DEAR CHILDREN, I'M GOD HERE, PLEASE DON'T DO ME ANY FAVOURS, I CAN STAND QUITE WELL ON MY OWN, THANK YOU

My Dear Children (and believe me, that's all of you),

I consider myself a pretty patient guy. I mean, lookat the Grand Canyon. It took millions of years to get it right. And about evolution? Boy, nothing is slower than designing that whole Darwinian thing to take place, cell by cell, and gene by gene.

I've been patient through your fashions,civilizations, wars and schemes, and the countless ways you take Me for granted until you get yourselves into big trouble again and again.

I want to let you know about some of the things that are starting to tick me off.

First of all, your religious rivalries are driving Me up a wall. Enough already! Let's get one thing straight.

These are YOUR religions, not Mine.

I'm the whole enchilada; I'm beyond them all. Everyone of your religions claims there is only one of Me(which by the way, is absolutely true). But in thevery next breath, each religion claims it's My favourite one. And each claims its bible was written personally by Me, and that all the other bible's are man-made. Oh, Me. How do I even begin to put a stop tosuch complicated nonsense?

Okay, listen up now. I'm your Father AND Mother, and Idon't play favourites among My children. Also, I hate to break it to you, but I don't write. My long hand is awful, and I've always been more of a "doer" anyway.

So ALL of your books, including those bibles, were written by men and women. They were inspired, remarkable people, but they also made mistakes here and there. I made sure of that, so that you would never trust a written word more than your own living heart.

You see, one human being to me -- even a bum on the street -- is worth more than all the Holy Books in theworld. That's just the kind of guy I am.

My Spirit is not a historical thing, it's alive righ there, right now, as fresh as your next breath. Holy books and religious rites are sacred and powerful, but not more so than the least of you.

They were only meant to steer you in the right direction, not to keep you arguing with each other, and certainly not to keep you from trusting your own personal connection with Me. Which brings Me to My next point about your nonsense.

You act like I need you and your religions to stick up for Me or "win souls" for My sake. Please, don't do Me any favours. I can stand quite well on my own, thank you. I don't need you to defend Me, and I don't need constant credit.

I just want you to be good to each other.

And another thing: I don't get all worked up over money or politics, so stop dragging My name into your dramas.

For example, I swear to Me that I never threatened Oral Roberts. I never rode in any of Rajneesh's Rolls Royces. I never told Pat Robertson to run for president, and I've never EVER had a conversation with Jim Baker, Jerry Falwell, or Jimmy Swaggart! Of course, come Judgement Day, I certainly intend to...

The thing is, I want you to stop thinking of religion as some sort of loyalty pledge to Me. The true purpose of your religions is so that YOU can become more aware of ME, not the other way around.

Believe Me, I know you already. I know what's in each of your hearts, and I love you with no strings attached.

Lighten up and enjoy Me. That's what religion is best for. What you seem to forget is how mysterious I am.

You look at the petty differences in your Scriptures and say, "Well, if THIS is the truth, then THAT can'tbe!" But instead of trying to figure out My Paradoxes and Unfathomable Nature--which by the way, you NEVER will -- why not open your hearts to the simple common threads in all religions.

You know what I'm talking about: Love and respect everyone. Be kind, even when life is scary orconfusing, take courage and be of good cheer, for I am always with you. Learn how to be quiet, so you can hear My still, small voice (I don't like to shout).

Leave the world a better place by living your life with dignity and gracefulness, for you are My OwnChild.

Hold back nothing from life, for the parts of you that can die surely will, and the parts that can't, won't. So don't worry, be happy (I stole that last line from Bobby McFerrin, but who do you think gave it to him inthe first place?)

Simple stuff. Why do you keep making it so complicated?

It's like you're always looking for an excuse to be upset. And I'm very tired of being your main excuse. Do you think I care whether you call me Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Wakantonka, Brahma, Father, Mother oreven the Void of Nirvana?

Do you think I care which of My special children you feel closest to -- Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed or any of the others?

You can call Me and My Special Ones any name you choose, if only you would go about My business of loving one another as I love you. How can you keep neglecting something so simple? I'm not telling you to abandon your religions. Enjoy your religions, honour them, learn from them, just as you should enjoy, honour, and learn from your parents. But do you walk around telling everyone that your parents are better than theirs?

Your religion, like your parents, may always have the most special place in your heart; I don't mind that at all. And I don't want you to combine all the Great Traditions in One Big Mess.

Each religion is unique for a reason. Each has aunique style so that people can find the best path for themselves. But My Special Children -- the ones that your religions revolve around -- all live in the same place (My heart) and they get along perfectly, Iassure you.

The clergy must stop creating a myth of siblingrivalry where there is none. My blessed children ofEarth, the world has grown too small for your pervasive religious bigotries and confusion. The whole planet is connected by air travel, satellite dishes, telephones, fax machines, rock concerts, diseases, and mutual needs and concerns.

Get with the programme!

If you really want to help then commit yourselves to figuring out how to feed your hungry, clothe yournaked, protect your abused, and shelter your poor. And just as importantly, make your own everyday life a shining example of kindness and good humour.

