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Laughter, Tears, Silence
Why laughter? What power? Why tears, then silence?Laughter is one of the strongest positive emotions. It cures your feelings. It clears negative thoughts. It heals your body. Laughter comes from the heart and opens the heart - the magic instrument of Love. Tears remove pain and suffering. Tears bring joy and happiness. Silence makes you go inside yourself despite all fear of pain and karma. What follows is the brilliant Meditative Therapy of Osho - been described as the most important new meditation since the creation of Vipassana. I am sure you will love it. You can also benefit greatly by applying it in accordance with your life situation. Enjoy this meditation and start using its magic power today. I do not know Osho's philosophy deep enough in order to judge it. You have to make your own judgment. First, you might wish to discover more about his life and teachings. A good point to start is to watch one of Osho's famous videos "God is dead" below. Stories of His early years describe Him as independent and rebellious as a child, questioning all social, religious and philosophical beliefs. As a youth He experiments with meditation techniques. March 21, 1953: Osho becomes enlightened at the age of twenty-one, while majoring in philosophy at D.N. Jain college in Jabalpur. 1953 - 1956 Education1956: Osho receives his M.A. from the University of Sagar with First Class Honors in Philosophy. He is the All-India Debating Champion and Gold Medal winner in His graduating class. 1957-1966 University Professor and Public Speaker 1958: He is appointed Professor of Philosophy at the University of Jabalpur, where he taught until 1966. A powerful and passionate debater, he also travels widely in India, speaking to large audiences and challenging orthodox religious leaders in public debates. 1966: After nine years of teaching, he leaves the university to devote himself entirely to the raising of human consciousness. On a regular basis, he begins to address gatherings 20,000 to 50,000 in the open-air maidans of India’s major cities. Four times a year he conducts intense ten-day meditation camps. In 1970, the 14th of April, he introduces his revolutionary meditation technique, dynamic Meditation, which begins with a period of uninhibited movement and catharsis, followed by a period of silence and stillness. Since then this meditation technique has been used by psychotherapists, medical doctors, teachers and other professionals around the world. 1970: In July, 1970, he moves to Mumbai, where he lives until 1974. 1970: Osho - at this time called Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - begins to initiate seekers into Neo-Sannyas or discipleship, a path of commitment to self-exploration and meditation which does not involve renouncing the world or anything else. Osho’s understanding of ‘Sannyas’is a radical departure from the traditional Eastern viewpoint. For him it is not the material world that needs to be renounced but our past and the conditionings and belief systems that each generation imposes on the next. He continues to conduct meditation camps at Mount Abu in Rajasthan but stops accepting invitations to speak throughout the country. He devotes his energies entirely to the rapidly expanding group of sannyasins around him. At this time, the first Westerners begin to arrive and to be initiated into Neo-Sannyas. Among them are leading psychotherapists from the human potential movement in Europe and America, seeking the next step in their own inner growth. With Osho they experience new, original meditation techniques for contemporary man, synthesizing the wisdom of the East with the science of the West. 1974 - 1981 Poona AshramDuring these seven years he gives a 90 minutes discourse nearly every morning, alternating every month between Hindi and English. His discourses offer insights into all the major spiritual paths, including Yoga, Zen, Taoism, Tantra and Sufism. He also speaks on Gautam Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, and other mystics. These discourses have been collected into over 600 volumes and translated into 50 languages. In the evenings, during these years, he answers questions on personal matters such as love, jealousy, meditation. These ‘darshans’ are compiled in 64 darshan diaries of which 40 are published. The commune that arose around Osho at this time offers a wide variety of therapy groups which combine Eastern meditation techniques with Western psychotherapy. Therapists from all over the world are attracted and by 1980 the international community gained a reputation as "the world’s finest growth and therapy center." One hundred thousand people pass through it's gates each year. 1981: He develops a degenerative back condition. In March 1981, after giving daily discourses for nearly 15 years, Osho begins a three-year period of self-imposed public silence. In view of the possible need for emergency surgery, and on the recommendation of his personal doctors, He travels to the U.S. This same year, his American disciples purchase a 64,000-acre ranch in Oregon and invite him to visit. He eventually agrees to stay in the U.S. and allows an application for permanent residence to be filed on his behalf. 1981 - 1985 RajneeshpuramA model agricultural commune rises from the ruins of the central Oregonian high desert. Thousands of overgrazed and economically unviable acres are reclaimed. The city of Rajneeshpuram is incorporated and eventually provides services to 5,000 residents. Annual summer festivals are held which draw 15,000 visitors from all over the world. Very quickly, Rajneeshpuram becomes the largest and most controversial spiritual community ever pioneered in America. Opposition to the commune and new city keeps pace with its success. Responding to the Osho anti-cult fervor which pervades all levels of American society during the Reagan years, local, state and federal politicians make inflammatory speeches against the Rajneeshees. