I AM is the Gate

 

 

All the other disciples kept quiet, only Thomas asked. And because of these small gestures, Thomas became more and more close, intimate to Jesus.

 LORD, WE KNOW NOT WHITHER THOU GOEST; AND HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?

 JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.

 This statement is of immense importance, and has been tremendously misunderstood by Christians, misinterpreted. This statement has become a protection for the priest, for the dogmatist, for the demagogue. Christians have taken it to mean that nobody ever comes to God unless he comes through Christ -- that means Jesus, son of Mariam. Nobody comes to God unless he comes through Jesus. They have meant, or they have interpreted it in such a way, that Christianity becomes the only right religion. All other religions become wrong. All other religions are against God -- only Christianity.

 JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.

 What does he mean? These priests and the missionaries and the Christians who go on converting the whole world to Christianity, are they right? Is their interpretation right? Or has Jesus something else? He has something UTTERLY else.

 In the Bhagavad Gita also there is a statement which Hindus go on misinterpreting. Krishna has said to Arjuna... And almost the same quality of closeness existed between Arjuna and Krishna as between Jesus and Thomas -- the same relationship. And the same flowering had happened, and the same statement had bubbled up out of that relationship. Krishna said to Arjuna: SARVA DHARMAN PARITYAJYA MAMEKAM SHARANAM VRAJA: Drop all religions, forget about all religions and come to my feet, because it is only through me that one reaches to God.

 Now Hindus are happy with this statement. Krishna has said so clearly: Forget all religions. Drop all kinds of other religions and hold unto me. Hold to my feet -- MAMEKAM SHARANAM VRAJA. Come to my feet; they are the bridges to God -- the only bridges.

 Both statements happened in the same kind of situation. Arjuna must have been very very close when Krishna said this. And so is the case with Thomas -- he must have been very close. Christ must have been showering like flowers on Thomas when he said this. You will need that loving understanding of a Thomas, only then will you be able to understand the meaning of this. You will need that loving intimacy of an Arjuna, only then will you be able to understand the statement of Krishna. Both are the same, both mean the same -- and both have been misinterpreted.

 The misinterpretation comes from the priest and the politician -- those who try to convert religion into organisational, political strategies.

 JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY...

 I AM... That has to be understood. It does not mean Jesus, it simply means the inner consciousness: 'I am' -- the inner life. This consciousness inside you, which you call 'I am', this 'I am' is the only way. If you can understand this 'I am', what it is, what this consciousness is, you have found the way. It has nothing to do with Jesus, it has nothing to do with Krishna. When I say to you 'I am the gate' it has nothing to do with me! That I AM is the gate. The gate is within you, the way is within you, the truth is within you. You have to understand who this is calling himself 'I am' within you, what this consciousness is, what it consists of.

 If you can go into your consciousness, if you can feel, see, realise the nature of your consciousness, that is the way. Meditation is the way -- not Christ, not Krishna, nor Mohammed. Who am I? -- this question will become the way.

 Raman Maharshi is right when he says that only one question is relevant: Who am I? Go on asking this question, let this question become a fire in you. Be aflame with it! Let every cell of your body and your being, and every fibre of your existence pulsate, vibrate with it. And let this question arise from the deepest core: Who am I? And go on asking; don't accept any answer that is given by the mind. You have been reading the Upanishads, and in the Upanishads they say 'You are God'. And your mind will say 'Why are you asking again and again? I know the answer: You are God. And keep quiet!' Or if you are a Christian and have been reading the Bible again and again, you know: The kingdom of God is within you. So, 'Who am I?' -- 'The kingdom of God. Now keep quiet!'

 No answer from the head has to be accepted. No answer from the.memory has to be accepted. No answer from knowledge has to be accepted. All answers have to be thrown in the whirlwind of the question 'Who am I?' A moment comes when all answers have gone and ONLY the question remains, alone like a pillar of fire. You are afire with it! You are just a thirst, a passionate quest: 'Who am l?' When the question has burned all the answers, then the question burns.itself too, it consumes itself. And once the question has also disappeared, there is silence. That silence is the answer. And that is the door, the gate, the way, the truth.

 Please be careful. When Jesus says I AM THE WAY, he means the one who calls himself I AM within you is the way. It has nothing to do with Jesus. Just by holding the feet of Jesus you are not going to go anywhere. Just by praying to Jesus you are not going to go anywhere. Listen to what he is saying.

 Each Master throws you back to yourself, because ultimately God is hidden in you as much as in the Master. You are carrying your light within yourself. You just have to turn back, you have to look inwards.

 I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH...

 Yes. In your very consciousness is the truth. When you become fully conscious you become the full truth. When you are absolutely conscious, it is not that you face truth as an object, you ARE the truth, it is your subjectivity, it is you. That's what Upanishads say: TATWAMASI: Thou art that.

 ... AND THE LIFE...

 Three things Jesus says: It is the life -- I AM, consciousness, awareness. This is life -- the life that you know, the ordinary life. Then the second: I AM THE WAY -- the way that joins the ordinary life with the extraordinary life, the way that joins Adam with Christ, the way that joins body with soul. And the third thing: I AM THE TRUTH. Jesus has said all the three things.

