The True Name Aka Ek Omkar Satnam, midway, Osho,
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The True Name, Vol 2
Talks given from 1/12/74 to 10/12/74
Original in Hindi
10 Chapters
Year published: 1993
Original series title "Ek Omkar Satnam"
The True Name, Vol 2
Chapter #1
Chapter title: Fear Is A Beggar
1 December 1974 am in Chuang Tzu Auditorium
Archive code: 7412010
ShortTitle: TRUE201
Audio:
Yes
Video:
No
THERE IS NO END TO HIS VIRTUES,
NOR TO THEIR NARRATION.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS WORKS AND HIS BOUNTY,
AND ENDLESS WHAT HE SEES AND HEARS.
THERE IS NO KNOWING THE SECRETS OF HIS MIND;
THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END TO IT.
SO MANY STRUGGLE TO KNOW HIS DEPTH,
BUT NONE HAS EVER ACHIEVED IT.
NO ONE HAS EVER KNOWN HIS LIMITS;
THE FURTHER YOU LOOK, THE FURTHER BEYOND HE LIES.
THE LORD IS GREAT. HIS PLACE IS HIGH,
AND HIGHER EVEN IS HIS NAME.
NANAK SAYS: ONE ONLY KNOWS HIS GREATNESS
WHEN RAISED TO HIS HEIGHTS,
BY FALLING UNDER THE GLANCE
OF HIS ALL-COMPASSIONATE GRACE.
HIS COMPASSION IS BEYOND ALL DESCRIPTION.
THE LORD'S GIFTS ARE SO GREAT HE EXPECTS NOTHING IN RETURN.
HOWEVER GREAT A HERO OR WARRIOR, MAN KEEPS ON BEGGING.
IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONCEIVE THE COUNTLESS NUMBERS WHO GO ON ASKING.
THEY INDULGE THEMSELVES IN DESIRES AND DISSIPATE THEIR LIVES.
AND OTHERS RECEIVE, YET DENY IT.
THEY GO ON SUFFERING FROM THEIR HUNGER,
YET WILL NOT TAKE TO REMEMBRANCE
O LORD, THESE TOO ARE YOUR GIFTS.
YOUR ORDER ALONE GIVES FREEDOM OR BONDAGE.
NOBODY CAN DEBATE THIS FACT.
HE WHO INDULGES IN USELESS BABBLE
REALIZES HIS FOLLY WHEN STRUCK IN THE FACE.
HE ALONE CAN KNOW HIMSELF,
AND ONLY THE RAREST CAN DESCRIBE HIM;
HE BEQUEATHS THE QUALITY OF HIS STATE TO WHOMEVER HE CHOOSES.
NANAK SAYS, HE IS THE KING OF KINGS.
There is no end to His grandeur. Whatever we say about it is so little as to betray our utter
incompetence.
Rabindranath Tagore lay on his deathbed. An old friend sitting by his side said to him, "You can leave
this world satisfied, you have accomplished whatever you wanted to do. You have attained great respect,
you wrote many songs, and the whole world knows you as the divine bard. Really nothing is left undone."
Rabindranath opened his eyes, looked sadly at his friend and said, "Don't say such things. I was just
telling God that all I wanted to sing is still unsung. What I wanted to say is still unsaid. My whole life has
been spent merely tuning my instrument!" He felt he had not yet begun to sing His praise and already the
moment to leave had arrived.
Rabindranath had written six thousand songs, all in praise of God. Yet he felt he hadn't sung a single
word of His glory. Nanak also says the same thing and this is the experience of all the
rishis
who have
known. Whatever is said about Him is only like adjusting the instrument; His song can never be sung. Who
will sing it? How can one limited personality contain the boundless expanse? How can you hold the skies in
your fist? All our efforts prove futile and only after trying totally can we realize our incompetence.
Only when you realize how insignificant you are can the understanding of His greatness take root. Fools
always think themselves great; wise men are aware of their smallness. As understanding increases the
feeling of being too small, too insignificant, parallels the sense of His vastness and all-pervading presence.
A moment comes in this quest when you are completely lost, and only He remains.
The speaker is lost -- what is there to say? Only he remains: His glory, His grandeur, His endless
resonance. The seer is lost; only the seen remains. You are extinct, completely annihilated; then who will
give tidings of Him? Whatever discussions men have had about God have been hopeless. When a
tremendous event occurs we are struck dumb; when a person reaches God he becomes speechless. Not only
is speech lost, but the very breath stops. You stop completely at the moment of knowing Him: neither
thoughts move, nor words, nor breath, nor does the heart beat. Even a single heartbeat would deprive you of
His sight, that slight trembling can produce a separation.
