Osho : On Love

"A mature person has the integrity to be alone. And when a mature person gives love, he gives without any strings attached to it: he simply gives. And when a mature person gives love, he feels grateful that you have accepted his love, not vice versa. He does not expect you to be thankful for it - no, not at all, he does not even need your thanks. He thanks you for accepting his love.
And when two mature persons are in love, one of the greatest paradoxes of life happens, one of the most beautiful phenomena: they are together and yet tremendously alone, they are together so much so that they are almost one. But their oneness does not destroy their individuality; in fact, it enhances it: they become more individual. Two mature persons in love help each other to become more free. There is no politics involved, no diplomacy, no effort to dominate. How can you dominate the person you love? Just think over it.
Domination is a sort of hatred, anger, enmity. How can you even think of dominating a person you love? You would love to see the person totally free, independent; you will give him more individuality. That's why I call it the greatest paradox: they are together so much so that they are almost one, but still in that oneness they are individuals. Their individualities are not effaced; they have become more enhanced. The other has enriched them as far as their freedom is concerned.
Immature people falling in love destroy each other's freedom, create a bondage, make a prison. Mature persons in love help each other to be free; they help each other to destroy all sorts of bondages. And when love flows with freedom there is beauty. When love flows with dependence there is ugliness.
Remember, freedom is a higher value than love. That's why, in India, the ultimate we call "moksha". Moksha means freedom. Freedom is a higher value than love. So if love is destroying freedom, it is not of worth. Love can be dropped, freedom has to be saved; freedom is a higher value. And without freedom you can never be happy, that is not possible. Freedom is the intrinsic desire of each man, each woman - utter freedom, absolute freedom.
So anything that becomes destructive to freedom, one starts hating it. Don't you hate the man you love? Don't you hate the woman you love? You hate; it is a necessary evil, you have to tolerate it. Because you cannot be alone you have to manage to be with somebody, and you have to adjust to the other's demands. You have to tolerate, you have to bear them.
Love, to be really love, has to be being-love, gift-love. Being-love means a state of love. When you have arrived home, when you have known who you are, then a love arises in your being. Then the fragrance spreads and you can give it to others.
How can you give something which you don't have?
To give it, the first basic requirement is to have it."

SING, WORLD, SING!

Break me open, Life
Shatter my remaining defences against You

You placed magnificence at the heart of my despair
You sowed volcanic strength into my vulnerability
Even my doubt vibrated with courage.

"Leave the familiar
With no hope of return"?
Of course!
I am not afraid, I was never afraid!
I once walked a familiar path of self-construction
I now walk a path of grace and destruction
Of weeping at birdsong and telling the truth
I will never turn back!

One day, in my house :)

Gift by Rabindranath Tagore (A favourite poem)

O my love, what gift of mine
Shall I give you this dawn?
A morning song?
But morning does not last long—
The heat of the sun
Wilts like a flower
And songs that tire
Are done.

O friend, when you come to my gate.
At dusk
What is it you ask?
What shall I bring you?
A light?

A lamp from a secret corner of my silent house?
But will you want to take it with you
Down the crowded street?
Alas,
The wind will blow it out.

Whatever gifts are in my power to give you,
Be they flowers,
Be they gems for your neck
How can they please you
If in time they must surely wither,
Crack,
Lose lustre?
All that my hands can place in yours
Will slip through your fingers
And fall forgotten to the dust
To turn into dust.

Rather,
When you have leisure,
Wander idly through my garden in spring
And let an unknown, hidden flower’s scent startle you
Into sudden wondering—
Let that displaced moment
Be my gift.
Or if, as you peer your way down a shady avenue,
Suddenly, spilled
From the thick gathered tresses of evening
A single shivering fleck of sunset-light stops you,
Turns your daydreams to gold,
Let that light be an innocent
Gift.

Truest treasure is fleeting;
It sparkles for a moment, then goes.
It does not tell its name; its tune
Stops us in our tracks, its dance disappears
At the toss of an anklet
I know no way to it—
No hand, nor word can reach it.
Friend, whatever you take of it,
On your own,
Without asking, without knowing, let that
Be yours.
Anything I can give you is trifling—
Be it a flower, or a song.

Walk Alone : Tagore

If no one answers your call
make a stride and walk alone

When everyone is closed and shut
Open your mind and speak alone.

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone

If they turn away and desert
and the wild path obstacles exerts

trample the thorns no matter the hurt
And Alone along blood-lined track traverse.