 You are that right now, because I AM THE LIFE. And you have the way too, hidden behind you, within you: I AM THE WAY. And you are the ultimate goal too, the destiny. You are the beginning and the middle and the end. You are Adam, Jesus and Christ.

 ... NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME.

 No man has ever entered into God unless he has entered into his consciousness, until he has entered into his 'I am'-ness. This is the meaning. This is the meaning of Krishna, and this is the meaning of Christ. This is the meaning of all the Masters.

 IF YE HAD KNOWN ME, YE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER ALSO: AND FROM HENCEFORTH YE KNOW HIM, AND HAVE SEEN HIM.

 A tremendously important statement. And within the single statement there comes a revolution. Meditate very very silently over it.

 IF YE HAD KNOWN ME...

 Jesus is saying to Thomas

 IF YE HAD KNOWN ME, YE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER ALSO...

 Because I and my Father are one.

 While Jesus is saying IF YE HAD KNOWN ME. YE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER ALSO, something has changed in Thomas' being. While Jesus is saying this... And you know, when I say some things to you something goes on changing in you. Sometimes you are very very close to truth. Sometimes a single word hits you deep, shatters something; something changes. A radical change can happen sometimes. It happens all the time. That is the whole purpose of being in the presence of a Master. When Jesus was saying -- he has not even completed the statement... The statement was half, but Thomas has changed, so he has to change his statement. This is why I say this is such a beautiful statement.

 IF YE HAD KNOWN ME...

 There was an 'if' in it because Thomas was hesitant. IF YE HAD KNOWN ME, YE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER ALSO. But when he made this statement, there was a radical transformation in Thomas' consciousness; he turned inwards, he was converted -- METANOIA And Jesus has to change his statement.

 And he said

 ... AND FROM HENCEFORTH YE KNOW HIM, AND HAVE SEEN HIM.

 The 'if' has disappeared, because the 'if' has disappeared in Thomas. You know the phrase 'doubting Thomas'? That comes from Jesus' disciple Thomas. He used to doubt. But he was very innocent. If doubt was there, it was there; he would not hide it. But in this moment 'doubting Thomas' is no more 'doubting Thomas': doubt has disappeared.

 Jesus had started with 'if' because the doubt was there. Thomas was hesitant, Thomas was not agreeing, he was saying 'Okay, but it doesn't appeal to me. You say that you are the truth? Maybe, but I am not convinced. You say that you are the way? I hope that it is true, but it has yet no validity in my being.' Maybe not in so many words -- that is not the question -- but there was a lurking doubt. Jesus has to use 'if'. Once he saw that lurking doubt has disappeared under the impact of Jesus' great statement...

 In India we call such statements MAHAVAKYAS -- great statements. There are very few in the whole history of human consciousness. This is one of the great statements, a MAHAVAKYA. Jesus must have seen that the doubt has suddenly disappeared. The shadow of doubt is not there. Thomas has become trust. Something is transformed. Thomas is no more the old Thomas; a new being is born, a new man is born. He had to change his statement in the middle of it, because a Master responds to the disciple. A Master is a response. A Master is a mirror.

 ... AND FROM HENCEFORTH YE KNOW HIM...

 Now there is no 'if'. Jesus says FROM HENCEFORTH -- 'from now onwards you know him; and you have seen him because you have seen me, because I and my Father are not two. I represent him, I am just a reflection of him, an 'echo.'

 I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS: I WILL COME TO YOU. YET A LITTLE WHILE, AND THE WORLD SEETH ME NO MORE...

 Listen. Jesus says

 YET A LITTLE WHILE...

 Only a few hours are left

 ... AND THE WORLD SEETH ME NO MORE...

 and the world will not be able to see me

 BUT YE SEE ME: BECAUSE I LIVE, YE SHALL LIVE ALSO.

 Jesus says 'Just a few hours more and I will disappear for the world, but for you Thomas, never! FOR YOU, never -- because you have seen my reality which cannot be crucified. You have seen my truth which is immortal. The body will be crucified -- a little while more and the body will disappear, the world will not be able to see me any more, because the world recognises me only as the body. But you will see me still, because you have seen my luminosity, you have seen my eternity, you have seen the non-temporal being, you have seen my truth. Thomas you will go on seeing me. For you I will never disappear.'

 Love has eyes, trust has eyes to see the invisible. Only trust can penetrate deer enough to see the deathless. Only love can give you a glimpse of that which is beyond time.

 YET A LITTLE WHILE, AND THE WORLD SEETH ME NO MORE...

 'Be happy Thomas, you are blessed, you will continue to see me.'

 ... BUT YE SEE ME: BECAUSE I LIVE, YE SHALL LIVE ALSO.

 And in this moment let this seed be sown in you that when I am going to live -- even after the crucifixion, even when my body is destroyed -- if I am going to live, you will also live! Let this trust be born in you too. It is not that only I who will live... It is nothing special to me; everybody's soul is immortal. If you can see my body disappearing and yet you can go on seeing me, let that become a new understanding in you that you will also live even when you have died.