In just such a moment of speechless silence, Nanak has uttered these words. They are not to teach
others, but to express his own helplessness.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS VIRTUES,
NOR TO THEIR NARRATION.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS WORKS AND HIS BOUNTY,
AND ENDLESS WHAT HE SEES AND HEARS.
THERE IS NO KNOWING THE SECRETS OF HIS MIND;
THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END TO IT.
SO MANY STRUGGLE TO KNOW HIS DEPTH,
BUT NONE HAS EVER ACHIEVED IT;
As long as you feel you have known God, you are under an illusion -- you err. For whatever you have
known cannot be God, whatever you have measured cannot be God, whatever you have fathomed cannot be
God. You must be diving into some lake; you are nowhere near the ocean. You have gone into some
insignificant valley; you have not known the abysmal depths where falling is endless. You must have
climbed some nondescript hill on the outskirts of your village; you have no knowledge of His Everest where
climbing is impossible. We have succeeded in climbing the Everest of the Himalayas, though with great
difficulty, but to scale His Everest is unthinkable.
Why is it impossible? Try to understand how inconceivable it is to gauge or understand God.... we are a
part of Him. How can a part know the whole? I can hold everything of this world within my hand, except
myself. How can I hold myself in my own hand? My eyes can see everything under the sun, but how can
they look at me? They cannot see me completely for the simple reason that they are a part of me, and the
part can never know the whole; it may get glimpses but not the complete picture.
The difficulty is that we are a part of this vast expanse. Had we not been a part of God we would have
known Him; had we been distinct and separate from Him, we could have gone around Him and investigated.
But we are a part of Him; we are His very heartbeat, His breath! How can we go around Him? How can we
grasp Him? Man is but a particle of sand in this vast expanse, a drop in the ocean. How can this one lonely
drop contain the whole ocean? How can it know the entire ocean?
This is very interesting: the drop is in the ocean and the drop is the ocean. So in a very profound sense,
the drop knows the ocean, because the ocean is not different from the drop. And yet in another sense it
cannot know the ocean because the ocean is not separate from it. This is the biggest paradox of religion: we
know God and yet we do not know Him at all. How can this be when He throbs in us and we in Him? We
are not far from Him; in fact there isn't the slightest distance between Him and us.
So in a sense we know Him well; and yet we do not know Him at all, because we are a part of Him.
How can a part know the whole? We dive in Him, we float in Him, live in Him; at times we forget Him and
sometimes we remember Him. Sometimes we feel ourselves very near Him and sometimes far. In clear
moments we feel that we have known Him. When the heart gets over-filled, we know that we have known,
because we have recognized Him. Wisdom comes, then again it is lost and there is deep darkness. Then we
falter again. But this very state of knowing and not knowing is the basic condition of a religious person.
When anyone questioned Buddha about God he would keep silent. What could he say? Contradictions
cannot be spoken about. If he were to say, "I know," he would be making a mistake, because who can say
that he knows? And if Buddha were to say he did not know, he would be making a false statement, because
who knew more than he!
Early one morning a very learned pundit came to Buddha to ask about God. Buddha remained silent.
Soon the pundit left. Ananda asked Buddha why he had not answered, since the pundit was a man who
knew a great deal and deserved an answer. Buddha said, "Just because he is deserving, it is all the more
difficult to give him an answer. If I said I have known Him, it would be wrong, because without knowing
Him completely how could I claim to know Him at all? I I said I did not, that too would be false. All claims
derive from the ego and the ego can never know Him. Since he is deserving and intelligent and
understanding, I had to keep silent. He understood. Did you not see him bow before he left?"
Then Ananda remembered how the pundit was so grateful that he bowed reverently at Buddha's feet.
"How wonderful! Did he really understand? That never occurred to me."
Buddha replied, "Horses are of three types. The first type you hit with a whip and they will move, inch
by inch. The second type you need not whip; just threaten them and they move. For the third, you need not
even crack the whip; just the shadow of the whip sets them going. The pundit belongs to the third type. I
had only to show him the shadow and he started on the journey."
Words are the whips; silence is the shadow. Words are needed, because it is the rare horse that responds
to the shadow of the whip. The condition of one who knows is such that he cannot say he knows, and he
cannot say he does not know. He is in between knowing and not knowing.
Nanak says He is without end. Whatever you say of Him is too little. You keep on saying and yet you
find that there is so much to say that you have hardly said anything. All expressions regarding Him are
incomplete. And all scriptures are incomplete; they are meant for the horses who don't respond to the
shadow of the whip.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS VIRTUES,
NOR TO THEIR NARRATION.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS WORKS AND HIS BOUNTY.