I've given you all the resources you need, if only you abandon your fear of each other and begin living,loving, and laughing together. Finally, My Children everywhere, when you think of the life of Jesus andthe fearlessness with which He chose to live and die. As I love Him, so do I love each one of you.

I'm not really ticked off, I just wanted to grab your attention because I hate to see you suffer.

But I gave you free will.

I just want you to be happy. Always. Trust in Me.

Your One and Only,

God.

MARRIAGE AND LOVE ARE ANTITHETICAL CONCEPTS, BOTH OF THEM CAN'T CO-EXIST AS THE SPACE IS TOO SMALL

Mary Jane, the very good friend of a wealthy broker, opened the door cheerfully one day, and then quickly attempted to close it when she discovered the person on the threshold to be her lover's wife.
The wife leaned against the door and said, "Oh, let me in, dear. I don't intend to make a scene, just came to have a small friendly conversation."
With considerable nervousness, Mary Jane let her enter, then said cautiously, "What do you want?"
"Nothing much," said the wife, looking about, "I just want the answer to one question: Tell me, dear, just between the two of us, what do you see in that dumb jerk?"

Groucho Marx, the yesteryear Hollywood comedian, puts it succinctly: Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution? Ask anyone who is married and the first thing they would say, whether it is man or woman, is that marriage sucks. Then why is it that the society goes ga ga about it? Because they are scared that the unmarried person may eye their spouses, and it is this insecurity that keeps the concept of marriage afloat in the world. Not because of any enduring bond of love. In fact, marriage and love are two antithetical concepts. Where one exists, the other can't. Because the space is too small for two divergent concepts to co-exist. When one enters, the other finds an automatic outlet and disappears.

Marriage not only sucks, it is also a sickening institution. Even a mental institution is a far safer place to be than in a married household. It is so stifling that the wife waits for an opportunity to make a mistake, and if he doesn't, she gives him one so that he slips and she can take him to task. Similarly, the husband waits for an excuse to pounce on his wife to settle scores. What a charade?

Reams and reams of paper have been wasted to explain the glorious significance of a happy family. Not just that. Hundreds of films have been made to explain the importance of a close-knit family. But, everything comes to nought. And marriages continue to fall like nine pins. And that too with the rapidity of a supersonic jet. For the simple reason, marriage is not meant to be. It is a utopian concept that can be possible only in a highly evolved society -- where the man is not concerned about what his wife is doing, or a wife is least bothered whom the husband is flirting with. Because it comes from the knowledge that it is the natural order of things.

Went on a long bike ride today into the interiors of the city and got deliberately lost so that it would take a good deal of time to get out. That way my mind wouldn't be able to keep track of the number of miles I've logged on and feel proud of it. Besides, there is a thrill in getting lost. You not only get to see the inner city's beauty, which you don't get to see otherwise, but the very feeling that you are lost gets your adrenaline pumping making your journey a wonderful experience.

Also, have been doing some amazing breathing meditation, the one that is propounded by Osho, called the dynamic meditation. It is equivalent to biking 20 miles and the energy that it generates keeps me active the whole day. So, keep biking and keep breathing, because breath is life and life is breath, and all the secrets of the world are revealed to the person who can concentrate on his breath.

Cycling into the heights of ecstasy

Mandelwitz is due to be released from the mental asylum. He goes for an interview with Professor Potts, the chief psychiatrist, who tells him that he has to answer a simple question, sanely, before he can be released.
"What would be your first action," asks Potts, "when you get released from this asylum?"
"I would start a rock collection," says Mandelwitz, "and throw one through every window of this building!"
Mandelwitz is taken back to his room and another six months pass before he is interviewed again.
"What will you do first when you are released from here?" asks the head shrink.
"Well," replies Mandelwitz, "I will buy myself a new suit."
"Good," says Potts, "and then what will you do?"
"I will call up a gorgeous blonde girlfriend," says Mandelwitz.
"And then?" asks Potts.
"I will take her to a motel," replies Mandelwitz.
"That's fine," says Potts, "and then?"
"Then," replies Mandelwitz, "I will lock the door, sit her on the bed, run my hand up her stockings, rip off her garter, make a catapult, and break every window in this building!"

Every one of us is like the mad man. It is just a degree of difference. If any of you think you are any different from the mad man, put your hand on your heart and be true to yourself. Do you do what you want to do and what you like to do? And in the best possible way. And the answer would be a definite 'no'. Our worry, our restlessness, our insomnia, our nervousness are a result of a mismatch between what we want to do and what we are doing. This friction in our goals, in our aspirations, in our lives is the reason why there is so much unhappiness around the world. But don't worry, it just takes a couple of minutes every day to understand how you can get out of it. And when you know the trick, you let out a loud laugh.

