One day a voice came from the womb saying, “Stop it! This is all nonsense. There is no wisdom whatsoever in this. Mere words — just a collection of words. Is wisdom found in scriptures? Wisdom is within oneself. Is truth found in words? Truth is within oneself.”

Naturally his father was enraged. First of all he was a father and on top of that a scholar. And his son hidden in the womb was saying such things! Not even born yet! He exploded in anger, became engulfed in fire: The father’s ego had been hit. And a scholar’s ego… he was a great pundit, a great debater, knowledgeable in scriptures….

In anger he uttered a curse: When born, the boy would be deformed; his limbs would be bent in eight parts. Hence his name: Ashtavakra means one whose body has eight bends. He was born crippled in eight places; eight places hunchbacked like a camel. In a rage his father deformed his son’s body.

There are other stories like this….

It is said that Buddha was born standing up. His mother was standing under a tree; she gave birth standing and he was born standing up. He didn’t fall to the ground but started walking! He took seven paces and on the eighth he stopped and proclaimed the four noble truths — that life is suffering….! He took just seven steps on earth and proclaimed that life is suffering, that it is possible to be free from suffering, that there is a way to become free of suffering, that there is a state free of suffering — the state of nirvana.

About Lao Tzu the story is that he was born old, that he was born eighty years old, that he remained in the womb eighty years. Since he had no desire to do anything, he had no desire to leave the womb. Since he had no wants, he didn’t want to come into the world either. When he was born he had white hair, an old man of eighty years!

Zarathustra’s story is that he burst out laughing as soon as he was born.

But Ashtavakra has defeated them all. These are all events after birth; Ashtavakra made his full statement before he was even born!

These stories are significant. These stories contain the essence, the essential treasure of the life of these masters.

Buddha’s story contains the essence of what he taught his whole life…. Buddha taught the eightfold path, so he took seven steps and stopped on the eighth. There are eight parts in all; the last step is that of right samadhi, and only in that state of samadhi is the whole truth of life known. So he proclaimed the four noble truths.

Lao Tzu was born old. People live eighty years, still they don’t have the understanding Lao Tzu had at birth. Do you see people becoming intelligent just by getting old? Getting old and becoming intelligent are not synonymous. At a ripe old age even hair can ripen to pure white.

Lao Tzu’s story simply says that if there is urgency, intensity in one’s life, then what might take eighty years can happen in one moment. If one’s understanding is intense it can happen in one moment and without pure intelligence it does not happen even in eighty years.

Zarathustra laughed right at birth. Zarathustra’s religion is the only religion in the world that can be called a laughing religion… very earthy, a religion of the earth. That is why people of other religions don’t see Parsees as being religious. They see them dancing, singing, happy — Zarathustra’s religion is a laughing religion, a life-affirming religion, not life negative. There is no place for renunciation in it. Have you ever seen a Parsi sadhu? — stark naked, having renounced all, standing in the hot sun, sitting facing a fire like a Hindu sannyasin? No, the Parsee religion has no interest in torturing and causing trouble to the body. Zarathustra’s whole message is this: if you can realize godliness through laughing, then why realize it crying? When you can reach to the temple dancing, why unnecessarily sow thorns on your path? When you can go with flowers, then why follow ways of pain and misery? It is right, the legend is right, that at birth Zarathustra was laughing.

Don’t look for historical facts in these stories. It is not that they happened this way — but there is a very profound meaning in these stories.

Osho – “Mahageeta”

The post Masters And Their Births – A Taoist Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Confucius closes his eyes halfway – he is a middlist, and asks the waiter to give him the glass. He would like to have a sip – but just a sip, because without tasting how can one say whether life is misery or not? Confucius had a scientific mind; he was not much of a mystic, he had a very pragmatic, earthbound mind. He takes a sip and he says, “Buddha is right – life is misery.”

Lao Tzu takes all the three glasses and he says, “Unless one drinks totally, how can one say anything?” He drinks all the three glasses and starts dancing!

