Osho on Ramakrishna Stories, Ramakrishna Paramhansa Stories

Osho – Ramakrishna used to tell a beautiful story. A bird was flying with a dead mouse and twenty or thirty birds were chasing him. The bird was very much worried. ‘I am not doing anything to them, I am just carrying my dead mouse. They are all after me.’ And they hit him hard and in the conflict, in the struggle, the bird opened his mouth and the mouse dropped.

Immediately they all flew towards the mouse; they all forgot about him. Then he sat upon a tree and brooded. They were not against him, they were also on the same trip — they wanted the mouse. If people are hurting you, open your mouth. You must be carrying a dead mouse! Drop it! And then sit — if you can, sit on the tree or under the tree and brood. And suddenly you will see that they have forgotten about you. They are not concerned. They never were concerned. The ego is a dead mouse.

Osho – I will tell you one anecdote Ramakrishna loved to tell. He used to say: Once it happened that there was a great festival near a sea, on the beach. Thousands of people were gathered there and suddenly they all became engrossed in a question — whether the sea is immeasurable or measurable; whether there is a bottom to it or not; fathomable or unfathomable? By chance, one man completely made of salt was also there.

He said, ‘You wait, and you discuss, and I will go into the ocean and find out, because how can one know unless one goes into it?’

So the man of salt jumped into the ocean. Hours passed, days passed, then months passed, and people started to go to their homes. They had waited long enough, and the man of salt was not coming back.

The man of salt, the moment he entered the ocean, started melting, and by the time he reached the bottom he was not. He came to know — but he couldn’t come back. And those who didn’t know, they discussed it for a long time. They may have arrived at some conclusions, because the mind loves to reach conclusions.

Once a conclusion is reached, mind feels at ease — hence so many philosophies exist. All philosophies exist to fulfill a need: the mind asks and the mind cannot remain with the question, it is uneasy; to remain with the question feels inconvenient. An answer is needed — even if it is false it will do; mind is put at rest.

To go and take a jump into the sea is dangerous. And remember, Ramakrishna is true: we are all men of salt as far as the ocean is concerned — the ocean of life and death. We are men of salt, we will melt into it because we come out of it. We are made by it, of it. We will melt!

So mind is always afraid of going into the ocean; it is made of salt, it is bound to dissolve. It is afraid, so it remains on the bank, discussing things, debating, arguing, creating theories: all false — because they are based on fear. A courageous man will take the jump, and he will resist accepting any answer which is not known by himself.

Osho – It happened: A few people were beating a fisherman. Ramakrishna was moving from one bank to another of the Ganges, near Dakshineshwar. On the other shore a few people were beating a man. Ramakrishna was in the middle of the stream. He started crying and weeping, and he started shouting, “Stop, don’t beat me!”

People who were sitting around him, his disciples, could not believe what was happening: “Who is beating you? Who can beat him?” They said, “What are you saying, PARAMAHANSADEVA? Have you gone mad?” He said, “Look! They are beating me there on the other side.” Then they looked; a few persons were beating a man, and Ramakrishna said, “Look at my back.” He uncovered his back — there were marks, blood was coming out.

It was impossible to believe. They went, they rushed to the other shore, caught hold of the man who was beaten. They uncovered his back: exactly the same marks. This is empathy — putting oneself into somebody else’s place so totally that what is happening to him starts happening to you. Then compassion arises. But these states are all of no-mind.

Osho – I am reminded of Ramakrishna. A painter made his portrait, and he brought the painting to show Ramakrishna — to see whether he liked it or not. The disciples were also gathered there.

Ramakrishna looked at the painting and touched the feet of the painting. His disciples — Vivekananda and others — felt embarrassed — “What to do with our master? — because he does such things that even we look like fools.

Now it is his own picture, and he is touching its feet. We had no idea that he would do this; otherwise, we would have prevented him. And now he has done it, and people are laughing and smiling and looking at each other.”

There were many observers there who were not disciples. They said, “They think this man is a realized soul? He seem to be insane! Even an insane person will not touch his own feet; at least he will recognize that `This is my own portrait; I cannot touch its feet.'”

The painter was also shocked, but he was not a disciple. So he gathered courage and asked Ramakrishna, “I cannot believe my eyes. This is your own portrait and you are touching your own feet! It looks a little awkward.”

And Ramakrishna’s eyes were full of tears of joy. He said, “It is my picture, I know, but I am not touching the feet because it is my picture. I am touching the feet because you have caught my state of samadhi in the picture. And when I see a picture of someone in samadhi… it does not matter whether that picture is of me or somebody else — that is irrelevant.

What matters is that the picture is of a self-realized consciousness, then I have to touch its feet. And I cannot see why you are all looking so embarrassed.” Now they all felt more embarrassed: “We are such idiots. We don’t understand; we should at least keep quiet. If we don’t understand, then it is better not to show any emotion. He has done something which nobody has done before, but his reason is so valid.”