One of the reasons why westerners go ga ga over meditation when they visit the eastern countries like India or Japan is that Zen masters and eastern gurus have taken them on a tour of their inner life and made them stay there for a while. It's like a miracle of sorts, for the peace, the joy, the bliss that they have witnessed cannot be compared to anything in the world. The only thing that comes near to it is the orgasmic ecstasy that one derives after sex. And that is why Osho has equated meditation with orgasmic ecstasy. And the more one goes into meditation, the more one reaches the heights of ecstasy. I have done it. I have achieved it with cycling, with running, with dancing, with walking, and with silent sitting.

It is such a wonderful feeling to be in an orgasmic high. Which explains why masters become celibates and don't get turned on by women once they taste the nectar of meditation.

It's been a long time, more than 10 days, since I've gone into cycling ecstasy. And I've done it today. And that is why the inner joy comes forth dancing in the form of this post. Biking, especially speed biking, stops the mind, throws the carbon dioxide out of the body, infuses it with a flush of oxygen and tires the body so much that when we settle down after an hour of biking, the whole body becomes an instrument of tranquility. We don't need to do meditation, it happens automatically. You keep wondering, after sitting for an hour, where all your restlessness has disappeared.

Went on a long 20 mile ride today after work and loved every cadence of it. Of course, I haven't stopped the dynamic meditation in the mornings which gives me a new high to take on the day. And when I complete it with a round of cycling in the evening my day is made. And I can't ask for more.

What a waste of life!!

A man, who had three girlfriends, was in a quandary which one to marry. So he decides to give each one $5,000 and see how each of them spends it.
The first one goes out and gets a total makeover with the money. She gets new clothes, a new hairdo, manicure, pedicure, the works.
She tells the man, "I spent the money so I could look pretty for you because I love you so much."
The second one went out and bought new golf clubs, a CD player, a television, and a stereo and gives them to the man.
She says, "I bought these gifts for you with the money because I love you so much."
The third one takes the $5,000 and invests it in the stock market, doubles her investment, returns the $5,000 to the man and reinvests the rest.
She says, "I am investing the rest of the money for our future because I love you so much."
The man thought long and hard about how each of the women spent the money, and decided to marry the one with the biggest tits.

You cannot win in life unless you live it consciously -- with full of awareness. The confusion is going to hound you however rich or powerful you might be. Ironically, the richer you are, the crazier your life becomes. Because you have tied yourself in complex knots of power, prestige, honour, and the like and estranged yourself from the simple things in life that offer you the best happiness. So much so that you mull over even simple things like eating your breakfast or taking a shower as your mind is constantly involved in thinking about the 'bigger' things in life -- like the stock market, how you dress for the corporate boardroom meeting, or what present to take to your boss's wife on her birthday to impress her and the like.

What a waste of life. Cycling and meditation are two things that pull you out of the complex society's demands and put you on the pedestal to your personal glory. And the reason is simple. Whether it is cycling or meditation or zen, for the first time you get time for yourself -- to brood over your life -- far far away from the madness of society.

Unfortunately, for the last one week I was so involved in my 14-hour-a-day work shifts that I could not go on a long ride. Neither could I go for jogging. But the least I could do was dynamic meditation and made the most of it, even if it was only for half-an-hour. That explains why I didn't update my blog too. This is going to continue for another two weeks, but I intend to go on long rides once every two days at least. For the moment, I've been using my bike as usual to go to office -- 6 miles one way and making the most use of it going speed biking in the traffic. It gives its own thrill and the joyride after a day's work is really refreshing.

Laughter therapy for the soul

A Preacher wanted to raise money for his church and, being told there were fortunes in race horses, he decided to purchase one and enter it in the races. However, at the local auction, the going price for horses was so steep he ended up buying a donkey instead. He figured that since hehad it, he might as well go ahead and enter it in the races, and to his surprise the donkey came in third.
The next day the racing sheets carried the headlines: "Preacher's Ass shows".
The Preacher was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the races again and this time he won.
The papers said: "Preacher's Ass out in Front"
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Preacher not to enter the donkey in another race.
The newspaper printed this headline: "Bishop Scratches Preacher's Ass".
This was just too much for the Bishop and he ordered the Preacher to get rid of the animal. The Preacher decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.
The headlines the next day read, "Nun has the Best Ass in Town."
The Bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to dispose of the donkey and she finally found a farmer who was willing to buy it for $10.00.
The paper stated: "Nun Peddles Ass for Ten Bucks"
They buried the Bishop the next day.

The best part of any vigorous activity -- be it cycling, running, swimming, or playing any sport is that you are not dead anymore but alert to everything that is going on around you. That is because the vigorous activity gives you a sense of agility and athleticism. And you don't keep up a pretence and smile to yourself when you listen to something that is hilarious, but burst out in peals of laughter. You are not you anymore but a ball of energy 24x7.

Went on the regular spiritual triathlon to the green lungs of the city -- the Osho Teerth Park, and came back after a long 15 mile ride for a one-hour session of meditation. The more I run and bike, the more my meditation runs deep and silent. And the more the meditation runs deep, the more I am able to run and bike. Apart from commuting to work and going on errands, I go on 10 mile bike rides in the evening too unless I am caught up in work. So yesterday, once again, I went on a long journey to the outskirts of the city to freshen up my lungs and fill them up with a burst of oxygen. Had great fun.