Marcel Armstrong

The Master Speaks

Revisado: 12-21-22

This is one of the few Osho discourses I have on Audible, Kindle, and in paperback.


I prefer to listen to Osho speak. There is a palpable energy transmission in his spoken word that the transcribed books fail to capture. 


Nevertheless, Osho’s wisdom is profound. I keep the Kindle version of this title to save highlights and to share them with loved ones.


And ultimately, I have the paperback version, just to have something tangible and to be able to share with others whom may appreciate it.


Now, as far as this discourse goes, it it structured like most of his discourses from the early days in Pune. This one was given in 1977. There are 10 sessions, talks, satsangs - whatever you'd like to call them. They alternate between commentaries on sutras from 'The Royal Song of Saraha' and Q&A's from sannyasins and others listening to him. 


Osho has a unique style in giving commentary on these ancient sutras. He usually gives a warm-up talk filled with analogy and metaphor before going into the sutras line by line. 


Osho was a University professor for many years, and one can see how his time lecturing has influenced these masterful talks. 


In his Q&A's Osho employs unique tactics and devices to deconstruct each question brilliantly.


Otherwise, it doesn't matter whether he speaks on Tantra, Tao, Zen, or any tradition, Osho infuses his direct experience onto these ancient sutras and paths bringing them to life with a clarity and freshness unlike any other. 


Osho's talks were really devices to give the listener a taste of his inner silence and meditation - for those with the ears to hear and eyes to see.


I have been studying Osho for over 20 years, ever since I was first introduced to meditation. He was not only an intellectual giant, but also a mystic of Himalayan heights - a combination rarely seen in human history.


Osho’s emphasis was on individual transformation. As such, he used many different methods and techniques to help people to grow to their fullest potential in awareness. He is not to be taken literally in whatever he says in these discourses. This is one mistake many people make. In one chapter of 'The Tantra Experience,' Osho says that one day he will say "plus one" in his talks and another day he will say "minus one" - metaphorically speaking. The net result is zero, bringing the listener back to emptiness. That is why it is impossible to quote Osho on anything, because he always contradicted it sometime later. His reason was so that no one could make an ideology or religion out of him after he was gone.


Nevertheless, there are some points Osho was consistent on: his life-affirming messages on love, meditation, celebration, playfulness and non-seriousness are sewn as threads throughout his teachings. 


Osho is not for everyone. Whatever one finds from him is what one is meant to find. In 'The Tantra Experience' one will find Osho at his best: brilliant, profound, deep, funny, and alchemical. Either he will transform you or he won't. But either way, the master is at work. Another 5 stars for Osho on this one.

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Words pointing to the wordless

Revisado: 07-29-22

All masters or spiritual teachers are unique, but Osho was in a class by himself. Given the context of the time of this talk, Osho was clearly ahead of his time. No master was as thoroughly versed and understanding of the various spiritual traditions as Osho. Whether he speaks on Sufism, Tantra, Tao, Zen or any of the wisdom traditions - the aim is that he speaks. It is not only the words that are captured in these talks, but also the silence of a living master (at that time). Osho says in Chapter 9 that the function of a master is to seduce you through words into taking a jump into the wordless - into no-mind, into meditation. And that is exactly what Osho does in this talk and in all his talks for that matter.

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Another Osho Talk

Revisado: 04-13-21

Osho talks so the listener can be silent. All his talks are really a device to give one a taste of meditation. It doesn't matter if Osho is explaining a sutra or responding to a question. Osho is utterly here and now and he speaks to bring you into the present.

There is a line from this series of talks that stays with me. He says, "the Truth cannot be said, but it can be whistled." And everyday Osho goes on whistling a different tune, but the same song, in hopes that you will hear it.

If you hear it, you can listen endlessly. You are listening to Osho; you are listening to yourself; you are listening to the song of Existence itself - the song of that eternal silence, pulsating timelessly in the Here & Now. This is meditation. Another Osho talk.

