Tao-Teh-King" or The Way of Tao as it is called here, is a small book in 81 brief chapters by Lao-Tse ( 571 B.c.) comprising the cream of experience of the sage. Bhagwan Shree has rightly said, "It is true that what Lao-Tse has said is 2,500 years old; but in a sense, it is as new as the morning dew." The path is absolutely untouched, unused. The ancient sages revealed their knowledge, their philosophy in the form of maxims and seed-mantras. The teachings remind us of Kabir in his patronage of simplicity and mysteriousness of Life.
This book comprises 22 lectures on the first 8 Chs. of the book. Bhagwan Shree in his characteristic and inimitable and lucid exposition lays bare the secrets of The Way of Tao. Having absolute detachment and exclusive power of identifying himself with anyone, Bhagwan Shree lives the life of the sage Lao-Tse and reveals.
This is Part ONE OF THE WAY OF TAO-other parts will follow.
For over a decade, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has been captivating large audiences throughout India with his message about the Ultimate Experience of Enlightenment, which he says is possible for all.
A spiritual Master in various esoteric and religious traditions for many lives, he reveals that he has consciously taken birth in the modern age to teach mankind the science for inner transformation which is "meditation", thereby hoping to avert the total atomic devastation toward which man's destructive instincts are leading him.
One of the few fully Enlightened Masters alive in the world today, Bhagwan has devised new revolutionary meditation techniques, based on chaotic breathing and cathartic expression, which are suitable for modern man who has become too tense, suppressed and closed to be capable of successfully utilizing ancient yogic methods which were meant for a more relaxed age. Bhagwan's methods are designed to quickly awaken man's latent divine energy known as "Kundalini".
"I have come not to teach but to awaken. Surrender-and I will transform you. This is my promise," he reveals.
This is volume two of The Way of Tao, comprising 21 lectures on the further Chapters of Lao-Tse's work, Tao-Teh-King, revealing his knowledge, philosophy and experience. Bhagwan Shree elaborated the pithy and axiomatic sayings of the Chinese sage in simple and forceful language. Bhagwan dwelt at length on what freedom is, and on Lao-Tse's saying -Realise the Simple Self which abides in one and all. The flow of ideas and explanation of the sayings is continuous and unending. It is no longer reading but listening to the Master sincerely and effortlessly awakening those around him to the Tao's unpresent Presence - with parallel examples from all philosophies of all climes. Pliable understanding, hunger for the Spirit, egolessness, playfulness, forbearance and non-prejudice, artless spontaneity, renunciation of spiritual desires are shown to be the fore-runners for the Revelation of the Simple Self that is our Own Self.
"It is true that what Lao-Tse has said is twenty-five hundred years old; but in a sense, it is as new as the morning dew. It is new because it has not been attempted or applied so far. It is new because man's atman has not taken a single step in this direction. The path is absolutely untouched, unused."
Somewhere towards the end of this book, Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh gave the above reply to a question in which a friend had asked what was the evocation behind the revival of the 2,500 years old religious teachings of Lao-Tse by him. He then went further to say: "It is old because Lao-Tse had brought its tidings 2,500 years ago. It is new because these tidings have not been heeded or heard so far. Today, as never before, it has become absolutely imperative that Lao-Tse's message should be heeded."
Like India, China also has inherited a most ancient and wealthy civilisation. It's history of 6,000 years is known - full of acquisitions and attainments. If it be asked that, in this long glorious history of China, which was the most illuminated personality, the intelligentsia of today without hesitation, will take the name of Lao-Tse. Some years ago perhaps, Confucius may have been rated the highest personality of China. He was a contemporary of Lao-Tse and it is a fact that his ethical concept proved more influential over the Chinese, than the far-reaching vision of Lao-Tse.
Buddha and Mahavira of India, as well as Socrates of Greece, were also, almost, the contemporaries of Lao-Tse.
It is very strange that the history of China has very little account of the life of the most precious of its great men. But this tragedy is quite in keeping with the uncommon vision of Lao-Tse, for in his very words " Therefore saints always keep their individuality in the background."
