While reading this book, one should keep in mind the context, the environment and the year when these discourses were given by Osho, who at the time was known as Acharya Rajneesh, which means a guide, a reacher. The first series of five discourses, which Osho named "Beware of Socialism" (Samajvad Se Savdhan), were given in 1970 to a live audience of thousands of people in the famous open-air venue of Cross Maidan in Mumbai, India. The second series of discourses, which Osho named "Socialism viz. Suicide" (Samajvad Arthat Atmaghat), were given in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, later on in the same year.
Even though Osho gave these discourses in 1970, more than fifty years ago, we believe that they are still relevant today for India and for the world at large, seeing the impact that destructive Marxist and Socialist ideologies still have on many people in many different countries across the world.
Given the political environment and the atmosphere that was prevalent in India in 1970, Osho showed great courage in standing up and speaking against socialism at a time when Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, and her government, were trying to implement socialist policies and socialist ideologies in the country. Later on, in 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed those policies and ideologies by force when she declared a State of Emergency, whereby individual freedom was severely curtailed and a massive crackdown on civil rights and political dissent was put in place in a typical leftist, socialist fashion.
This book shows how a mystic like Osho, who is known for being very articulate and free-flowing in his expression when he talks about meditation and Samadhi, a state of consciousness that is unknown to us ordinary people, can also easily move into the field of rationality and logical reasonings and talk about social issues, government policies, political ideologies, historical processes, scientific research and even issues related to taxation - which are some of the topics that Osho addressed in these discourses.
Osho is a mystic with a vast intellectual background that perhaps is not found in other mystics. Nevertheless, his approach is existential not ideological - and this is certainly another important point for the reader to keep in mind. Osho's insights and logical reasonings in regard to socialism as a political and economic system, have a totally different depth and flavour than the long-winded dissertations of ordinary intellectuals, sociologists and philosophers, because Osho looks at man from the perspective of man's inner being and his potential of evolving towards self-realization and enlightenment. Osho's approach is very down to earth and immediate, because his thought processes and his reasonings arise from his knowledge and experience of nature's processes and existence itself, not from the rigid axioms of an ideology, or from a social construct that supports the vested interests of a particular political class.
You will not be reading an essay on politics, sociology or philosophy.
These discourses are the outpourings of a mystic who experiences directly the things he talks about, without any ideological filters or preconceived ideas. Osho is not interested in creating new theories, new philosophies, new ideologies. He sees things as they are, hence he talks about things as they are, encouraging us to reflect on what he says and draw our own conclusions accordingly.
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