And Nothing Has Ever Happened
A Review by Tanmayo
A mystifying title sets the tone for a book which unveils a world of mystery.
And Nothing Has Ever Happened is a compilation of talks given during two meditation retreats by Oshos enlightened disciple Swami Chaitanya Bharti, now affectionately called Gurudev. The talks cover a range of subjects from true love to Divine Pain; from the mysterious functioning of a Master to the inner resistance of a disciple; from the path of meditation to the way of devotion. But the focus remains clearly on leading the reader step-by-step to the Ultimate Truth that as Ramana Maharshi put it nothing has ever happened.
The path to reach that goal which Gurudev advocates is of Self-knowledge and Self-remembrance. As He says: Learn to be, just to Be. Discover your being and you will realize that you are eternal: You were, you are and you will be.
Passivity is a word which recurs often. Passivity, He explains, is the only way out of our mess because it does not strengthen the doer illusion. Other paths give you something to do in order to conquer negative emotions. And they work at times the emotion temporarily subsides. But simultaneously, the I which has done the conquering gathers power. And that ego is the deep-rooted source of the negative emotion in the first place. Passivity is a fire which allows the emotion to burn itself out and finally burns the I behind the emotion.
Although the subject of the talks is serious, the tone of the book is amazingly light, because Gurudev strongly believes that seriousness is a disease worse than cancer. Thanks to His laughing-mantra Ho Jaaye! the pages of book echo with laughter and humour, often pointed at Gurudev himself.
The most heart-warming aspect of the book is that Gurudev presents himself as an equal, as a friend. He does not talk only about highest truths, but also brings Himself down to the level of the listeners life. The chapter Are you Ready to Eat Chicken takes a humorous look at vegetarian conditioning and beliefs in day-to-day life. Here again, although Gurudev may be dissecting earthy matters, He slowly, slowly leads the reader to look up to the stars. This is His greatest gift: He effortlessly fuses the mundane with the magnificent.
QUOTES FROM
AND NOTHING HAS EVER HAPPENED
The real communication happens in silence. When you become silent, God talks to you
without words. Silence is His language.
You cannot tolerate yourself. All the time you escape from yourself finding things to do. All the time, our attention is on the other. But when this attention is not on the other, when it does not move, but just remains unmoved only then can you know what-you-are. Then there is pure am-ness, pure being-ness. Call it God, or whatsoever you like.
We go on using this word I but the I is nowhere! I is functional; it is not there; it is not real. I is the problem it is nothing but a shadow! The shadow cannot claim anything; it can only know its nature. That much is enough and in this search I disappears
I am neither small nor big. I am what I Am. You can call me small, it is your problem. You can call me big, it is your problem. You can call me Guru, it is your problem. I am what I am, and if you ask me who are you, my answer will be I dont know. I Am
just I Am.
Consciousness is the dynamic principle of existence; it cannot stand still. But the beauty is: When it is conscious of itself, it becomes still. And that stillness is peace, is harmony, is joy, is happiness, is Moksha.
I refers to the body, am-ness refers to the essence what I really am. This am-ness is all. This am-ness is the very centre of life. This am-ness is in everything
in every living and non-living being as well. Forgetfulness of am-ness is the root of all delusion, which causes all kinds of suffering.
Published by Zen Publications
For more details, log on to: www.dhyanleela.com/book.htm
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