The society we happen to live in today is certainly an insane society–mad after money, and cut-throat competition, and the tragedies of unfulfilled desires of everybody.
Is there a way to be happy in such an insane world? Yes, there is. But first, read this Sufi story, shared by Osho in one of his discourses: A very rich man was searching for bliss, for truth – or whatsoever name you to want to give to his search. He had a lot of money and he was ready to offer any amount of this money to anybody who could give him a key. He went from one teacher to another, but nobody could supply him with happiness. He was ready to pay any price; that was not a problem at all.
He was carrying a big load of diamonds in a bag and he would put the bag before a Master and he would say, ’Now take this, but tell me the secret of bliss.’
Then he came to a Sufi teacher. The Sufi was sitting under a tree. The rich man came on his horse with his famous bag – it had become famous all over the country – and he put the bag before the Master and said, ’I am in search of happiness and I am ready to pay anything. Here are many diamonds – crores of rupees worth. You can take them, but give me happiness.’
And the Sufi Master did something. Sufis are people who do. Rather than answering, they create a situation. The Master simply jumped upon the bag and ran away!
For a second, the rich man could not believe what was happening. Such a famous Master! And then he suddenly realised what had happened. The Master had gone with his diamonds! So he started shouting and running after the Master. But in that village the Master knew every street every nook and corner. And the rich man was running after him and shouting, ’I have been robbed! My whole life’s treasure has been robbed! This is a thief. Catch hold of him. This is no longer a Master. This is a fraud. This man is a cheat.’ And he was shouting and running. But he could not get hold of the Master because the Master knew the streets of the town.
The whole town gathered. The whole town started collecting around the rich man and they said, ’Don’t be worried.’ But he said, ’Why should I not be worried? I have been completely destroyed. All that I had was in the bag and that man has escaped with it.’ And he was crying and he was as miserable as one can be.
Then the whole crowd and the rich man went in search and found the Master sitting back under his tree with the bag in the place where the rich man had put it. And his horse was standing there. The rich man came and jumped on his bag. Holding the bag close to his heart he gave a great sigh of relief and he said, ’Thank God!’
And the Sufi Master said, ’Are you happy or not? This is the key to happiness. Are you happy or not? Tell me.’ And the man said, ’Really, I have never been so happy!’
The enlightened master explains how to live in the insane society and become enlightened as opposed to living in primitive and uncultured society: In a primitive society people are innocent. They are like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They have not yet tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge. A civilised person is Adam expelled. He has tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge. He is no longer innocent, he is corrupted.
But Adam cannot become Christ. That is not possible. You first have to fall to rise, you have to lose to get. Adam prepares the way for Christ. By being expelled from innocence, a new possibility arises – he can re-enter again, he can re-enter the innocence. This second innocence – what Hindus call ’second birth’, DWIJ – this second birth, this second innocence, is qualitatively different from the first. The first was ignorant innocence. It was not aware of itself. It was not luminous, it was dark. The second kind of innoCenCe is luminous. A light burns in it. It is aware of itself. It is not only innocence, it is innocence plus awareness.
So in a way even this insane society does something beautiful to you – it takes away your bag of diamonds. It creates the possibility of being happy. If you are stuck in it then something has gone wrong, otherwise, there is nothing wrong. Going away is part of coming back. Go as far away as possible and coming back will be as beautiful as can be. Go as distant from God as you can. The farther you go, the more ecstatic the coming back will be.
So in a primitive society enlightened people don’t exist. They exist only in an insane society. That is the first thing.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti
