We live in the world of images. We have a certain image of everybody who may come in contact with us. The image as the word is more to do with imagination than the real person.
We live in the world of images. We have a certain image of everybody who may come in contact with us. The image as the word is more to do with imagination than the real person. While a person changes, our image of that individual remains fixed. This is true about us. Unconsciously, we begin to form our own image with the comments, criticism and appreciation that we receive from our relatives, friends and strangers. We tend to become fixated on this image. We become imprisoned in this image that has been created with the help of others. This becomes our identity and we consider it as our reality. We get into all kinds of conflicts and troubles to protect this particular “reality” based on fabricated images. Any criticism of this image is disturbing. But there’s a limit to criticism. Osho points out that everybody likes to criticise others but cannot take criticism in one’s stride.
When somebody praises your beauty, intelligence, or your uniqueness, you feel happy and accept it. But when someone criticises you, you are unable to accept the criticism.
It goes against the image that you have been creating of yourself. You will retaliate, you will fight tooth and nail. However, your mind has taken the impression of this opinion too. There are millions of people in the world and they all have their own opinions, likes and dislikes.
Meditation means becoming aware of all these things on the periphery of our being and looking deeply within our consciousness — which is essentially a witness to this play of likes and dislikes, opinions and judgements. We need to dis-identify with this stuff and free ourselves. Discarding and renouncing all that is imaginary is the real sanyas. There is no need to escape from the world — one needs to escape into one’s true being beyond imagination and the ego based on this. The ego is so cunning that it can give us a false feeing of “holier than thou”, imagining ourselves superior to others.
In The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, Osho says: Every morning, early in the morning when you read the newspapers, it always gives you a good feeling — so much happening all over the world, so many ugly things, so much violence, murder, suicide, rape, robbery, that compared to all this you are a saint. Hence people don’t like to read the Bible in the morning, or the Gita, but the newspaper! Reading the Gita you feel like a sinner, reading the Bible you start feeling a trembling, that hell is bound to happen to you, that you are on the way... Ego does not want to be criticised and wants to criticise everybody. Become aware of the strategy of the ego, how it nourishes itself, how it protects itself. Unless you become absolutely aware of all the cunning devices of the ego, you will never be able to get rid of it. And to get rid of it is the beginning of a religious life, is the beginning of sanyas. Then you are no longer worried what others say about you.”
Learn the art of acting of your own accord. Don’t be worried about criticisms and don’t be interested in compliments and praise. If you are interested in being praised by others, then you cannot be unconcerned about criticism. Remain aloof. Then praise or criticism, success or failure will be the same for you.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti, editor of Osho World, is the author of Osho Fragrance