Buddha and Confucius ask him, “Are you not going to say anything?” And Lao Tzu says, “This is what I am saying – my dance and my song are speaking for me.” Unless you taste totally, you cannot say. And when you taste totally, you still cannot say because what you know is such that no words are adequate.

Buddha is on one extreme, Confucius is in the middle. Lao Tzu has drunk all the three glasses. He has drunk them all; he has lived life in its three-dimensionality.

“The Book of Understanding” by Osho

The post Taste Totally – A Taoist Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Confucius and Lao Tzu were contemporaries. There was as much difference between them as between Aristotle and Lao Tzu. Confucius’ way of thinking is Aristotalean, therefore. the West honoured Confucius very much these last 300 years. It is only now that Lao Tzu is rising in their esteem. This is because Science now finds itself in a strange predicament and is faced with great difficulty.

To continue our story: Confucius happened to pass by. He saw the old man and his young son, yoked together pulling water from the well. He was filled with compassion. He went up to the old man and said: “Do you not know, you foolish fellow, that now we harness horses or oxen to do this job? Why are vou unnecessarily tiring yourself and this young boy?”

The old man said, “Hush! Pray speak softly lest my son hears! Come after some time when my boy goes for lunch.” Confucius was perplexed. When the youth left, he asked the old man, “Why would you not let your son hear what I said?” He replied, “I am 90 years old and yet I have the strength to work side by side with a youth of 30. If I engage horses to pull the water, my son will not have the same strength at 90, that I have now. So I pray to you, do not talk of this before my son. It is a question of his health. We have heard that in towns, the horses pull water from the well. We also know that there are machines that do this job as well. But then, what will my son do? What will happen to his health, his constitution?”

What we do on one hand has an immediate effect on the other.

If Lao Tzu is correct, the result will be disastrous. For example: We want to sleep soundly. He who wishes to sleep soundly is, inveritably fond of rest. And he who does not toil, cannot sleep soundly. Lao Tzu says, “Work and rest are both united. If you wish to relax, toil hard.” Strive so hard that relaxation falls on you. Now if we think the Aristotalean way, work and rest are different and opposite. If I am fond of rest and comfort, and wish to sleep soundly, I shall just sit around the whole day and do nothing. But he who rests in the day, destroys his repose of the night. Rest has to be earned through labour. Or else, you shall have to pass a restless night.

Osho – “The way of Tao”

The post Work And Rest – A Taoist Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

Lao Tzu is passing through a forest, and the forest is being cut. Thousands of carpenters are cutting the trees. Then he comes near a big tree — a very big tree, one thousand bullock carts can rest underneath it — and it is so green and beautiful. He sends his disciples to enquire of the carpenters why this tree has not been cut yet.

And they say ‘It is useless. You cannot make anything out of it: furniture cannot be made, it cannot be used as fuel — it gives too much smoke. It is of no use. that’s why we have not cut it.’

And Lao Tzu says to his disciples ‘Learn from this tree. Become as useless as this tree then nobody will cut you.’

Uselessness has great value.

He says: Look, and watch this tree. Learn something from this tree. This tree is great. Look, all the trees are gone. They were useful, hence they are gone. Some tree was very straight, that’s why It is gone. It must have been very egoistic, straight, proud of being somebody — it is gone. This tree is not straight, not a single branch is straight. It is not proud at all. hence it exists.

Lao Tzu says his disciples: If you want to live long, become useless. But remember, his meaning of the word ‘useless’ is; don’t become a commodity, don’t become a thing. If you become a thing you will be sold and purchased in the market, and you will become a slave. If you are not a thing, who can purchase you and who can sell you?

Remain God’s creation. Don’t become a human commodity and nobody will be able to use you. And if nobody is able to use you, you will have a beautiful life of your own, independent, free, joyful. If nobody can use you, nobody can reduce you to a means. You will never be insulted, because in this life there is no greater insult than to become a means: somebody or other is going to use you — your body, your mind, your being.