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Treasury Department, and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency (ATF) are only a few of the agencies spending millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money while harassing the commune with unwarranted and fruitless investigations. Similar costly campaigns are conducted in Oregon. July 1985: He resumes His public discourses each morning to thousands of seekers gathered in a two-acre meditation hall. Sept. - Oct. 1985: The Oregon Commune is Destroyed September 14: Osho’s personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and several members of the commune’s management suddenly leave, and a whole pattern of illegal acts they have committed - including poisoning, arson, wiretapping, and attempted murder - are exposed. Osho invites law enforcement officials to investigate Sheela’s crimes. The authorities, however, see the investigation as a golden opportunity to destroy the commune entirely. October 23: A U.S. federal grand jury in Portland secretly indicts Osho and 7 others on relatively minor charges of immigration fraud. Without warrants, federal and local officials arrest at gun point Osho and others in Charlotte, North Carolina. While the others are released, he is held without bail for twelve days. A five-hour return plane trip to Oregon takes four days. En route, Osho is held incommunicado and forced to register under the pseudonym, David Washington, in the Oklahoma County jail. Subsequent events indicate that it is probable that he was poisoned with the heavy metal thallium while in that jail and the El Reno Federal Penitentiary. November: Emotions and publicity swell around Osho’s immigration case. Fearing for his life and the well-being of sannyasins in volatile Oregon, attorneys agree to an Alford Plea on two out of 35 of the original charges against him. According to the rules of the plea, the defendant maintains innocence while saying that the prosecution could have convicted him. Osho and His attorneys maintain His innocence in the court. He is fined $400,000 and is deported from America. Among others, U.S. Attorney in Portland, Charles Turner, publicly concedes that the government was intent on destroying Rajneeshpuram. 1985 - 1986 World Tour The Indian government attempts to isolate him by canceling the visas issued to his personal household staff. January-February: he travels to Kathmandu, Nepal and speaks twice daily for the next two months. In February, the Nepalese government refuses visas for His visitors and closest attendants. He leaves Nepal and embarks on a world tour. February-March: At His first stop, Greece, he is granted a 30-day tourist visa. But after only 18 days, on March 5, Greek police forcibly break into the house where He is staying, arrest him at gun point, and deport him. Greek media reports indicate government and church pressure provoked the police intervention During the following two weeks he visits or asks permission to visit 17 countries in Europe and the Americas. All of these countries either refuse to grant him a visitor’s visa or revoke his visa upon His arrival, and force him to leave. Some refuse even landing permission for his plane. On March 19 He travels to Uruguay. On May 14th the government has scheduled a press conference to announce that he will be granted permanent residence in Uruguay. Uruguay’s President Sanguinetti later admits that he received a telephone call from Washington, D.C. the night before the press conference. He is told that if Osho is allowed to stay in Uruguay, the six billion dollar debt Uruguay owes to the U.S. will be due immediately and no further loans will be granted. Osho is ordered to leave Uruguay on June 18th. During the next month He is deported from both Jamaica and Portugal. In all, 21 countries had denied him entry or deported him after arrival. On July 29,1986, he returns to Mumbai, India. January 1987: He returns to the ashram in Pune, India, which is renamed Rajneeshdham. The Indian government resumes its policy of denying visas to known friends of Osho. July 1988: Osho begins, for the first time in 14 years, to personally lead the meditation at the end of each evening’s discourse. He also introduces a revolutionary new meditation technique called The Mystic Rose. In 1989: He stops using the name "Bhagwan," retaining only the name Rajneesh. However, his disciples ask to call him ‘Osho’ and he accepts this form of address. Osho explains that his name is derived from William James’ word ‘oceanic’ which means dissolving into the ocean. Oceanic describes the experience, he says, but what about the experiencer? For that we use the word ‘Osho.’ At the same time, he came to find out that ‘Osho’ has also been used historically in the Far East, meaning "The Blessed One, on Whom the Sky Showers Flowers." March-June 1989: Osho is resting to recover from the effects of the poisoning, which by now are strongly influencing his health. July 1989: His health is getting better and He makes two appearances for silent darshans during the Festival, now renamed Osho Full Moon Celebration. August 1989: Osho begins to make daily appearances in Gautama the Buddha Auditorium for evening darshan. He inaugurates a special group of white-robed sannyasins called the "Osho White Robe Brotherhood." All sannyasins and non-sannyasins attending the evening darshans are asked to wear white robes. September 1989: Osho drops the name "Rajneesh," signifying His complete discontinuity from the past. He is known simply as "Osho," and the ashram is renamed "Osho Commune International." 1990 Osho leaves his body January 1990: During the second week in January, Osho’s body becomes noticeably weaker. On January 18, he is so physically weak that he is unable to come to Gautama the Buddha Auditorium. On January 19, his pulse becomes irregular. When his doctor inquires whether they should prepare for cardiac resuscitation, Osho says, "No, just let me go. Existence decides its timing." He leaves His body at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m. His body is brought to Gautama the Buddha Auditorium for a celebration, and is then carried to the burning ghats for cremation. Two days later, his ashes are brought to Osho Commune International and placed in his samadhi in Chuang Tzu Auditorium with the inscription: OSHO Never Born Never Died Only Visited This Planet Earth Between 11 December 1931 - 19 January 1990 Read more about Osho
