Ramakrishna said, “Remember those tall trees. All the sins are sitting there, waiting for you to come out. Then they jump on you, and this is my experience: sometimes even other people’s sins which are left sitting…because once in a while a person takes a dip and dies. Now where his sins will go? They will wait on the trees for some other idiot and will immediately jump on you. So rather than depending on the Ganges, just take a dip here. And remember: by taking a dip you cannot get rid of your sins.”
The word sin is very significant. Christianity has corrupted it. Originally it meant ‘forgetfulness’. According to me, except for forgetfulness there is no other sin: and except for awareness there is no virtue. And if you are aware, there are no sins, no problems; nothing has to be solved, everything is exactly as it should be.
Can’t you feel this holy Ganges of silence you are all drowned in? But when you get out of Buddha Hall, be very careful. Don’t let your old mind and your old self take possession of you. It is waiting there, just by the side of the bamboos. I have placed bamboos around Buddha Hall, so that your problems, your sins can have a resting place.
Avoid! Let them rest there, they cannot do any harm to the bamboos – particularly to the bamboos – because bamboos are so hollow; they will get lost in the hollowness of the bamboos. Meanwhile you escape to your inner room.
The bamboos are asking for a few laughs. Even the clouds are not silent. A few laughs before we enter into our daily meditation.
A New Age musician from California is convinced that wild animals have a friendly, loving nature, which will respond to beautiful music.
To test his theory, he goes to the African jungle, finds a clearing in the forest, and starts to softly play his guitar. Within minutes, from out of the jungle, animals of all shapes and sizes begin to appear. Monkeys, snakes, giraffes, zebras, lions, and hippos, all are sitting together in the clearing, enchanted by the soft music.
Suddenly, there is a banging and crashing in the bushes and an old crocodile comes lumbering out of the forest. He stops, looks at the guy, opens his huge jaws, and – snap – swallows the poor musician in one bite. The other animals are furious.
“Look here, you idiot,” roars the lion. “We were enjoying that!”
The crocodile looks at him blankly, puts a hand to his ear and says, “What?”
At the Russian Intercontinental Nuclear Missile Control Center, a drunken soldier is dusting the missile control panel.
Suddenly an enraged Russian general comes puffing and panting into the room.
“What are you doing, you son-of-a-bitch?” he shouts.
“I am dusting the control panel,” hiccups the soldier drunkenly.
“Okay,” snaps the general, “then where the hell has England gone?”