 Death is only of the garments, death is only of the covering. The innermost core goes on living. It is life itself. How can it die? How can life die? Life goes on changing its abodes, true; one house becomes rotten, old, dilapidated, a ruin, and you have to leave it to find another home. Your house is just a nest, an overnight stay.

 YET A LITTLE WHILE, AND THE WORLD SEETH ME NO MORE; BUT YE SEE ME; BECAUSE I LIVE, YE SHALL LIVE ALSO.

 That is where the secret of resurrection is. There are no proofs -- no proofs as far as the world is concerned; but there are proofs as far as the disciples are concerned. Jesus died as the body but remained as the soul for those who had trust in him, who had seen his true reality, who had seen his true being.

 AT THAT DAY YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YE IN ME, AND I IN YOU.

 Jesus says 'We are all intertwined, because we are all one.' I AM MY FATHER, AND YE IN ME, AND I IN YOU. He is saying 'Thomas, you don't know God, but you know me. I know God, you know me. I know that I am in my God, and you know that you are in me, because your love has made you part of me. And I tell you that I am in you. Hence, we are all in God, and God is in us all. We are all intertwined.'

 The disciple only knows the Master, the Master knows God. The disciple loves the Master and by and by gets dissolved into the Master. The Master is dissolved into God. Through the Master the disciple is also joined with God. The Master goes on pouring himself into the disciple, and because the Master has become one with God, so God goes on pouring into the disciple in a very very indirect way. This is the real trinity: the disciple, the Master and God. And they go on pouring into each other. The disciple is not aware of what is happening.

 When I touch you, do you think I touch you? God has touched you. If I am in God, then when I touch you, God has touched you. But to you it remains the Master's touch. The deeper your understanding goes, the deeper you will be able to see that the Master is just instrumental -- a flute through which God's song goes on flowing.

 AT THAT DAY YE SHALL KNOW...

 Jesus says 'At the ultimate day of meeting when you will become enlightened, when you will also become a Christ...'

 AT THAT DAY YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YE IN ME, AND I IN YOU.

 PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU, MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU: NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH, GIVE I UNTO YOU.

 because I am pouring my peace into you, and I am pouring it unconditionally, not as the world does.' In the world nobody gives you anything unconditionally; in the world everything is a bargain. Even if people give love to you, they give only to get; it is a bargain.

 PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU. .

 Jesus says 'Don't be worried. I will be gone, but my peace will linger around you, will surround you. And whenever you remember me you will find peace showering on you. My peace will remain available to you.' To the trusting heart it is always available.

 PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU, MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU: NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH, GIVE I UNTO YOU.

 Not like in the world where everything is given to get something. Jesus is simply giving. There is no bargain.

 The Master only gives -- but not to get anything. What can the disciple give to the Master? It is a one-way traffic. The Master goes on pouring. But that does not mean that he obliges you, because he knows God is pouring into him. What can he do with it? All that comes through God he has to share. With God there is no bargaining, it is pure gift.

 PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU, MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU: NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH, GIVE I UNTO YOU. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT HE AFRAID

 YE HAVE HEARD HOW I SAID UNTO YOU, I GO AWAY, AND COME AGAIN UNTO YOU. IF YE LOVED ME, YE WOULD REJOICE, BECAUSE I SAID, I GO UNTO THE FATHER: FOR MY FATHER IS GREATER THAN I.

 Jesus says IF YE LOVED ME, YE WOULD REJOICE... Love knows no death. Love never comes across death. For love death exists not.

 So Jesus says 'If you trust, if you love...' This statement must have been made to all the disciples not to Thomas alone, because the 'if' has entered again.

 These are subtle points to be understood. Nothing is mentioned in the Bible about who he is speaking to now, but the 'if' has entered again. To Thomas he has said 'From henceforth you have seen God because you have seen me.' Now he says IF YE LOVED ME, YE WOULD REJOICE... He must have turned to the other disciples, he must be saying to them all 'If you love me, then there is no death. Then I will be crucified and you will still see me resurrected in the divine body. You will see me going into God, disappearing into God. I am going to meet the ultimate. Your Master is going to meet the ultimate, you should rejoice. Let this be a celebration, a festival, a rejoicing.'

 YE HAVE HEARD HOW I SAID UNTO YOU, I GO AWAY, AND COME AGAIN UNTO YOU.

 'But I will come again and again, whenever you call, whenever you need. Whenever your heart will be in prayer without doubt, you will find me close by.'

 IF YE LOVED ME, YE WOULD REJOICE, BECAUSE I SAID, I GO UNTO THE FATHER...

 'So there is no question of being miserable, sad. I am not going to die, I am going to the divine.'

 To the ignorant, death is the death of life. To the knower, death is the beginning of real life. To the knower, death is a door into the divine.

 This his parting message is of immense value. Let it sink deep in you. Let it become your heartbeat. That is the only way to meditate upon it. That is the only way to come to its meaning. Forget all that Christians have been saying. Those dogmatic assertions are all chauvinistic. Forget what the theologians have put on top of Jesus' pure statements. Put aside all that has been taught and go directly into these sayings, and meditate. And immense will be the benefit. You will be blessed.

 

-Osho, "I Say Unto You, Vol. 2., #9"