As religion penetrates a person more and more profoundly, he begins to see His various works and also
His beneficence.
His works are manifested all around us but most people are blind to it. They say, "Where is God? Who
is the creator?" Seeing the creation around them, they are blissfully unaware of the creator! They persist in
asking,"Is there a hand behind all this creation? Who could it be?" They are stone-blind, they cannot
visualize the hand that has produced this vast creation. The irony is that in other respects they accept and
believe blindly.
To date no one has seen the electron with the naked eye. Science says that the electron is the last particle
of electricity. As the basis of the world of matter, its various combinations have given rise to the earth. But
so far no one has seen the electron, nor is there any hope of seeing it. Then how can scientists believe in the
electron? They say that its effects, its results, prove its existence.
The cause is subtle, the effect is gross. We cannot see the hand of God, but we can see His works. We
believe in the existence of electrons because we see the results. Yet we deny the existence of God whose
proof lies all around us. The flower opens; some hidden hand must make it bloom, or else how can it? The
seed breaks but someone must break it; when the hard shell cracks the tender plant appears bearing delicate
flowers.
Everywhere we see His handwriting, but the hand cannot be seen. The hand is not visible because there
is a balance between the subtle and the gross. The cause is always subtle; the result is always gross. We
cannot see the cause. God is the highest cause, but His handiwork is evident all around us.
So there are three types of people -- the three types of horses according to Buddha. First are those who
cannot even see His handiwork, they are so blind! They ask: "What is God? Who is the creator? What proof
is there? If the vast creation all around us is not enough for them, if they cannot see His hand behind all
creation, what else will make them understand?
What greater proof is there than that life moves in a consecutive and balanced order? There is no
disjunction anywhere within this enormous
leela
, this play. It is a continuous flow. Night and day the music
of creation plays its enchanting melody. Everything happens as it should. The universe is not a chaos, but a
cosmos; it is not happening by chance but by a well-determined law working all the time.
This law is referred to as
dhamma
or
dharma
. Lao Tzu calls it
tao
, the way; Nanak calls it
hukum
, divine
order. When Nanak says hukum do not imagine that He is standing somewhere issuing orders. Hukum
means the universe is an order, not a chaos. Things do not happen here haphazardly. An ordering hand is in
everything, providing a purpose behind each event. All happenings are directed towards their ultimate
development.
If you have no eyes for creation you are totally blind. There are many who cannot see the hand behind
creation. When you see a small picture or statue and you ask who made this, you never for a moment think
it may have been formed by chance. But such a vast painting hangs all around you, each leaf a work of His
genius, and you cannot see Him behind all this? You must simply have made up your mind not to see Him;
you have resolved to turn your back towards Him as if you feel there is some danger and you are afraid.
Certainly the fear is there. No sooner do you recognize His hand behind the canvas of this vast creation
than you are a changed person; you cannot remain the same. Whoever hears even the faintest murmur of the
divine music in creation has to alter his life, because once you begin to see His hand behind everything, you
cannot continue to do what you have been doing; it all appears wrong.
As long as you pretend He doesn't exist you can sin, misbehave, mistreat others, and give yourself full
freedom to indulge in any evil; as soon as His hand appears to you that freedom is lost. Then you have to
think twice before you act and pay more attention to remembrance, to remembering God, because now you
know that He sees, that He is present. He is in and around everyone, everything. Whatever you do to
anyone, you do to Him. If you pick someone's pocket, it is His pocket you pick; if you steal, you steal from
Him; if you kill, it is Him you kill.
Most human beings turn a blind eye towards Him. Once aware of His presence, you can no longer
remain as you are; you will have to change at your very roots. This change is so sweeping that many prefer
to avoid all the trouble, so they deny God and remain as they are.
A hundred years ago Nietzsche declared: "God is dead. Now man is totally free." It is exactly for this
freedom that you deny God, because then you are at liberty to do as you please. There is no one to decide
for you. You are unrestrained, independent. He who is self-willed and independent persists in denying God
no matter how much you try to convince him. It remains easy to deny Him because the gross handiwork can
be seen, but the subtle hand remains invisible.
So people say:"Creation happens by itself; everything happens on its own." But this is the definition of
God: He who happens on His own, who is
swayambhu
, the self-created.
The second type of man sees God's handiwork and also accepts the hand behind it, but his acceptance is
only mental. He is intimidated and frightened, so you will find him in temples and mosques, in churches and
gurudwaras. He goes there because he is frightened, having suffered the lashes of the whip of life. Out of
fear he comes to pray, to beg protection and to seek solace in wealth, position, name. He has come to beg.