The well-known scholar of China, Lin Yutang, in his book, The Wisdom of Lao-Tse, has written: "We know very little about Lao-Tse. We only know that he was born in 571 B.C., was a contemporary of Confucius and came of a cultured family. He also worked for some time as the principal guardian of the Royal accounts but he retired when he was yet middle-aged and was almost unheard of thereafter.There is every likelihood of his having lived to the ripe old age of 90 and more and left a long line of descendants behind him, one of whom became a government official."
It is also a wonder that one who lived so long and one who had attained the profoundest wisdom, should leave behind so small a book for posterity ! Tao-Teh-King or The Book of Tao or The Tao-Upanishad, is the name of this book. This contains 81 brief chapters which may, in fact, be called 'Sutras' (maxims) . The whole book can be contained in 25-30 pages of an average book of today.
And this little book of Tao, is of the same category as the Geeta or the Upanishads; the Dhammapada or Mahavira-Vani; the Bible or the Quran or the Zend Avesta. It is in no way less than any of these. In fact in a certain sense, this book is unique and incomparable!
How this book of wisdom came into being, is also an interesting story. When Lao-Tse became very famous, his disciples and even the emperor of his country urged him to write down all he had known and experienced. But the Rishi of Tao always evaded this suggestion. When he was pressed far too much, he left his cottage silently one night, with the intention of leaving the country altogether. But the King's men caught him at the borde;; without paying the toll, how could he cross the border ? This wonderful book was written at the octroi-outpost as a custom-levy. Its opening words are: "Truth cannot be expressed. What is expressed is not Truth."
History holds no record of where this Rishi of Tao-Teh-King disappeared after clearing the customs at the border-post. And this too was wholly analogous with the character of the Saint. Lao-Tse merged into the Infinite Void with his physical body.
This book is an extraordinarily successful attempt to fill the ocean in a vessel. The ancient sages revealed their knowledge, their philosophy in the form of maxims and seed-mantras. The Tao-Upanishad is matchless from this point of view also. His language reminds the reader of Saint Kabira of our country. Kabira is the nearest to Lao-Tse in his patronage of the simplicity and mysteriousness of life.
Somewhere in his discourses, Bhagwan Sri has said: "From amongst all the enlightened people of the world, Lao-Tse is peerless. A person of average intelligence can add something of his own to Krishna's Geeta. Anything, similarly can be added on to the sayings of Mahavira, Buddha and Christ. And it is difficult to detect the adulteration for their statements do not fall contrary to the ethics and understanding of the common man. Therefore all the scriptures of the world have become interpolated. Each new generation adds something of its own. It is impossible to maintain the purity of the scriptures. Lao-Tse's book is one of those very few books in the world which has preserved its purity. It is not possible to add anything to it and the reason is, it requires a man of Lao-Tse's stature to elaborate on his work. If someone wishes to add something to Lao-Tse's statements, he shall have to be Lao-Tse himself. This is the one and only requisite."
Somewhere else Bhagwan Sri has said, "No religion or Organisation could be created after Lao-Tse." This also is a rare event in History. The reason is, not only has this sage seen the highest pinnacle of Truth but also revealed it. It is no wonder then, that there are hardly any commentaries on it.
Bhagwan Sri must be correct when he says that to add something to Lao-Tse, one has got to be Lao-Tse but we feel that to understand and to explain Lao-Tse, the teacher cannot be any less than Lao-Tse. Not Lao-Tse alone, but to understand any visionary of Truth of the calibre of Krishna or Buddha, one has to rise to their level of consciousness. This is the reason perhaps, that instead of finding the right meaning behind the words and the lives of these great personalities, we have created absurdities according to our own level of understanding.
"Lao-Tse says, "He is the creator, but not the controller." He is not a sentry who stands guard at the prison gate. People like Bertrand Russell say that this very fact creates a doubt about the existence of God. But I say: this is the very proof of His existence. Where there is no independence, God cannot be. Independence is the fundamental proof of the existence of God. He is, because we are so free and independent.
"It is like this: there is the ocean and there are the fish that live in the ocean. They are not at all conscious of the existence of the ocean, but the ocean is the very basis of their existence. All the freedom of movement they enjoy within the ocean is because of the ocean. If the ocean dries up, the fish will be no more. They will lose all their freedom of movement, because their very medium of independence is the ocean.
God is freedom. That is why those who have investigated deep within existence have called God by the name moksha (liberation, freedom). Mahavira has not made use of the word God at all. He said, "Moksha is enough."