It has three steps. All are designed for a particular purpose: to bring out all the poison from your being that has been injected by every generation for centuries. Laughter is the first step. One of the great writers, Norman Cousins, has just now written of his life-long experiment: that if he laughs for twenty minutes without any reason, all his tensions disappear. His consciousness grows, the dust disappears. You will see it yourself; if you can laugh without any reason, you will see something repressed within you... From your very childhood you have been told not to laugh -- "Be serious!" You have to come out of that repressive conditioning.
I have chosen one of my therapists to create a new meditative therapy. The first part will be Yaa-Hoo! for three hours, people simply laugh for no reason at all. And whenever their laughter starts dying they again say, "Yaa-Hoo!" and it will come back. Digging for three hours you will be surprised how many layers of dust have gathered upon your being. It will cut them like a sword, in one blow. For seven days continuously, three hours every day... you cannot conceive how much transformation can come to your being. And then the second part is "Yaa-Boo". The first part removes everything that hinders your laughter ― all the inhibitions of past humanity, all the repressions. It cuts them away. It brings a new space within you, but still you have to go a few steps more to reach the temple of your being, because you have suppressed so much sadness, so much despair, so much anxiety, so many tears ― they are all there, covering you and destroying your beauty, your grace, your joy. In old Mongolia they had an ancient idea that every life, whatever pain is suppressed... and pain is suppressed, because nobody wants it. You don't want to be painful so you suppress it, you avoid, you look somewhere else. But it remains. And the Mongolian idea was ― and I agree with it ― that life after life it goes on accumulating in you; it becomes almost a hard shell of pain. That's why all the saints and the sages have been telling you, shouting ― "Go into yourself!" You listen to them, but you don't go. There is a reason why you don't go: you know that going in, you have to encounter pain; going in, you have to encounter misery, suffering, agony. It is better to remain outside ― engaged, busy. Never be alone, because in your aloneness you may unconsciously start moving inwards. Being alone, having nothing else to do you may start looking inwards. People have invented all kinds of things to escape from themselves: they may smoke cigarettes.… Not that they need them. I have never felt any need for cigarettes, so I cannot conceive that there is any necessity for anybody to be so stupid. When pure air is available, he is making his breathing full of poison, and he is paying for it! But there must be some reason. Why do millions of people go on smoking? The reason is, it keeps you occupied. Even if you are alone, it does not leave you unoccupied. These are devices of your mind. There are people who are chewing gum. Now what a nonsense thing to do! ― chewing gum? Are you sane or insane? Can't you chew anything else? No sane person can do this unnecessary exercise of chewing gum. But it keeps you occupied, so millions of people are chewing gum. All your conversations, your so-called busyness is almost without any purpose, without any business. But it helps just one thing: you don't come across yourself. There is too much pain. So you can listen to the sages, to the awakened ones, and you can nod ― "You are right, but my time has not come yet. Please forgive me; I have still to chew gum, I have still to smoke cigarettes. You are great, you can drop these things. We are small people, how can we drop cigarettes and chewing gum?" Just see the stupidity of it all. But behind the stupidity there must be some psychology and the psychology is: anything that helps you to avoid yourself becomes useful. Football match, volleyball, boxing...somebody else is doing it, you are just looking, but that looking takes you away from your own inside. If you go in you will find both, laughter and tears. That's why sometimes it happens that by laughing, suddenly you find tears also start coming together with it ― very confusing, because ordinarily we think they are contrary. When you are full of tears it is not a time to laugh, or when you are laughing it is not the right season for tears. But existence does not believe in your concepts, ideologies. Existence transcends all your concepts, which are dualistic, which are based on duality. Day and night, laughter and tears, pain and blissfulness, they both come together. When a man reaches into his innermost being he will find the first layer is of laughter and the second layer is of agony, tears. So for seven days you have to allow yourself to weep, cry, for no reason at all ― just the tears are ready to come. You have been preventing them. Just don't prevent, and whenever you feel they are not coming, just say, "Yaa-Boo!" These are pure sounds, used as a technique to bring all your laughter and all your tears and clean you completely, so that you can become an innocent child. This is absolutely my meditation. You will be surprised that no meditation can give you so much as this small strategy. This is my experience of many meditations, that what has to be done is to break two layers in you. Your laughter has been repressed; you have been told, "Don't laugh, it is a serious matter." You are not allowed to laugh in a church, or in a university class.