is fictitious, explanations are possible, clever explanations are possible.

Truth cannot be explained, but lies can be explained very beautifully. They are lies, man-made; you can adjust your lie to any explanation. Truth is uncompromising. So, if you become puzzled, you will read more books, you will become more puzzled, and sooner or later you will have to go to Beas, to the Punjab, to have SATSANG with Charan Singh. And there more fear will arise and more greed, and soon you will be trapped. So, Mr. H. Thorne Crosby, don't be puzzled. There is no need to be puzzled. One should be intelligent enough to see crap as crap. It is nothing more.

Source - Osho Book "The Sun Rises in the Evening"

Related Link: Osho on Radha Swami Sect of India

Osho Discourse on: Alice Bailey, Confucius, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Dalai Lama, Swami Ramtirth, Swami Vivekananda, Vishnu Devananda & Ram dass, Yogananda

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