Talks on Pythagoras the Philosopher and the Mystic

Many of us know Pythagoras’ famous theorem in geometry but few of us are aware that he also traveled extensively in search of truth, learning from many mystery schools.

Mathematician and Mystic

Being both mathematician and mystic, he was the first enlightened person to experiment with creating a synthesis between science and mysticism. So Pythagoras is a man close to Osho’s heart, with this understanding that materialism and spirituality – East and West, body and soul – exist together, as complementary parts of a harmonious whole. 

The Musical Teachings

All that remains of Pythagoras’ mystical teachings are these Golden Verses of Pythagoras, on which Osho expands, giving us insights into Pythagoras’ profound understanding of the mysteries of existence, and his commonsense approach to life.

My Message to humanity is a New Man

“My message to humanity is a New Man. Less than that won’t do. Not something modified, not something continuous with the past but utterly discontinuous.” Osho

Philosophia Perennis II Nederlands

Toespraken over Pythagoras en de Mysticus

Dit is het tweede deel van de serie over de filosoof en mysticus Pythagoras, Philosophia Perennis II , een zeer fraaie herdruk. Pythagoras kennen we als mathematicus.
Het lijkt tegenstrijdig dat de combinatie met mystiek mogelijk is, maar er was sprake van een opmerkelijke synthese. En die uitte zich in de mysterieschool van Pythagoras waar het geen saaie gang van zaken was, maar waar muziek, dans en vieringen een wezenlijk onderdeel vormden.

Bij Pythagoras gaat het niet om geleerdheid

Bij Pythagoras gaat het niet om geleerdheid, maar om wijsheid. De thema’s die in dit boek aan de orde komen, zijn: psychoanalyse, opvoeding, sex,
revolutie en religie. Er wacht de lezer een boeiend betoog.
Osho ziet in het commentaar leveren op de geschriften van Pythagoras een goede mogelijkheid om zijn eigen visie te ventileren. Met nadruk stelt hij, dat bij hem ‘de nieuwe mens’ centraal staat en niets minder dan dat. Het gaat hem er niet om, dat er hier en daar veranderingen bij mensen optreden, want dan zal er bij hen nog altijd het verband met het verleden zijn. En de nieuwe mens is een wezen dat volkomen losstaat van het verleden.

De Nieuwe Mens volgens Osho

De nieuwe mens is bij iedereen in potentie aanwezig, er is in feite sprake van een evolutionair proces. Hij kan zich echter door alle conditioneringen die van de ene generatie aan de ander doorgegeven worden niet spontaan uit de oude mens ontwikkelen. Daarom beoogt Osho om de hindernissen voor het ontstaan van de nieuwe mens weg te nemen. Hij doet dit door zijn talloze lezingen te geven in telkens weer andere series en door alle mogelijke methodes die hij ontwikkeld heeft, zoals de revolutionaire actieve meditaties.

Mensen kunnen wakker geschud worden

Hierdoor is het mogelijk, dat mensen wakker geschud worden en tot bewustzijn komen, waardoor ze de blokkades die totale vernieuwing tegenhouden kunnen laten vallen.
“Er dient niemand tussen het individu en de existentie in te staan. Geen enkele vorm van gebed, geen priester, want jij bent zelf voldoende in staat om de opkomst van de zon te ervaren. En verder is er niemand nodig om te verklaren wat een prachtige zonsopgang dit toch is”, stelt Osho.

Het boek Philosophia Perennis II is verkrijgbaar bij de Boekhandel of via internet.

Impression of Philosophia perennis II

My message to humanity is a new man. Less than that won’t do. Not something modified, not something continuous with the past but utterly discontinuous.’ Osho Far from being a dry, academic centre of learning, the mystery school of Pythagoras was alive with music, dance, celebration and meditation. Osho named Pythagoras ‘a seeker of truth par excellence’.

Unique Meeting between Science and Religion

In this second collection of talks on the timeless laws of existence (Philosophia Perennis), Osho talks about how the combination of these seemingly polar opposites creates a unique meeting of religion and science. With the wisdom of Pythagoras, Osho blends in his insight to topics that include psychoanalysis, education, politics, revolution, sex and religion, making this book an extraordinary read. 

You are going to Fail…

“The moment one starts thinking that one has to be exceptional, extraordinary, someone special, one will remain in misery forever, because everybody is already special, already exceptional, and extraordinary. Now, how can you make an extraordinary person more extraordinary? You are going to fail. 

“People fail in attaining extraordinariness because they are already it. If they were not, they might have succeeded. Each individual is unique, incomparable. Never before has there been anybody like you, and never again will there be anybody like you. You are just yourself, a class unto yourself. 

Trying to become exceptional is foolish

“Now, trying to become exceptional is foolish. You have to relax and see that you are unique; you need not become unique. If you try to transform gold into gold you will fail, because how can you succeed? In the first place the gold is gold; you can transform baser metals into gold but you cannot transform gold into gold.” Osho

Life is a mystery to be lived

”Ecstasy is such a great ‘Aha!’ that you are completely dissolved into it. It becomes your very song, your celebration, your dance. Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Life is a mystery to be lost in, not a problem to be handled.” Osho

A Spiritual Hunger

“The poor person suffers because he is hungry. The rich person suffers, not because he is hungry, but because now he knows that you may have a good house, good food, a good wife, a cozy family, a warm atmosphere, and still inside you are hungry – a spiritual hunger. Life is meaningless, pointless, accidental, empty. A great suffering arises. The poor suffers physiologically; the rich suffers psychologically. 

“Why are the rich suffering? If it is only a question of richness, then the rich should not suffer. But it is again an alibi, a rationalization, so that you can continue in your old ways and your old patterns. That too proved to be another fallacy; now it too has become a clich?. 

“Then Sigmund Freud invented something else. He said, ‘It is because of your unconscious instincts, passions that you have carried from your animal nature. It is because of those wounds in the unconscious that man is suffering.’ Now what can you do about the unconscious? 

“These are just different names for the same trick, the same strategy, ‘I am not responsible.’ Something else… The unconscious, history, economics, God, fate, karma, anything will do – xyz – anything will do. But one thing is certain: ‘I am not the cause of my suffering.’ And that is where your whole misery lies, in that trick. 

“Understand well, you are the cause of your suffering, nobody else. To recognize this is the first step in being a religious person. You don’t throw your responsibility onto others, you simply recognize the fact: &lsquot;I am the cause of my suffering.’ And with that, of course, you will feel a little sad, you will look a little stupid. If you are the cause, then why do you go on creating suffering for yourself? You don’t like to suffer… 

“In the beginning you will feel a little sad, stupid, puzzled, confused. But soon you will feel a great freedom. If you are the cause of your misery, then you can be the cause of your blessing, of your bliss; then great freedom is attained. When one takes responsibility for oneself, one becomes free. You become free from past karma, you become free from fate, kismet, you become free from history, you become free from psychology. You become free from all excuses. And once you have pinpointed the real cause, things start changing.” Osho