… So the first layer is of laughter, but once laughter is over you will suddenly find yourself flooded with tears, agony. But that too will be a great unburdening phenomenon. Many lives of pain and suffering will disappear. If you can get rid of these two layers you have found yourself. Maneesha, there is no meaning in the words, `Yaa-Hoo' or `Yaa-Boo'. These are simply techniques, sounds which can be used for a certain purpose to enter into your own being. And you may have felt it ― when you shout, "Yaa-Hoo!" you may have felt a sudden breeze of freshness and joy. I don't want so many people to cry here; that's why I have not used the other part. That is to be used in special groups. I have invented many meditations, but perhaps this will be the most essential and fundamental one. It can take over the whole world. Already from every country news cuttings are coming to me ― "What is this Yaa-Hoo!?" People are making up meanings of their own, but it has taken over around the world. Now the second thing is Yaa-Boo! And the whole process of Yaa-Hoo and Yaa-Boo, the couple, married...arranged marriage! Every society has done so much harm by preventing your joys and your tears. If an old man starts crying you will say, "What are you doing? You should feel ashamed; you are not a child, that somebody has taken your banana and you are crying. Have another banana, but don't cry." Just see ― stand on the street and start crying and a crowd will gather to console you: "Don't cry! Whatever has happened forget all about it, it has happened." Nobody knows what has happened, nobody can help you, but everybody will try ― "Don't cry!" And the reason is that if you go on crying, then they will start crying, because they are also flooded with.… Those tears are very close to the eyes. And it is a healthy thing to cry, to weep, to laugh. Now scientists are discovering that crying, weeping, laughter, are immensely healthful; not only physically but also psychologically, they are very much capable of keeping you sane. The whole of humanity has gone a little cuckoo, for the simple reason that nobody laughs fully because all around there are people who will say, "What are you doing? Are you a child? ― at this age? What will your children think? Keep quiet!" If you cry and weep without any reason, just as an exercise, a meditation...nobody will believe it. Tears have never been accepted as meditation. And I tell you, they are not only a meditation, they are a medicine also. You will have better eyesight and you will have better inner vision. I am giving you a very fundamental technique, fresh and unused. And it is going to become worldwide, without any doubt, because its effects will show anybody that the person has become younger, the person has become more loving, the person has become graceful. The person has become more flexible, less fanatic; the person has become more joyful, more a celebrant. All that this world needs is a good cleansing of the heart of all the inhibitions of the past. Laughter and tears can do both. Tears will take out all the agony that is hidden inside you and laughter will take all that is preventing your ecstasy. Once you have learned the art you will be immensely surprised: why has this not been told up to now? There is a reason: nobody has wanted humanity to have the freshness of a rose flower and the fragrance and the beauty. I have called this series of lectures The Mystic Rose. "Yaa-Hoo!" is the mantra to bring the mystic rose in your very center, to open your center and release your fragrance. Your life becomes for the first time significant, not just useful. Right now it is only useful ― you are a father, useful. Without you what will your children do? You are a mother, useful; you are a wife, useful ― without you what will your husband do? He may go astray. He is already going astray, so you have to hang around! If the husband is too joyous the wife cannot believe that he is joyful because of her. There must be some other woman: "Just tell us, what is her name? Who is the other woman? Why are you laughing!?" The husband cannot cry, because the wife will say, "What is the matter? I have been telling you continually, these love affairs won't do. Has the woman gone, leaving you behind crying and weeping?" Two old people appeared in the court, husband and wife ― the husband was ninety-five years old, the wife ninety years old, and they wanted a divorce. The magistrate could not believe it. He said, "My god, at this age! For what? How long have you been married?" They said, "Who remembers? Maybe sixty years, seventy years, but we cannot give you a certain date. It was long before." The magistrate said, "If you have lived together so long that you cannot even remember when you started living together, then why are you divorcing now? If life was not good, and things were not going well, you should have appeared before the court long ago!" The old man said, "We wanted to come, but the children... Now all the children are dead, so we decided there is no point in torturing each other. Now we should get a divorce: you torture somebody else if you can find anybody; I will torture somebody else if I can find. Otherwise we can be alone far better than we are together. Together we become so sad that `This woman destroyed my life' or, `This man destroyed my life.' " People marry not because of love ― love knows no marriage, because love will not create any contract. It is not business. Love knows no marriage because it is not business, it is not law. It won't reduce the freedom of the other. If anything, it will increase and enhance the freedom of the other.Love cannot cut the wings of the other. It will give you more wings, more skies, vast spaces to fly and to be.But that does not happen. Marriage is a utility. It is a need, it is not a celebration. Everything in life has become so mundane, so burdensome, but you don't know what else to do, where to go. Everybody is suffering his own suffering. You cannot change places. Even if it were possible to change places you would not change, because our own misery is at least ours and we are well acquainted. At a party one man was asked by his wife, "I hear that the woman sitting over there is your mistress?" The man did not want to create a fuss in the party, so he whispered; he said, "Yes, everybody has mistresses here, so don't make any trouble."She said, "Then tell me who is whose mistress?"So he told her: "This man has that mistress, and his wife is somebody else's mistress. Things are so puzzled..." He told her about everybody. The same women, the same men, but all have mistresses, all have wives. The woman looked at all of them and finally said, "But ours is the best." Her husband's mistress! It was an agony, but OURS...! "Others are being more idiotic ― these horrible women... I know all of them."Even the agony, the pain becomes by and by an acquaintance, old and familiar. You cannot part with it, you will miss it.I have seen people missing their wives, just after two or three days when the wife has gone to her parents. For two or three days they are so joyful, but the fourth day they start missing the wife. And I have said to my friends, "You always wanted to get rid of your wife. It is good that she is prolonging her holiday ― enjoy!"And what have I heard from my friends? "Yes, it is true, when she is here I feel like killing her. But when she goes somewhere else I feel so alone, that I go on writing letters and sending telegrams and every day a phone call ― `Come back soon; without you, life is not life!' "Strange people! And when she comes then they want to kill her. They don't kill, just because they know it is very risky. If there were rewards for killing wives, I don't think you would find anybody who would not participate in the competition. Afterwards they will cry and weep and they will remember the golden days, but right now it is a nightmare. The whole of life has become just a utility: either you are an inspector, or you are a police commissioner, or you are a minister, or you are a teacher ― just a function which any robot can do. The only thing that the robot cannot do is meditation. In other words, I am saying that those who are not in meditation are being robots, without being aware that they are just utilities, functions, they are needed. But a man of meditation for the first time realizes that it does not matter whether he is needed or not ― he himself is a joy unto himself. He himself is bliss, he does not depend on anybody to make him blissful. That is the only freedom possible in the world. Otherwise everybody is a slave. I would like people to understand it absolutely that unless you become blissful on your own accord, unless your rose opens within your own being, you are just a commodity, just a thing, an object. Meditation reveals your subjectivity. Subjectivity is your consciousness, and your consciousness and its experience makes your life significant, meaningful, eternal, immortal, without any beginning and without any end. A celebration, moment-to-moment a dance. And unless you have transformed your life into a moment-to-moment dance you have missed the opportunity that existence gives you. Source: http://www.osho.com/Topics/TopicsEng/MysticRose.htm
This is worth considering. It is significant. The first thing to understand is that except for man, no animal is capable of laughter. So laughter shows a very high peak in the evolution of life. If you go out on the street and see a buffalo laughing, you will be scared to death. And if you report it, then nobody will believe that it can happen. It is impossible. Why don’t animals laugh? Why can’t trees laugh? There is a very deep cause for laughter. Only that animal can laugh which can get bored. Animals and trees are not bored. Boredom and laughter are the polar dualities, these are the polar opposites. They go together. And man is the only animal that is bored. Boredom is the symbol of humanity. Look at dogs and cats; they are never bored. Man seems to be deep in boredom. Why aren’t other animals bored? Why does man alone suffer boredom? The higher the intelligence, the greater is boredom. The lower intelligence is not bored so much. That’s why primitives are happier. You will find people in the primitive societies are happier than those in civilized ones. Bertrand Russel became jealous when for the first time, he came into contact with some primitive tribes. He started feeling jealous. The aboriginals were so happy, they were not bored at all. Life was a blessing to them. They were poor starved, almost naked. In every way, they had nothing. But they were not bored with life. In Bombay, in New York, in London, everybody is bored. The higher the level of intelligence and civilization, the greater the boredom. ”So the secret can be understood. The more you can think, the more you will be bored; because through thinking you can compare time as past, future and present. Through thinking you can hope. Through thinking you can ask for the meaning of it all. And the moment a person asks: ”What is the meaning of it?” boredom enters, because there is no meaning in anything, really. If you ask the question, ”What is the meaning of it?”, you will feel meaningless. And when meaninglessness is felt, one will be bored. Animals are not bored. Trees are not bored. Rocks are not bored. They never ask what the meaning and purpose of life is. They never ask; so they never feel it is meaningless. As they are, they accept it. As life is, it is accepted. There is no boredom. Man feels bored. And laughter is the antidote. You cannot live without laughter; because you can negate your boredom only through laughter. You cannot find a single joke in primitive societies. They don’t have any jokes. Jews have the largest number of jokes. And they are the most bored people on the earth. They must be bored; because they win more Nobel Prizes than any other community. During the whole of the last century, all the great names are almost all Jews – Freud Einstein, Marx. And look at the list of Nobel Prize winners. Almost half the Nobel Prize winners are Jews. They have the largest number of jokes. ”And this may be the reason why all over the world Jews are hated. Everybody feels jealous of them. Wherever they may be, they will always win any type of competition. Everybody feels jealous of them. The whole world is united against them. It feels hateful against them. When you cannot compete with someone, hatred is the result. Jews must be feeling very bored. So they have to create jokes. Jokes are the antidote for boredom. ”Laughter is needed for you to exist. Otherwise, you will commit suicide. ”Now try to understand the mechanism of laughter and how it happens. If I tell a joke, why do you laugh? What makes you laugh. What happens? What is the inner mechanism? If I tell a joke expectation is created. You start expecting. Your mind starts searching for what the end will be. And you cannot conceive the end. A joke moves in two dimensions. First it moves in a logical dimension. You can conceive it. If the joke goes on logically to the very end, it will cease to be a joke; there will be no laughter. So suddenly the joke takes a turn and becomes so illogical that you cannot conceive it. And when the joke takes a turn and the result becomes illogical; then the expectation, the tension that was created in you, suddenly explodes. You relax. Laughter comes out. Laughter is the relaxation. But tension is first needed. A story creates expectation, suspense and tension. You start feeling the crescendo. Now the crescendo will come. Something is going to happen. Your backbone is straight like that of a yogi. You have no more thoughts in the mind. The whole being is just waiting. All the energy is moving toward the conclusion. Suddenly something happens which the mind could not think of. Something absurd happens – something illogical, irrational. The end is such that it was impossible for logic to think about it. And you explode. The whole energy that had become tense inside you suddenly gets relaxed. Laughter comes out through this relaxation. ”Man is bored. Hence he needs laughter. The more bored, the more laughter he will need. Otherwise, he cannot exist. Thirdly, it has to be understood that there are three types of laughter. The first is when you laugh at someone else. This is the meanest, the lowest, the most ordinary and vulgar when you laugh at the expense of somebody else. This is the violent, the aggressive, the insulting type Deep down this laughter there is always a feeling of revenge. The second type of laughter is when you laugh at yourself. This is worth achieving. This is cultured. And this man is valuable who can laugh at himself. He has risen above vulgarity. He has risen above lowly instincts – hatred, aggression, violence. And the third is the last – the highest. This is not about anybody – neither the other nor oneself. The third is just Cosmic. You laugh at the whole situation as it is. The whole situation, as it is, is absurd – no purpose in the future, no beginning in the beginning. The whole situation of Existence is such that if you can see the Whole – such a great infinite vastness moving toward no fixed purpose, no goal – laughter will arise. So much is going on without leading anywhere; nobody is there in the past to create it; nobody is there in the end to finish it. Such is the whole Cosmos – moving so beautifully, so systematically, so rationally. If you can see this whole Cosmos, then a laughter is inevitable. ”I have heard about three monks. No names are mentioned, because they never disclosed their names to anybody. They never answered anything. In China, they are simply known as the three laughing monks. And they did only one thing: they would enter a village, stand in the market place and start laughing. They would laugh with their whole being and suddenly people would become aware. Then others would also get the infection and a crowd would gather. The whole crowd would start laughing just because of them. What was happening? The whole town would get involved. Then they would move to another town. They were loved very much. That was their only sermon, their only message; that laugh. And they would not teach; they would simply create a situation. Then it happened that they became famous all over the country. Three laughing monks. All of China loved them, respected them. Nobody had ever preached in such a way that life must be just a laughter and nothing else. They were not laughing at anyone in particular. They were simply laughing as if they had understood the Cosmic joke. And they spread so much joy all over China without using a single word. People would ask for their names, but they would simply laugh. So that became their name – the three laughing monks. Then they grew old. And while staying in one village. one of the three monks died. The whole village became very much expectant because they thought that when one of them had died, the other two would surely weep. This must be worth seeing because no one had ever seen these people weeping. The whole village