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The Master at Work

Revisado: 12-16-20

Osho is not only a gifted speaker, he is a master psychologist, an intellectual genius, poet, and buddha, among many other things. In fact, what may describe him best is no-thing or his no-thingness. Osho's talks are all play; he is having fun. But at the same time he is performing a spiritual alchemy on his listeners. Osho uses many devices, or techniques, to engage the mind, while simultaneously deconstructing it. Osho takes his listeners on a journey wherever they are into the HereNow. Through masterful explanations of 5 Zen parables, diametric dissection and annihilation of questions from his audience with amusing anecdotes and jokes woven throughout,  Osho's style is a thing of beauty - or better yet no-thing - for at the core of all his talks lies a palpable silence. This is the silence of the buddhas, shared in words. Between and behind all his words is a deep emptiness, which is his real message. Yet this emptiness is also a fullness - a fullness of consciousness or awareness. It is indeed a paradox. But life is full of paradoxes, especially when it comes to spiritual truth. Semantics aside, these 10 talks are given in Poona in Osho's prime and are some of his finest.

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Deep and Funny

Revisado: 11-24-20

The deepest moments of these talks are in the beginning of chapter 1. The essence of the Mandukya Upanishad is summed up rather quickly and beautifully. Otherwise Osho cracks a lot of jokes and talks a lot of smack in classic Osho fashion - although he has taken more liberty to do so in this series. However, if one is listening meditatively, this talk is just as good as any other. Osho's silence is shared in his words no matter what he says. Enjoy.

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More Than a Talk

Revisado: 07-26-19

In these 28 talks, given to an audience of sannyasins and seekers during his Poona One days, Osho does what he does best: sell enlightenment. With a combination of commentary on Atisha's Seven Points of Mind Training as well as Q&A sessions from his sannyasins, Osho not only brings Atisha's wisdom to life but also infuses it with his own tremendous clarity in classic Osho-fashion. 

Osho's vision is all-encompassing. He embraces all of the Masters and Mystics from the past in an effort to cast a wide net to pull his audience in. He is no different with Atisha. After illuminating sutras from Atisha, Osho then deconstructs questions from his listeners in a systematic logical fashion with a touch of poetry as well. This style is pure genius and mystic insight interwoven in one.

On a deeper level, Osho is performing spiritual alchemy on his listeners. He speaks so the listener can become quiet. For those who are sensitive enough, there is an energy-transmission taking place. Osho's words come from a deep place of silence within his own Being and this silence can be transformative. In truth, these talks are more of a Satsang (being with truth). Osho takes the listener on a pilgrimage - from mind to no-mind, from ego to Being. Not only are these talks engaging for the mind, but they keep the listener in tune for long enough to become attuned to the silence of the Master - the silence of Atisha, the silence of Osho, the same eternal silence of all those who have ever known. This is the true function of a Buddha.

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A Sheer Joy

Revisado: 04-12-19

Russell Brand is gifted on many levels. He is clearly a genius with the verbal fluency and eloquence to match his unique insights and candor. This audiobook is sheer poetry; I could listen indefinitely.

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Highly Relevant

Revisado: 02-12-19

Louise Hay is a remarkable woman with a remarkable message: You can heal your life. And she lived her message. Louise covers many of the ways we sabotage ourselves and the origins of this behavior. She also goes in-depth on the ways to heal ourselves: mainly through self-love and approval. In a society that fundamentally hasn't changed much since the time this book was written in 1984, this book is as relevant now as it was then.

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Powerful, Life Changing Messages

Revisado: 02-06-19

In this 90 minute spontaneous talk, Dr. Wayne Dyer goes over some of the major erroneous zones from his book. Note: this is not an actual reading of the book. Nevertheless, this talk is powerful. Dyer's profound knowledge and positivity shine through every second of this audiobook. He covers self-doubt, approval-seeking, attachment to the past, guilt, worry, fear of the unknown, justice-seeking, procrastination, anger, and leaving the nest. This talk will leave you inspired and is a great companion to the actual book. You may find it rewarding to listen to this talk over and over. Dyer covers a lot of ground very quickly. Plus, it takes time and repeated effort to change life-long self-defeating habits of your erroneous zones.

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Pure Poetry

Revisado: 04-09-18

Listening to Osho is listening to poetry. It is a sheer joy. The way he interrelates and marries opposite forces in this dualistic universe is a work of art. At once a genius in the learned scholarly realm of information and a mystic of the deepest existential mysteries, Osho himself is a marriage of dualities which makes him so appealing to people of all ages and backgrounds. His work will continue to arouse and inspire people for centuries. So long as there is an interest in knowing, whether in the higher intellectual pursuits of the outside world, or the inner workings of the soul, Osho has a way of capturing one's attention and fascination. What he does from there is the work of a true Master. What he gives you with one hand, he takes away with the other. By and by listening to Osho, he leaves you utterly naked, standing on nothing but your own innermost emptiness - the true function of a buddha. 5 stars for Osho!

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