Panch Mahavrat or The Perennial Path The Art of Living

Author(s): Osho Rajnish
Publisher: Osho Rajnish

Page 38

CHAPTER 4. NONSTEALING
becomes a science, our life will be refined and progressive. At present it is only founded on sects. Who is responsible for this? The follower is responsible for this. And if the follower had achieved something by doing all this mischief, we would have been satisfied. But it took him nowhere, because he forgot all the basic principles. Each individual will have to try himself to find 'it' out, and he has to travel within for it. He who goes after another can lose himself, cannot achieve the self.
Acharyaji, while giving the illustration of an onion you said every individual has many faces, many visages, which tare stolen, and these visages will always be there in all circumstances. Only a distinction will have to be made between a true good face and a false bad face. I hate somebody but when he comes to see me. I smile and welcome him. This is my false face which I show to him, but along with this action I have a great sorrow in my heart and yet I smile, then this face of mine will be a visage - a false face. You have understood what death is, you have known the secret of death and you are leading your life, this also is a kind of visage - mask. You have acquired victory over truth and untruth and you are proclaiming the truth, this is also a kind of visage. I may add one more example, a flute having a hole in it attracts people by its tunes. Is not that a visage of the flute? The ornaments for the ankles with small stones within their hollow, produce a musical sound. Is not that musical sound the visage of that ornament? If this is a fact, a distinction will have to be made, and so I request you to explain this distinction between the two. Along with this request I have one more question to ask. If life is a grand interconnected relationship, individualities will be created in many forms and ways. How can you call this separateness or individuality a false face? When a child is born, it comes into this world bringing with it impressions of a series of births. It got love from its mother, got affectionate treatment, got knowledge to understand the language from the teacher, got inspiration to think and got experience from wherever he roamed in this world. Wilt this acquired experience be looked upon as stealing? If it is looked upon as stealing, the individuality will be cut apart and made separate. How can he create his own individuality as long as he does not accept any of the experiences got from other persons and does not turn them as his own impressions?
I think, the meaning of mask has not been correctly understood. Your face is not your mask. When in a play You put on another face on your face, for example, the face of Ravana, then that borrowed face is a mask. Your own face is not a mask but when you put on another false face whose roots are nowhere within you, with which your life has no relation, which is simply hanging on a string from the ears, which has no bridge connection with the throbbing of the heart, Then and only then is it a mask. The face is not a mask. It is a false face. So understand its correct meaning. But it is not necessary that a false face should be a paper or a plastic face. You are successful in producing many such false faces on your face. As you said, it is a mask when I smile and welcome a person whom I hate from the bottom of my heart, and such a false face is very harmful. Such a mask seems useful, its utility is seen. In this way he stops himself from showing or exhibiting his hatred. But the hatred does not disappear. The danger is that I shall certainly cheat that man, and slowly I also begin to cheat myself; and the oft-repeated smile will go on suppressing my hatred within and a day will come when I shall forget that I am hating. I shall be smiling and at the same time my feeling of hatred will remain hidden within me. If a religious person experiences the feeling of hatred, he has two remedies for it. Either he does now experience the feeling of hatred and so he smiles, or if he experiences that feeling of hatred, he should at least not smile. He should exhibit that hatred on his face. Such a behaviour has two advantages. If he exihibits hatred on his face, he shall have to bear the harm which is the result of expressing hatred. The experience of pain due to hatred which he has to bear will become the cause of changing that hatred, otherwise why should he change? The harm done to life by hatred, will be the cause of changing it. This fact will compel him to think that
The Perennial Path: The Art of Living
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Osho