Fear is always a beggar, always asking for something or other. He has an inkling of the hand behind
creation and a slight feeling for the presence of God, but only because of his fear. He is totally oblivious to
God's munificence, or else he would not beg.
The third type is what Nanak talks about, the devotee. He sees His handiwork all around; he also sees
His bounty and His grace in everything. To see His grace is subtle, like seeing the shadow of the whip. The
devotee can see at every moment that He showers us with His gifts. What is left to be desired? You can only
thank Him, therefore the devotee goes to the temple in thanksgiving, not as a supplicant. He has nothing to
ask for.
Were God to appear before him and say, "Ask whatever you wish," he will instead reply, "You have
given everything. It is already more than enough, more than I deserve. To ask for anything would imply a
complaint that You haven't given enough, but I have been filled to the brim. What more is there when you
have been given life?
But you attach no value to life. It is said that a great miser's life was coming to an end. As is usually the
case his whole life had been spent gathering wealth which he was hoping to enjoy someday in the future.
When death knocked at his door he was frightened that all his endeavors had been in vain. In working
untiringly to gather enough wealth he had postponed living.
He told death, "I shall give you ten million rupees; give me just twenty-four hours, because I have not
yet enjoyed life."
Death replied, "There can be no bargaining."
The man persisted, "I would give fifty million, a hundred million, just for one day." Ultimately he
offered all his wealth for twenty-four hours more.
A whole lifetime lost amassing this fortune, and now he was begging to give it away for just one day
more. He had never breathed freely; he had never sat beside the flowers; he had never seen the sun rising at
the break of day, nor had he ever talked with the twinkling stars. He had never lain on the green grass and
seen the clouds pass by nor heard the birds sing. He had had no time to see life as it passed by. All along he
had deferred that moment. "Now I shall work, later I shall enjoy." That moment never came.
Death said to him, "This is no transaction. Your time is up. Get ready to leave."
The man said, "Give me a few moments. I ask not for myself but for those who come after. Let them
know how I toiled all these years and let life pass me by in the hope of enjoying it someday. Let me tell
them that day never came." He wanted this inscription put on his grave.
All graves bear this inscription. If you have the eyes, go and read them. And the same will be inscribed
on your grave too, if you do not sit up and take notice. If only you could see -- you would find that what life
has given you is limitless and beyond comparison.
How do you value life? For a moment more of life you are willing to give up everything, but during the
years you have lived you were not at all thankful to God. If you were dying of thirst in a desert, you would
be ready to part with all you possess just for a mouthful of water, but have you ever looked with gratitude at
the rivers that flow, the clouds that bring rain? If the sun were to become cold we would die this very
moment, yet did you ever get up in the morning and thank the sun?
Actually man follows a strange logic: what is near him he cannot see, what is not there at all he sees.
When a tooth falls out, the tongue goes time and again to the empty space in your mouth. When the tooth
was there the tongue never once stopped in that spot. Now no matter how much you try to stop your tongue,
it keeps exploring the empty place.
Man's mind always searches out empty places. He is blind towards all the filled places, but has eyes for
all that is empty. Have you ever taken account of all you possess? Unless you do, you will never become
aware of God's gifts; they are infinite.
God's bounty is infinite but try to be aware of what He has given you. All around His grace pours. Just
as each handiwork bears His signature, so behind each handiwork His grace lies hidden. All existence
blooms only for you, all existence is His gift -- to you. When a person becomes capable of seeing this, a
new kind of devotion is born.
There is the atheist, stiff with pride; there is the believer, trembling with fear. Both are irreligious. The
really religious person dances and sings in utter gratefulness; he is filled with ecstasy.
THERE IS NO END TO HIS WORKS AND HIS BOUNTY,
AND ENDLESS WHAT HE SEES AND HEARS.
THERE IS NO KNOWING THE SECRETS OF HIS MIND;
THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END TO IT.
SO MANY STRUGGLE TO KNOW HIS DEPTH,
BUT NONE HAS EVER ACHIEVED IT.
NO ONE HAS EVER KNOWN HIS LIMITS;
THE FURTHER YOU LOOK, THE FURTHER BEYOND HE LIES.
THE LORD IS GREAT. HIS PLACE IS HIGH,
AND HIGHER EVEN IS HIS NAME.
What does it mean for His name to be high? For travelers on the path, it is only through His name that
we reach Him. His name is the bridge; if it got lost the bridge is gone. For us the path is more significant
than the destination for the simple reason that the goal cannot be reached without the path.
Therefore, Nanak says, he who knows the name has found the key. The key is more important than the
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