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone

If no one holds up the light
and a fierce storm troubles the night,

with the thunder flame of pain ignite
your heart, alone, and let it burn bright

Walk Alone, Walk Alone, Walk Alone...!

~ Rabindranath Tagore

Sometimes in doing nothing everything is undone, and love is revealed to be the only true medicine...

When you sit with a friend in pain, when their world no longer makes sense; when confusion rages and no rest is to be found.

Just for a moment, will you resist the temptation to make things better, to reassure them, to provide answers, even to heal them?

Will you offer your stillness, your listening, your presence, and the warmth of your immediacy?

Will you hold them in your heart, with the same tenderness of a mother holding her little one?
Will you embrace them where they are, without needing them to change or transform according to your own needs and schedule?
Will you stay close, holding your own impatience and discomfort near? Will you look into their eyes and see yourself?
Will you stay in the inferno of healing with them, trusting in disintegration, knowing that you are only witnessing the falling away of an old dream?
Sometimes in doing nothing everything is undone, and love is revealed to be the only true medicine."

Reflections

Buddha was walking into the city market one day and near the city entrance an old bitter man was sitting on a box glaring at Buddha, who carried a bright smile on his face. At the sight of him this old man started cursing Buddha up and down, left right and center, telling him how pretentious he was, how much better he thought he was and how he did nothing worthy of the air he breathed in this world. But Buddha simply smiled and kept on walking to the market to get what he needed.
The Next day Buddha returned to the market and once again that old man was there, this time his cursing intensified, screaming and yelling at Buddha as he walked by, cursing his mother, cursing his father and everyone else in his life.
This went on for the rest of the week and finally as the Buddha was leaving the market the man came up to him, as his curiosity had simply gotten the best of him.
“Buddha, every day you come here smiling and every day I curse your name, I curse your family and everything you believe in” the old man says ” but every day you enter this city with a smile knowing that I await you with my harsh tongue, and everyday you leave through the same entrance with that same smile. I know by speaking to you now that you are not deaf, why do you keep on smiling while I do nothing but scream the worst things I can think of to your face?”
Buddha, with the same smile still on his face looks at the old man and asks “If I were to bring you a gift tomorrow morning all wrapped up in a beautiful box would you accept it?” to which the old man replies “Absolutely not, I would take nothing from the likes of you!”. The Buddha replies “Well if I were to offer you this gift and you were to refuse then who would this gift belong to?”. “It would still belong to you of course” answers the old man. “And so the same goes with your anger, when I choose not to accept your gift of anger , does it not then remain your own?”
As a mirror reflects an object, as a still lake reflects the sky: take care that what you speak or act is for good. For goodness will always cast back goodness and harm will always cast back harm...

You can only give away what you already have inside yourself.

True giving happens when you are overflowing from the inside, and cannot help but share. When there is so much love within you that it has to flow to others or you would burst open. There is no thinking involved, no willpower in such sharing. It just flows out. If you have to force yourself to be kind, to love, to feel compassion, you've missed the first step of filling in your own self with these emotions.

My heart is on fire~ Rumi

My heart is on fire
In my madness I roam the desert

The flames of my passion
devour the wind and the sky

My cries of longing
My wails of sorrow
Are tormenting my soul
You wait patiently
Looking into my intoxicated eyes
You accept my passion
with the serenity of Love
You are the Master of Existence
One day I shall be a Lover like You...
~ Rumi

Plead guilty, beautiful stranger, plead guilty.

It is all your fault.

Completely...

Absolutely...

Let me explain why. 

I had been visiting that place for many years, regularly.

I would always be busy doing my own thing.

Loiter here and there, happy and content...

Then, that day, when there were thousands of people

milling around and I was just one of a crowd,

I felt the weight of a stare, I looked up...

Straight at you, even though you were at a distance.

You were looking at me,  your expression was surprised 

yet you looked as if you knew me, were happy to see me.

I was livid with you for noticing me.

Because what I felt in that instant, was going to be with

me for the rest of my life and even beyond.

In that one look, I was yours. My heart, mind, body and soul

belonged to you, because I recognized that they

always had, from eons, from the

beginning of the beginning... we had always been one.

You had absolute power over me! How terrifying it is to realize that someone

has this kind of power over you. Yet, how heart achingly lovely

to also know that this power would never ever be abused.

If you had not said a word, just walked up to me

and held out your hand, I would have clasped it and let you lead me

wherever you wanted to go. I would have been content to walk with you FOREVER.

And that is also the reason why I have never looked at you again.

