The Independent Mind By Osho Book Review

In our lives, we buy things that others have. We buy cars because others have them. We go to schools because others go there. Like this, we copy from other people, and to add to that, we think the way others do. That is, we don't think on our own. We borrow thoughts from others. These are not my words, but the words of Osho.

Why should we listen to Osho's words? How much do you know about him? That documentary. What's its name? Wild Wild Country, right? If you ask me have you seen that? And you're wondering why I'm listening to him? Even he.. Even he says, "Don't listen to everything I say." He's asking us to think on our own. The so-called "Independent mind" is very, very important, says Osho.

Let's jump into that book and see what's inside. One of the first things he says is we've been taught that we have mind, body, and soul. Ask him if there is something called a soul, and he says to keep the question to yourself. Don't believe me when I say soul exists. When you get the answer to this question, only then believe it.

In general, he tells three things about mind, body, and soul. Our body is important to us because we experience the world around us via the body. The body is important to us, and the body is dependent on us, he says.

Next, he talks about the soul. The soul is completely independent. It is not dependent on anything. So if you ask him if there's life after death, he says the soul is not attained within the body. It is beyond that. Like I said before, because it's independent, it exists beyond our thoughts, beyond our feelings, beyond life.

The next comes the mind. The body is completely dependent. The soul is completely independent. The mind in the middle can be independent or dependent. To shift the mind from being dependent to independent, he's written this book called 'The Independent Mind'. The things he said have been converted into a book. Now some will comment like 'He didn't write this book, he only talked.' Yeah, he only talked about it. His sayings have been converted into a book.

Someone gives you a rose and simply appreciates its beauty. We the human beings feel like, 'Yes, the rose is beautiful'. That's because, throughout the ages, the rose has been linked to beauty. A symbol of love. Repeated numerous times. Repeated often enough to condition our minds.

Take ten minutes to think on your own, is this rose really beautiful? Is the rose a beautiful flower? Do I really like the rose flower? Even a rose with fallen petals, we don't mind giving it to others. Because they've been doing it for ages. And brainwashed us into believing that the rose is a beautiful flower.

His first question is why we don't think on our own? Can we think beyond what was told to us? Like he predicted it already. Long ago people discovered many things. Do you know how religion came? There are scriptures for these. How you should live and how you should not. What's good and evil has already been written down.

His reply to this is whichever the religion, whoever it is, the things he preaches and where he found them from. They're telling us things based on their own experiences. Be it Jesus or Buddha or any other God, if you want to feel like that God, how did they attain enlightenment? You have to learn from that experience. If you follow them, you will become a mere follower. You won't understand what they went through or its essence.

Another thing he says is 'Trust is everything'. Many might say trusting is simply natural to us. Really! But you can't trust people that easily. But that's not true. But we do believe people, the things people say, the things they do, we believe everything in society, the whole thing. The question is do we have the courage to question this? You don't need the courage to trust someone. Because they're already many who believe. But if you want to question the genuineness of the truth, you need guts.

If the Superstar is the only one superstar. Is Superstar really a superstar? Do you have the guts to ask? When everyone says something is awesome. Do you have the courage to think differently? Though every belief has its fans. To ask questions and to challenge and to put effort into knowing the truth, most of the time you'd have to do it without companionship. You have to stand alone. On your own feet. To stand alone, you need to be brave.

The example he gives. Once upon a time, Aristotle wrote in Greece that men have more teeth than women. In those times, everyone believed that men were more strong and talented than women. Even today that belief is common. Like how people believe that English is our national language. Even today the general view of society is that men are superior to women and it was much more during those times.

When Aristotle wrote this everyone was like, 'Yes, men are better than women.' 'Men are awesome'. So obviously men have more teeth than women. Everyone believed it. For thousands of years, no man tried to look into his wife's mouth and check whether they had fewer teeth. We are blindly believing many things in society. We cannot ask questions. To think on our own is a rarity, he says.

As much as slavery is heinous, enjoying slavery is more heinous. He narrates an incident that happened in Bastin, France. They held prisoners there for thousands of years. Humans don't live so long. Correct. They held prisoners there for many years. Those who went to jail at the age of 20 served many decades in jail and got out at an old age. They were chained in dark rooms.

A movement started to release these jailers. Eventually, the visionaries released the prisoners. An astounding incident occurred on the day of the release. He says it's an important incident in the history of mankind. On the same evening, half of the prisoners went back to the jail. Because they had got used to being chained up in the dark. They'd been used to being slaves. When they got freedom, they didn't know what to do. They didn't know what they had to do out in the open world so half of them went back to the jail, he says.

The same is happening even today. Maybe we were physically slaves then; now we have become mental slaves. But we enjoy the slavery, he points out.

Beyond the questions you ask Google, we have unanswered questions in our lives. For this, follow a scripture or follow a religious leader of your choice. Or any other leader for that matter. Even Osho. Instead of following them, live with the question. The answer will be revealed to you. It doesn't have to be a yes or no.

Does God exist or not? If you have that question, don't consent to a sacred scripture, don't accept what those so-and-sos say. Don't buy what you read somewhere. What do you feel inside? You have to listen to that. You don't need to get a Yes/No answer. It can be a feeling. But you have to be patient for it to come.

If you want to know what's there and what's missing in your life, just stay put with the question. You might get the answer or might not. But don't take others' answers. Whatever it's about and whoever's glorifying it, see the truth for yourself. Don't believe what you hear, he says.

Another thing he says is the reason why we do good deeds is we are doing a lot of bad deeds. To balance the bad, we assume we'll get a way out if we do good deeds. Let's ask in prayer for forgiveness. Or if we perform a puja. Or a. What's that called? Remedial puja.

If you do all this, everything will be taken care of. Instead of thinking this way, like we've washed our sins. What he says is this is a wrong idea. To cleanse your sins, you have to first analyze them. Why did I get angry? Or why did I make this mistake? You have to first ask questions. It should lead to a permanent change inside yourself. Or you'll end up comforting yourself in your faith, says Osho.

"I can't take this. I won't listen to him. How can I accept his remarks on God, Et cetera, Et cetera?" But he's not saying God doesn't exist and even if he says so, don't believe him. "I didn't say God exists," he says.

Even if I say so myself, don't believe it. How do you feel towards God? Do you really think He exists? Live with this question. Someday you will find the answer. But while you are living with the question, if you wish to do something good to me and you wish to cleanse your sins, go ahead and like, share this video, and write comments. And don't forget to subscribe to TheBookShow.

If you wish to buy and read 'The Independent Mind' written by Osho, you'll find below a link for the same. Click on it, buy and read it. If you don't want to read this book, it's okay! We aren't going to force you. And you can follow me, RJ Ananthi on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Or perhaps not. You can follow TheBookshow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Or perhaps not.

If you don't want to see me and just hear my voice, I have a podcast for which I'll leave the link in the description. On Goodreads, you can find philosophical books like these and comedy books that make you laugh uproariously and even scary, creepy books. And many more. I post regular updates on Goodreads like what I am reading, what I've completed reading, and what I wish to read. There's a link to that too. And you can check me out there."

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