gathered. But the two monks were standing beside the corpse of the third and laughing – such a belly laugh. So the villagers asked them to explain this. So for the first time, the two monks spoke and said, ’We are laughing because this man has won. We were always wondering as to who would die first and this man has defeated us. We are laughing at our defeat and his victory. Also he lived with us for many years and we laughed together and we enjoyed each other’s togetherness, presence. There can be no better way of giving him the last send off. We can only laugh. But the whole village was sad. And when the dead monk’s body was put on the funeral pyre, then the village realized that the remaining two monks were not the only ones who were joking, the third who was dead was also laughing. He had asked his companions not to change his clothes. It was conventional that when a man died they changed his dress and gave a bath to the body. So the third monk had said, ’Don’t give me a bath because I have never been unclean. So much laughter has been in my life that no impurity can accumulate, can come to me. I have not gathered any dust. Laughter is always young and fresh. So don’t give me a bath and don’t change my clothes.’ ”So just to respect his wishes, they did not change his clothes. And when the body was put to fire, suddenly they became aware that he had hidden some Chinese fire-works under his clothes and they had started going off. So the whole village laughed and the other two monks said: ’You rascal, you are dead, but you have defeated us once again. Your laughter is the last.’ There is a Cosmic laughter which comes into being when the whole joke of this Cosmos is understood. That is of the highest. And only a Buddha can laugh like that. These three monks must have been three Buddhas. But if you can laugh the second type of laughter, that is also worth trying. Avoid the first. Don’t laugh at anyone’s expense. That is ugly and violent. If you want to laugh, then laugh at yourself. That’s why Mulla Nasruddin, in all his jokes and stories, always proves himself the stupid one, never anybody else. He always laughs at himself and allows you to laugh at him. He never puts anybody else in the situation of being foolish. Sufis say that Mulla Nasrudin is the wise fool. Learn at least that much – the second laughter. If you can learn the second, then the third will not be far ahead. Soon you will reach the third. But leave the first type. That laughter is degrading. But almost ninety-nine percent of your laughter is of the first type. Much courage is needed to laugh at oneself. Much confidence is needed to laugh at oneself. For the spiritual seeker, even laughter should become a part of Sadhana. Remember to avoid the first type of laughter. Remember to laugh the second. And remember to reach the third. Source: http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Jokes/laughter_part_of_Sadhana.htm
Give Your Body a Boost - With Laughter Why, for some, laughter is the best medicine By R. Morgan Griffin, WebMD Feeling rundown? Try laughing more. Some researchers think laughter just might be the best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring back in your step. "I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier too." Yet researchers aren't sure if it's actually the act of laughing that makes people feel better. A good sense of humor, a positive attitude, and the support of friends and family might play a role, too. "The definitive research into the potential health benefits of laughter just hasn't been done yet," says Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation. But while we don't know for sure that laughter helps people feel better, it certainly isn't hurting.Laughter Therapy: What Happens When We Laugh? We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues. People who believe in the benefits of laughter say it can be like a mild workout -- and may offer some of the same advantages as a workout. "The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar," says Wilson. "Combining laughter and movement, like waving your arms, is a great way to boost your heart rate." One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter. And laughter appears to burn calories, too. Maciej Buchowski, a researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a small study in which he measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned out that 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories. While the results are intriguing, don't be too hasty in ditching that treadmill. One piece of chocolate has about 50 calories; at the rate of 50 calories per hour, losing one pound would require about 12 hours of concentrated laughter!Laughter's Effects on the Body In the last few decades, researchers have studied laughter's effects on the body and turned up some potentially interesting information on how it affects us: * Blood flow. Researchers at the University of Maryland studied the effects on blood vessels when people were shown either comedies or dramas. After the screening, the blood vessels of the group who watched the comedy behaved normally -- expanding and contracting easily. But the blood vessels in people who watched the drama tended to tense up, restricting blood flow. * Immune response. Increased stress is associated with decreased immune system response, says Provine. Some studies have shown that the ability to use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells, as well. * Blood sugar levels. One study of 19 people with diabetes looked at the effects of laughter on blood sugar levels. After eating, the group attended a tedious lecture. On the next day, the group ate the same meal and then watched a comedy. After the comedy, the group had lower blood sugar levels than they did after the lecture. * Relaxation and sleep. The focus on the