All Eastern scriptures begin with Om, shantih shantih shantih and they also end with the same.

Om is the symbol of the universal heartbeat; it is not a word. And as you come closer and closer to the universal heartbeat, the by-product is a deepening silence. Shantih means silence and it is always repeated three times because by the time you reach to the fourth, you are no more – just the silence has remained. You have disappeared as an entity separate from the universe.

The end and the beginning are the same.
That's why the Eastern scriptures begin with the declaration, Om – the sound of the soundless, the very music of the heart of the universe. And as they go deeper, silence becomes the only reality. They want to declare silence to the world, but nobody has been able to go beyond the third because each time they say silence, it becomes more of a whisper.

Silence is the beginning and silence is the end, and if you are a meditator, silence is the middle.

Silence is the whole fabric of existence.

This is not a hypothesis, nor is it a philosophical idea. It is the experience of thousands of mystics who have entered into their own being. First they have heard Om, and as the Om becomes overwhelming, silence follows. We are made of sound and silence.

Sound is our mind and silence is our being.

Sound is our trouble and silence is our liberation.

Introduction

In This book Osho Rajneesh clarifies in a new and expanded way His world vision. It is an unsettling reminder of how far we haven't come as a humanity which continues to declare itself as civilized.

"If all the crimes that have been committed in the world are counted, then you will be surprised that all the religions are the fundamental causes of those crimes. They teach love and they practice hate. They teach oneness and they practice discrimination. The religious history of man is so mean, so ugly, that to be part of any religion is to prove that you are retarded."

It is easy to see why Osho Rajneesh has been continuously harassed by the world's governments and their so-called leaders-He is designing them out of the future. As He meticulously describes the potential of the New Man, almost literally a new species, perfected by genetic engineering, living without nations or religious organizations. And taught the ways of love, openness, sincerity and friendship, the reasons for the existence of politicians and priesthoods of any kind cease to exist.

"You should not depend on scriptures dead and old, and you should not be dependent on saints – either dead or alive! You should be simply free in your awareness and let your own awareness respond to reality as it comes – and reality is continuously changing. The only important thing is to become absolutely alert and aware, and then whatever you do is right."

He paints images of how the child of the future will be raised, the role meditation will play in the child's life, and how it will prepare him to learn the mysteries of his body, his heart, and his sou7l. it is a love story about man's very own future and how a world academy of creative science, art and consciousness will be the vehicle to literally re-design man's existence.

"A totally new kind of education is needed in the world where fundamentally everybody is introduced into the silences of the heart – in other words, meditation."

The Master gives a rare and unexpected insight into His prolific use of humor as a teaching tool. He explains that there are two ways to get out of the ups and downs of joy and suffering. The easiest way is to develop the flame of awareness in times of joy and ecstasy. The more difficult way is to develop awareness in times of misery and suffering. So His humor creates an ambience which fosters awareness and helps it to grow.

"Look at life with more playful eyes. Don't be serious. Seriousness becomes like a blindness. Simply be a human being. Just a little sense of humor, a little laughter, a childlike innocence – and what have you got to lose?"

He clarifies something else in this book, something which has confused seekers throughout history. It is the age-old question of the head versus the heart, logical thought versus the "language of the heart." Shree Rajneesh says they are both the cause of misunderstanding. Even love, as we commonly know it, is just an emotion, and not real love. Real love, He says, is not a product of emotion. It is an expression of one's very being. And He indicates how to distinguish the real from the emotional substitute.

"You have to take your love out from the emotional grip where it has been since your birth, and you have to find a route to your being. Unless your love becomes part of your being, it is not much different from pain, suffering, sadness."

This funny, simple and practical book is a thoroughly modern handbook of wisdom and love. It measures the genuine pulse of life, the throbbing reality which we all live every day.

"The seed grows into a tree, blossoms, brings fruits and again seeds. In existence everything moves in a circle, the earth, the moon, the sun and faraway millions of stars… "Om, shantih shantih shantih."