270 From back of the Book This is the book where Osho talks about himself – not as a man, not even as a mystic, but as a manifestation of existence itself. I am the gate is not only a timeless classic but also a wonderful introduction to Osho’s vision and a loving invitation to begin the inner journey. Here are eight talks to push the reader over the edge of the intellect into the mysterious, the transcendental, the esoteric…and the profoundly practical. “So when you ask, ‘Who are you?’ I say, ‘I am consciousness.’ And this answer is all – everything is consciousness. I answer only as a representative of all. You may not yet have heard that you are consciousness; you may not have come to know that you are consciousness, but I am answering even for you. Consciousness exists.” From the Jacket “Open some doors, break open some spaces, make some windows, jump outside of your mind, your past. And then, then it is not only that you will know, but you will live.” “If you are in the present for even a single moment, you have known. You have encountered and you will never be able to lose the track again.” Preface Love. You write me that without me you cannot pass through the gate and with me you will not pass through the gate. I know that! But you need not do either. You need not pass through the gate with me or not with me, because I am the gate. I am no – one, so how can you be with me or not with me? And only one who is no one can be the gate. The gate means the emptiness because the gate is nothing but the space to pass through. Pass through me – not with me &n
Author
Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain, 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990) and latter rebranded as Osho was leader of the Rajneesh movement. During his lifetime he was viewed as a controversial new religious movement leader and mystic. In the 1960s he traveled throughout India as a public speaker and was a vocal critic of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, and Hindu religious orthodoxy. Rajneesh emphasized the importance of meditation, mindfulness, love, celebration, courage, creativity and humor—qualities that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to static belief systems, religious tradition and socialization. In advocating a more open attitude to human sexuality he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex guru". In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as "neo-sannyasins". During this period he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974 Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back taxes claim estimated at $5 million. In 1981, the Rajneesh movement's efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. Almost immediately the movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success. In 1985, in the wake of a series of serious crimes by his followers, including a mass food poisoning attack with Salmonella bacteria and an aborted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner, Rajneesh alleged that his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters had been responsible. He was later deported from the United States in accordance with an Alford plea bargain.[ After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. He ultimately returned to India and a revived Pune ashram, where he died in 1990. Rajneesh's ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the Zurich registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Rajneesh's teachings have had a notable impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity has increased markedly since his death.