Lao Tzu says: Become a nonentity so that nobody looks at you and you can live YOUR LIFE as YOU want to live it. Nobody comes to interfere with you.

Osho – Tao: The Pathless Path

The post The Tree That Survived The Carpenters – A Taoist Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.

The story is simple: There was an old man in a village, very poor, but even kings were jealous of him because he had a beautiful white horse. Such a horse had never been seen before — the beauty, the very grandeur, the strength. Kings asked for the horse and they offered fabulous prices, but the old man would say, `This horse is not a horse to me, he is a person, and how can you sell a person? He is a friend, he is not a possession. How can you sell a friend? No, it is not possible.’ The man was poor, there was every temptation, but he never sold the horse.

One morning, he suddenly found that the horse was not in the stable. The whole village gathered and they said, `You foolish old man. We knew it beforehand, that some day the horse would be stolen. And you are so poor — how can you protect such a precious thing? It would have been better to sell it. You could have fetched any price you asked, any fancy price was possible. Now the horse is gone. It is a curse, a misfortune.’

The old man said, `Don’t go too far — simply say that the horse is not in the stable. This is the fact; everything else is a judgment. Whether it is a misfortune or not, how do you know? How do you judge?’

The people said, `Don’t try to befool us. We may not be great philosophers, but no philosophy is needed. It is a simple fact that a treasure has been lost, and it is a misfortune.’

The old man said, `I will stick to the fact that the stable is empty and the horse is gone. Anything else I don’t know — whether it is a misfortune or a blessing — because this is just a fragment. Who knows what is going to follow it?’

People laughed. They thought the old man had gone mad. They always knew it, that he was a little crazy; otherwise he would have sold this horse and lived in riches. But he was living like a woodcutter, and he was very old and still cutting wood and bringing the wood from the forest and selling it. He was living hand to mouth, in misery and poverty. Now it was completely certain that this man was crazy.

After fifteen days, suddenly one night, the horse returned. He had not been stolen: he had escaped to the wilderness. And not only did he come back, he brought a dozen wild horses with him. Again the people gathered and they said, `Old man, you were right and we were wrong. It was not a misfortune, it proved to be a blessing. We are sorry that we insisted.’

The old man said, `Again you are going too far. Just say that the horse is back, and say that twelve horses have come with the horse — but don’t judge. Who knows whether it is a blessing or not? It is only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read one page of a book, how can you judge the whole book? You read a sentence in a page — how can you judge the whole page? You read a single word in a sentence — how can you judge the whole sentence? And even a single word is not in the hand — life is so vast — a fragment of a word and you have judged the whole! Don’t say that this is a blessing, nobody knows. And I am happy in my no-judgment; don’t disturb me.’

This time the people could not say much; maybe the old man was again right. So they kept silent, but inside they knew well that he was wrong. Twelve beautiful horses had come with the horse. A little training and they could all be sold and they would fetch much money.

The old man had a young son, only one son. The young son started to train the wild horses; just a week later he fell from a wild horse and his legs were broken. The people gathered again — and people are people everywhere, like you everywhere — again they judged. Judgment comes so soon! They said, `You were right, again you proved right. It was not a blessing, it was again a misfortune. Your only son has lost his legs, and in your old age he was your only support. Now you are poorer than ever.’

The old man said, `You are obsessed with judgment. Don’t go that far. Say only that my son has broken his legs. Who knows whether this is a misfortune or a blessing? — nobody knows. Again a fragment, and more is never given to you. Life comes in fragments, and judgment is about the total.’

It happened that after a few weeks the country went to war with a neighbouring country, and all the young men of the town were forcibly taken for the military. Only the old man’s son was left because he was crippled. The people gathered, crying and weeping, because from every house young people were forcibly taken away. And there was no possibility of their coming back, because the country that had attacked was a big country and the fight was a losing fight. They were not going to come back.