Directly. 

I visit that place as before as do you.

I am aware of your presence more than even the reason why I am there.

I know you feel me too. Our expressions are straight faced.

I see you from the corner of my eyes, walking, smiling, talking to people.

Sometimes, I see your hands and they move me. They feel strong, powerful yet so gentle as if they would hold a new born babe like a soft cloud. They feel like as if anything held in them would remain safe and be alive forever. I want to rest my heart in those hands.

And so now you know why it is all your fault? Because you started it, you noticed me before I did. And now I am done for! 

And I don't even know your name!

Plead guilty, beautiful stranger, plead guilty.

And then I surrender to it....

Tonight I ache.

With every beat, every breath, every blink.

But I’m not sad.

Not hurting.

Not broken.

Oh no, on the contrary.

I’m full of love.

The kind of love that overwhelms you, threatens to break your heart with its magnitude. Pushes into your field in waves, gently coming and going like the tide. Though perhaps not so gently.

Surely I am too small for this love. Too fragile. Too brittle.

Surely if I let it all in I must combust.

Break into thousands of tiny pieces never to be recognised again.

Surely it must overwhelm me. Strip me of my identity. Have its way with me; leave me naked, broken and shivering in its wake.

My heart hurts with love. So much love it frightens me.

I can feel my fear pulsing with the beat of my heart.

Screaming out to me that I don’t deserve such love. That if I let it in it will just abandon me. Toy with and then tire of me, leaving me all alone.

I close my eyes and take a breath. Another. Another.

And then I surrender to it. To this Love.

Allow it to wash over and through me. Through my fear.

To take my heart. My body. My soul.

To break me wide open and have all of me.

And in that moment I understand.

Love is the answer no matter the question.

Love is the essence of our universe, the building block of our existence, the true nature of our beings.

It is there always, fiercely gentle, patiently waiting for us to accept its unconditional presence in our lives.

Love is remaining right where it is, holding us in its embrace until we are brave enough to invite it in.

Love has no prerequisites, no expectations, no stipulations.

Love just loves us no matter what.

Love will not abandon us, it is us who abandons it.

Thoughts about Soul Connections and Manifesting Dreams...

When your heart is calm, your mind is steady, and you have sought first the Partner Within, which is your Soul, then you will have reached a point where the need to be with another is a bitter-sweet ache. Don't try and suppress this yearning. It is perfectly natural and spontaneous. Express it to yourself, admit it to God/ Source/ The Universe...

This yearning is an integral part of your journey. You feel alive, you feel complete, you feel life force surge within you and you want to share it.

Just don't let it consume you. Put yourself in a place where you can "see" your longing... not BE it. This is to say be FINE with wherever you are

It has taken a great deal out of you to reach a point of awareness & clarity. You have suffered the pains of a huge awakening, to be one with your soul. Like a seed you were buried alive and you have broken free and sprung forth from the Earth to claim your place in the Sun.

What you seek is not someone to "complete" you but one to share your completeness with. There are no missing pieces of you that the other will bring and make you a better version of You.

No, there, now, will be three beautiful entities : You, Him/ Her and the WE that you create together.

No games will be played, societal conditioning can go take a walk, it will just BE : beautiful energy... love... simple everyday magic & miracles... holding hands, warm hugs, languid kisses, meaningful silences... Just LOVE..

Sounds blissful and magical!!!

BUT...just do not have an IDEAL because people live with an ideal Soul mate in their minds, and never get to really experience a relationship with anyone, because when they meet a person that might be a potential partner, they compare this person to the ideal in their head. The ideal in the head is not a real person, it is an ideal that will not be manifested. When you want to have a soul connection with a partner, you have to be willing to work with what the Universe offers you. 

In so many ways, manifesting your dreams will involve letting go of your dreams. Confusing, I know... read on...

When we have too many expectations, we block the flow in our lives as we are too busy rejecting things as they are not meeting our expectations... this becomes a vicious cycle of negativity and resistance. Life truly only flows when you are in the vibe of positivity and acceptance. Letting go of your dreams means letting go of YOUR IDEA of how it should be and be open to what the Universe wants to give you. To learn to play with potentials that come your way. Well, how do we get what we want then? Simple, just KNOW what you want... strip down to your very essence, shed your ego, shed the drama, break yourself open again and again till only YOU remain, standing naked in blinding light of knowing who you are, what are your boundaries, what you will and will not allow, what makes your heart sing, what your nature is...