The world exists in complete freedom. If our actions are wrong, we are making an incorrect use of our freedom. We can act right if we so choose.
Freedom is our destiny. That is why we can descend to the lowest depths of sin or reach to the highest point of virtue. We can reach high up to heaven or fall deep down in hell. We can enshroud ourselves in the deepest folds of darkness of enter the brilliant realm of light. Both these things are possible because the intrinsic nature of our atman is freedom.
Sartre is correct when he says, "You can not choose to be free. You are freedom."
"You are freedom itself. But freedom means that I can choose to be in prison if I so wish. If I am allowed all the freedom except the freedom to go to jail, I am no longer free. Then I am in subjugation of the whole wide world.
Freedom means the unconditional right to choose my path, whether this way or that. Thus it is that Lao-Tse says, "Tao creates everything but does not control. "Tao does not give even an indication as to how one should act. It gives the power, the rule, but does not order any action. The power, the place, the path are His. Darkness is His, light is His, the very being who acts is His - and yet He does not even say whether we should go to the left or to the right.
He gives life, but makes freedom the very basis of life. This very freedom can become a painful burden if we so choose, or this very freedom can become the bliss of existence - again, if we so choose. This freedom can cause the excellence that lies hidden within each of us to express itself. This freedom can also be used, if we so desire it, to create our own hell, our own darkness in which we can lose and destroy ourselves.
One thing, however, is definite: that there is complete freedom in the world of our existence, and this complete freedom is the undeclared declaration of the existence of God.
There can be no one who values freedom more than God. The freedom is profound. Hence, the dissimilarity in all things. The criticism directed by the Socialists and Communists against God is: if there is a God why is there so much disparity? Why is there so much inequality? But this argument holds good only for those who do not take the trouble to think and to ponder. They declare, "if God is, then all people whom He has created should be equal."
Please note: freedom and equality are two opposite conditions. If you desire equality, there cannot be freedom. If you desire freedom, equality cannot be. All can be made equal, but then there cannot be any freedom. Equality cannot exist except in jails. And even in prisons if there are some conveniences, in-equality creeps in. It is imperative to maintain ruthless severity if equality is to be maintained. Perfect equality is only possible in complete subjugation.
Therefore if Communism prevails, the whole world will turn into a big prison. Communism cannot exists without the prison. The meaning of freedom is that each individual is free to be what he chooses. Then, inequality is inevitable.
Bhagwan Rajneesh and Lao-Tse both acclaim in no uncertain terms that to be religious is to be your own self. Tao is being your own self.
"God will never question us about why we did not become a Buddha, a Mahavira, a Krishna but He will definitely question us about why we did not become what we were ordained to become," Bhagwan says. We cannot become what we were destined to become because we always strive to become some-thing else. And so we miss. We lose the opportunity. This gives rise to an inferiority-complex which leads to despair and despondency. Then we feel, "I am nothing!" Then life becomes a burden and not the dance of ecstasy that it is meant to be.
Lao-Tse says, "You are the purpose within yourself. The very fact that you are is enough to know that God stands guard beside you - just as much as He stood beside Buddha or Mahavira. He gives you the same number of breaths, the same quota of heartbeats as He gave them. He is partial to no one. The sun does not draw in its rays nor the winds think it a condenscension to pass by you.
The whole of existence accepts you as it accepts others. It is you alone who does not accept yourself. Then, what can existence do?
We accept others, but not our own selves. And those whom we accept, they too, in their own turn do not accept themselves! If there were a way to peep into the mind of each individual, we would find one common disease within: nobody accepts his own self, not a single individual. But he who accepts himself for what he is suffers from no malady.
The bliss of God showers on one who honestly accepts himself as he is.
Whatever can be discarded, is not our nature, - says Lao-Tse. What remains. ultimately is my very self.
Jesus and Socrates make use of the term: "Know thyself." The Upanishads say the same: "Know yourself." Lao-Tse says, "Realise the simple self." He does not refer to the self that the theosophist, the dogmatist or the learned pundit speaks of. He speaks of the simple self that resides within the most ignorant of beings. He exhorts you to know yourself in your utter simplicity - that which is, - in your complete nakedness, your innate self. That alone should be realised.
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