The whole town was crying and weeping, and they came to the old man and they said, `You were right, old man! God knows, you were right — this proved a blessing. Maybe your son is crippled, but still he is with you. Our sons are gone for ever. At least he is alive and with you, and, by and by, he will start walking. Maybe a little limp will be left, but he will be okay.’

The old man again said, `It is impossible to talk to you people, you go on and on and on — you go on judging. Nobody knows! Only say this: that your sons have been forced to enter into the military, into the army, and my son has not been forced. But nobody knows whether it is a blessing or a misfortune. Nobody will ever be able to know it. Only God knows.’

And when we say only God knows, it means only the Total knows. Judge ye not, otherwise you will never be able to become one with the Total. With fragments you will be obsessed, with small things you will jump to conclusions. And Sufis are very insistent on this: that you never bother that there are things which are completely beyond you, but even about them you make judgments. Your consciousness is on a very low rung of the ladder. You live in the dark valley of misery, anguish, and from your darkest valleys of miseries you judge even a Buddha. Even a Buddha is not left without your judgment. Even a Jesus is judged by you — not only judged but crucified; judged and found guilty; judged and punished.

Osho – “Until you Die”

If you liked this story, you'll love this! We've compiled a list of the top 10 spiritual stories that our readers love. You can read them here.

What Is the Spiritual Moral / Meaning of “The Old Man's Horse” Story?

The parable of the old man's horse and the series of events that unfolded in his life beckon us to contemplate the essence of non-judgment, the art of surrendering to the flow of life's unfolding mysteries.

The heart of this parable reveals the dance of perception, the constant urge within us to label events as blessings or misfortunes. The old man, a beacon of wisdom, traverses a journey strewn with unforeseen twists and turns, each event seemingly birthing judgments from the collective consciousness of the village.

The story unfolds like pages of a sacred manuscript, revealing fragments of existence, urging us to contemplate the transient nature of events. The loss of the horse, initially deemed a misfortune by the villagers, evolves into a blessing as the horse returns with a dozen companions. Yet, the old man, embodying a depth of understanding, refrains from embracing judgment, inviting us to consider the vastness of life's unfolding mysteries.

The villagers, quick to label events, swing from one judgment to another as the old man's son encounters a mishap with the newly acquired horses. Again, the old man implores them to withhold judgment, to pause and consider the enormity of life's fragments.

This cycle reaches its apex when war ravages the land, claiming the young men of the village. The old man's son, spared due to his infirmity, elicits the villagers' tears, prompting them to declare this as a blessing in the midst of their sorrow. However, the old man, steadfast in his wisdom, persists in his refrain from judgment, invoking the unknowable vastness of existence.

The spiritual essence of this parable lies not in the events themselves but in the wisdom of non-judgment—the ability to recognize the limitations of our perceptions. It beckons us to transcend the habitual labeling of events as either good or bad, blessing or misfortune.

In the dance of life, events unfold as fragments, never revealing the entirety of the narrative. The old man's teachings remind us of the inherent mystery within each fragment, each moment being just a thread within the intricate tapestry of existence.

Through the Old Man and His Horse parable, we are invited to embrace humility and surrender to the enigma of life's unfolding. It urges us to relinquish our need to judge and label, recognizing that what appears as misfortune might carry hidden blessings, and what seems as a blessing might conceal unforeseen challenges.

The essence of this story is not to dissolve into apathy or indifference but to cultivate a deeper understanding—a perspective that acknowledges the transient nature of events and allows for a profound surrender to the wisdom inherent in life's unfolding mysteries. It calls us to gaze upon life's fragments with a sense of awe, acknowledging that the totality of the cosmic story remains beyond the grasp of our limited perceptions.

In essence, this parable is an invitation—an invitation to embrace the vastness of existence, to refrain from premature judgments, and to immerse ourselves in the sanctity of the present moment, where the true depth of life's mysteries resides.

The post Old Man’s Horse – A Spiritual Story by Osho appeared first on Spiritual Growth Events.