Laugh Your Way to God
Religion has been missing one very fundamental quality: the sense of humor. It has been very unfortunate because it has made religion sick.
The sense of humor is part, an essential part, of the wholeness of man. It keeps him healthy, it keeps him young, it keeps him fresh. And
for centuries the sad people have dominated religion. They have expelled laughter - from the churches, from the mosques, from the temples.
The day laughter enters back into the holy places they will be really holy, because they will be whole. Laughter is the only quality that
distinguishes man from other animals. Only man can see the ridiculous, the absurd. Only he has the capacity and the consciousness to be
aware of the cosmic joke that existence is. It IS a cosmic joke; it is not a serious affair.
Seriousness is a disease, but seriousness has been praised, respected, honored. It was absolutely essential to be serious to be a saint;
hence only pathological people became interested in religion, people who were incapable of laughter. And people who are incapable of laughter
are subhuman, they are not human yet - what to say about their being divine? That is impossible - they have not yet become human. And to be human
is the bridge between the animal and the divine. Hence I have tremendous respect for the sense of humor, for laughter.
Laughter is far more sacred than prayer, because prayer can be done by any stupid person; it does not require much intelligence. Laughter
requires intelligence, it requires presence of mind, a quickness of seeing into things. A joke cannot be explained: either you understand
it or you miss it. If it is explained it loses the whole point; hence no joke can be explained. Either immediately you get it.... If you don't
get it immediately then you can try to find out the meaning of it; you will find out the meaning, but the joke will not be there. It was in the
immediacy.
Humor needs presence, utter presence. It is not a question of analysis, it is a question of insight.
excerpt from Osho, The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Vol 11, Chapter #10
Pagalo’s Death Celebration was held on the 12th of August in London.
Yoga Christopher writes: "It was amazing! More than 150 people attended. It
was a wonderful get-together, a real celebration! Of course there were many
sannyasins, but there were also many others who had encountered Pagalo in
other areas of his life: colleagues from the London City Airport and from
Reuters, where he had worked, snow boarding pals and many more friends. And,
of course, members of his and Shanti, his partner's, family, some of which
had travelled from as far afield as Canada and Cyprus."
Read Shanti’s eulogy and see photos of Pagalo's life....
The last meditation which Osho has given to us: Body - Mind - Balancing (Reminding Yourself of the Forgotten Language of Talking to Your
BodyMind) is now being offered as a morning course by Ushapa at
Body-Mind-Balancing in Bournemouth (22-28 Sep)
and as part of a full week's programme Your Body is your Temple run by Nikhila at Croydon Hall (29 Sep-5 Oct).
Should you be unable to attend any of these courses, a CD with an explanatory booklet can now be ordered
e.g.
via Borders UK - more on this meditation at
www.osho.com
We have a few past issues of Viha Connection on our desk. If you are interested in receiving a sample copy send your postal
address to ohoinuk@omweb.com. First come first serve... To know more about
Viha Connection Magazine and to subscribe...
Chinmaya Dunster , acclaimed UK composer and famous for his (Celtic) ragas on his sarod
has extended his creativity into filming. His last video 'Smiles from off the road' shows faces filmed in Uttarakhand Himalayas and Kerala
(India) and are accompanied by his guitar. They can be seen online
part 1 and
part 2 (Treasuring the girl child). www.chinmaya-dunster.com
Rakendra, the one from Brighton AUM, writes: "There will be a Bioenergetics Event & Puravida Party in Brighton,
Sat 20th September, for those of you that love to use the body to become more alive! Bioenergetics are a set of physical exercises
that help release trapped feelings and rebalance the body to its natural authentic state. Using these special exercises we can
come in better contact with our bodies and become more spontaneous and joyous. The workshop will be followed by a Humaniversity
Social Meditation and will be rounded off with a meal and Puravida Party!" Contact: rakendra99 (at) yahoo.com
Premgit, is showing his most recent photographs at an Open Studios event organised by
Drawn to the Valley: Sat 30 Aug - Sun 7 Sept (11-5pm daily), 65 Old Exeter Rd, Tavistock PL19 0JE, 01822 613 168.
Premgit in our gallery...
Sangeet has recently published a book: Gaia Rescue - What We Can Do To Stop Global Warming. Gaia Rescue is a grassroots movement
started in honor of Earth Day 2008. The idea is to use the Internet and personal contacts to spread the word asking people to cut at least
one ton (2000 pounds) of greenhouse gas emissions from their lifestyles in the next twelve months.
gaiarescue.com
Ad-Ventures
Living Beautifully in Pune:
Rooms close to the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune (India).
Write to Abhipsa and Ekanta:
shopladhani@hotmail.com
Check out photos:
www.osho.com/resort
Would you like to be part of the success of Croydon Hall? Would you like to
live and work in a community that is at once both meditative and running a
business? We are looking for an administrator to work in the office and help
with answering telephones, data input and other admin work and of course
anything else that needs to be done in and around the community!
You are flexible, committed to self development and meditation and have good
telephone manner and communication skills. If you feel the need for a change
and are wondering what next, pick up the phone now 01984 642200 or email
info@croydonhall.co.uk -
croydonhall.co.uk
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