benefits of laughter really began with Norman Cousin's memoir, Anatomy of an Illness. Cousins, who was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a painful spine condition, found that a diet of comedies, like Marx Brothers films and episodes of Candid Camera, helped him feel better. He said that ten minutes of laughter allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep. The Evidence: Is Laughter the Best Medicine? But things get murky when researchers try to sort out the full effects of laughter on our minds and bodies. Is laughter really good for you? Can it actually boost your energy? Not everyone is convinced. "I don't mean to sound like a curmudgeon," says Provine, "but the evidence that laughter has health benefits is iffy at best." He says that most studies of laughter have been small and not well conducted. He also says too many researchers have an obvious bias: they go into the study wanting to prove that laughter has benefits. For instance, Provine says studies of laughing have often not looked at the effects of other, similar activities. "It's not really clear that the effects of laughing are distinct from screaming," Provine says. Provine says that the most convincing health benefit he's seen from laughter is its ability to dull pain. Numerous studies of people in pain or discomfort have found that when they laugh they report that their pain doesn't bother them as much. But Provine believes it's not clear that comedy is necessarily better than another distraction. "It could be that a compelling drama would have the same effect." One of the biggest problems with laughter research is that it's very difficult to determine cause and effect. For instance, a study might show that people who laugh more are less likely to be sick. But that might be because people who are healthy have more to laugh about. Or researchers might find that, among a group of people with the same disease, people who laugh more have more energy. But that could be because the people who laugh more have a personality that allows them to cope better. So it becomes very hard to say if laughter is actually an agent of change, or just a sign of a person's underlying condition.Laughing It Up for Quality of Life Laughter, Provine believes, is part of a larger picture. "Laughter is social, so any health benefits might really come from being close with friends and family, and not the laughter itself." In his own research, Provine has found that we're thirty times more likely to laugh when we're with other people than when we're alone. People who laugh a lot may just have a strong connection to the people around them. That in itself might have health benefits. Wilson agrees there are limits to what we know about laughter's benefits. "Laughing more could make you healthier, but we don't know," he tells WebMD. "I certainly wouldn't want people to start laughing more just to avoid dying -- because sooner or later, they'll be disappointed." But we all know that laughing, being with friends and family, and being happy can make us feel better and give us a boost -- even though studies may not show why. So Wilson and Provine agree that regardless of whether laughter actually improves your health or boosts your energy, it undeniably improves your quality of life. "Obviously, I'm not antilaughter," says Provine. "I'm just saying that if we enjoy laughing, isn't that reason enough to laugh? Do you really need a prescription?" Laughter is one of the strongest positive emotions. It cures your feelings. It clears negative thoughts. It heals your body. Laughter comes from the heart and opens the heart - the magic instrument of Love. The power of laughter is hidden in Love. This is why its power can be compared only to the Power of Love and Sex.
Osho on Love, Sex and Sin Making Love is a Sacred Experience Every religion is against me. Their profession depends on condemning love and praising meditation. They know you cannot attain to meditation, and they know now your love is condemned, it is a sin. You will never experience any orgasmic phenomenon, so meditation will remain just a philosophy, and your life will remain loveless, angry, full of rage, ready to explode at any excuse. Because where will your energy go? It could have become peace, silence, joy, blissfulness. You did not allow it to become that. That repressed energy turns into poison. That's why everybody is irritable, annoyed, worried, tense. The simple reason is that they have lost the natural source of relaxation.
No animal looks irritated, annoyed, angry, because they don't understand the language the priests speak.
They have never heard that celibacy is spiritual. Of course they cannot attain to meditation, but they are far better than those human beings who could have attained meditative heights, but have lost even the simple biological experience of orgasm.
What actually happens when one couple moves into the realm of orgasmic experience? What actually happens? Every point has to be understood. Time stops. For a moment the pendulum does not move, and that single moment seems to be almost eternity. The two persons are no more two ― for a moment. They have melted into each other. There is no thought in the mind, for a moment. It is all empty and silent, and these are the things which have to be deepened in meditation.
And once you have tasted them, you will be surprised that it does not depend on the other person. Something happens within you. Something happens within the other person. But it is not dependent. If you can sit silently, if you can manage, by watching your thoughts, to bring a gap, a stop, you will suddenly see time has stopped again. And now it is in your hands, not in the hands of biology. You can keep this time stopped as long as you want. And once you know the secret key....
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