Consider this simple example: For an apple tree dreaming of making apples, you can imagine that the Universe will grant its wish. Now the apple tree is completely aware of it's nature... so, it does not say I want to grow mangoes. That would be silly. It wants to, longs to grow apples, red, ripe, crisp apples because that is what the tree IS. So, apples will grow... some seasons not as many as the tree would have liked and other times, a bumper harvest. Be like the tree, long and ask for what you are, not what you are not.

Expressive intimacy

Put aside the instruction manuals. Your partner’s body is a unique landscape to be explored.

Explore it—with care and attention. With your hands, your mouth, your eyes.

Remove their garments. Slowly. Or urgently. It doesn’t matter, as long as you undress them.

Look into their eyes. Gaze unflinchingly, unashamedly.

Breathe fully and deeply. Synchronize your breathing. Inhale their exhalation. Allow them to inhale yours.

Ask questions. Answer honestly.

Tell them what you’d like in this moment. Or show them where and how to touch you.

Be real. Be vulnerable.

Kiss them. On the mouth, the back of their neck, their belly button. Light kisses. Deep and probing kisses. Kiss them until you both  tremble and cry out for carnal fusion.

Take responsibility for your own pleasure. Give gentle but clear feedback—through moans, words and movement.

Stroke their back, their belly.  Notice what makes them quiver.

Was that a sharp intake of breath? Oh, do that again!

Did I mention moaning? Moan. Softly or loudly—just make some noise.

Go down on them. Tease them with your tongue— create a hunger for a deeper thrusting.

But don’t go chasing orgasms.

Focus instead on mutual pleasure. When pleasure is all that’s sought and orgasms are experienced as a bonus, they often come more easily. More readily. Just, more.

Relax. Enjoy the delicious sensation of lying skin-to-skin with another beautiful soul. Languish lazily, draped in each other’s limbs, dipping in and out of love-making. Indulge in the moment. In one another.

Be yourself and allow your partner to be who they are too.

Be present—

in your own body and with the body next to you. Present and connected, love one another with all of your body and soul.

Hilda Carroll 

DOES YOUR MIND WANDER?

I am in the mood ...
I am in the mood for
expression, for emotion,
and for a light conversation.

I am in the mood ...
I am in the mood for learning
about you, for walking with you
and for BEING with you.

I am in the mood ...
I am in the mood for
Love and peace and
a better understanding
of what we all are demanding.

I am in the mood ...
I am in the mood to be
like a river, flowing free
and to be embraced by
the arms of the sea.

and now...
I am the mood for a cup of tea.


Lopamudra (1991)

Just found this poem I had written ages back.

The Song of Sadness

Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.

It is you who has to believe in this eternal truth, with all your heart. Your belief and faith will give it power to manifest completely in your life.

So, whenever you are sad, sing a song!!

EGO -D

Are you alone today?
Do you seek a way...
to know, to find
somewhere in your mind
answers to what transpired...

Are you not inspired
by the strange turns of fate
which unlock the gate
of your closed heart
and so depart... your ego,
your pride and leave behind
only a shred of former glory...

All else swallowed by
LOVE... a powerful emotion
a never-ending devotion to
HIM!


Lopamudra (2001/2)

CONVICTION

A lone star shining on ...
spreading it's feeble light ...
in the all-pervading darkness
of this terrible night ...

A tiny flicker of life moves
in the deepest corners
of this heart, long frozen
to life ... itself.

A small smile ... lurks...
beyond... far beyond in
the empty depth of
these soulless eyes ...

And I carry on, sustained,
protected against the harsh
realities of this world that
threaten to break me,
they bend me, BUT
I spring back, strong still...

For I believe in me...
and I always will.

Lopamudra (2002)

Excerpt from The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

Let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

My favourite Urdu couplet

Raat yun dil mein teri, khoyi hui yaad aayi
Jaise viraane mein chupke se bahaar aa jaye
Jaise sahraon mein haule se chale baad-ae-naseem
Jaise bimaar ko be-wajaah quraar aa jaaye

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

रिश्ते

रिश्तों को सीमाओं में नहीं बाँधा करते
उन्हें झूँठी परिभाषाओं में नहीं ढाला करते

उडनें दो इन्हें उन्मुक्त पँछियों की तरह
बहती हुई नदी की तरह
तलाश करनें दो इन्हें अपनी सीमाएं
खुद ही ढूँढ लेंगे उपमाएं

होनें दो वही जो क्षण कहे
सीमा वही हो जो मन कहे

- अनूप भार्गव