Tantra for idiots
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This book is a very simple but thorough and excellent introduction to Tantra. If you would like to find yourself, and inner peace, you may find this book a great first step. All of the techniques you may need are clearly explained in it. At times I even noticed a blue aura around the book while I read it! At first I was cynical about Osho, because he has been the victim of many character assassinations and many have taken his teachings out of context to fuel sex-crazed business ventures. Having read the book, I would recommend that anybody who doubts him read it before forming any opinions of him.
The book contains some technical and religious/political inaccuracies. I would therefore class it as neo-tantra rather than authentic tantra. nevertheless, it is a great tool and should not be underestimated.
V
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I was pleasantly surprised
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I found this book after a period of immersing myself in Buddhist literature. It surprised me that I'd already come across the 112 instructions given by Shiva in the last few pages of 'Zen Flesh, Zen Bones', compiled by Paul Reps. At the time, I paid them virtually no attention, becuase they are given as brief (sometimes fragmentary) sentences with no words of explanation, and coming at the end of the book, seem almost like an appendix. With Osho, things take a very different turn. The same 112 techniques are set forth, but this time with copious amounts of accompanying text. And that is no bad thing, because the instructions are often elliptical, until they have been explained. Once you understand what is being sought after, they are simply concise. Two, three or four techniques are dealt with in a chapter, with specific guidance given on how to practice the techniques, and also a discussion of the underlying principles which are being used. Each technique chapter is followed by a lecture style discussion of issues arising from the practice of the techniques. For example, sutra 25 says 'Just as you have the impulse to do something, stop'. This is then discussed in detail. In the following chapter related questions are posed (as if by a student), such as 'If there is unawareness during an authentic impulse, how to stop?' And so on for all the sutras. I find Osho's style completely absorbing. Sometimes it reads quite simplistically, but the depth of understanding is immense and this book will challenge your views on many things, and is all the more rewarding because he as such a sense of lightness and is genuinely trying to help you become yourself, and not what others might want you to be. Those people looking for answers as to what is right and wrong may need to try elsewhere. Osho's goal is to bring you to an awakening of consciousness, so that change may happen of itself and not through suppression or effort. Osho uses many lines of thought in his work, and frequently quotes from religious texts or people (most often the eastern traditions) to either support or contrast his own narrative. He is keen to affirm, however, that he is teaching 'science' and not 'religion' - the latter serves only to demonstrate what becomes of those who have discovered their authentic self. Best of all, you can read as much or as little at a time - the themes reccur to some degree, but highlighted differently each time. Once you have found a technique which seems to have an effect on you, Osho simply advises you to play with it for a few days. If you like it, take that one technique and stay with it (and no others!) for three months. That's all. I challenge anyone not to learn something from this book. And for some of you, life will never be quite the same...
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A fantastic guide to you, senses you never knew existed
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Written in a teacher to pupil style, Osho really has a great way of evolving mind, body and soul. Nobody is right nor wrong, you are not told what to believe, but simply given techniques that enhance your beliefs and appreciation for life. I personally found the book very deep at the start, a little difficult to get my mind around the format in which it is written. Once I started reading it in it's correct context(teacher-pupil) everything started to become clearer. I have not read the entire book yet, I think it will probably take me another 10 years. I have selected 4 sutras that work for me, I am now mastering those before reading on. Absolutely fantastic book, one that lasts more than a lifetime.
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Enlightening
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I don't know this man, Osho, but from reading his book is seems he must be a Buddha (an extremely intelligent, perceptive, and playful Buddha). Beautiful insights into life, the universe and everything (from man's perspective, anyway), delivered in powerfully prophetic prose. He also has a great inclusiveness, drawing illustrations freely from the all the world's great (and many, many lesser) religious traditions. Osho is prolific, if nothing else; but I've not yet hit a weak spot in this 800+ page tome. I read a bit, randomly, every night before bed . . . religiously?
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A Quantum Leap in Human Consciousness
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I have read The Book of the Secrets several times. These discourses of the Enlightened Mystic Osho are a real treasure. These 112 Tantra techniques are very poweful tools of transformation. First, just the reading transports you to a rarified realm of consciousness. I relish them again and again and find new meanings each time. To me, this is undoubtedly the Book Of The Millennium and a quantum leap in human consciousness. Chaitanya Keerti
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