I hope the attachedtranscript might be useful to anyone who's ever tried to move on from asituation that's hindering theirself-advancement.

Although it relates to acharacter whose "fall from grace" was certainly spectacular andprecipitous, at the time this 'darshan' was given (1977), Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, aka "Osho", had(IMO) a fair amount of insight into certain aspects of the human condition.

(I left his organisationin 1980, and have no intention of returning).

Do have a read, and seeif it might help someone you know.

(from 10th August 1977)

Bhagwan: Hello,christopher! what about you?

Christopher: Ihave a question.

Bhagwan: Tellme.

Christopher: Iused to follow guru maharajji ...

Bhagwan: Mmmm.

Christopher: ...and I made a promise, I made a vow that I would follow him for the rest of mylife. That promise still meanssomething to me but I'd like to try your meditation.

Bhagwan: Thatvow will be standing as a barrier, because with me either you are with me ornot with me. You can try but itwill be just so-so ... it will not really be of much significance.

If you are feeling goodwith your vow and if you are growing, then there is no need to try. If you are feeling frustrated there,then one has to reconsider things, one has to have courage to reconsiderthings.

In fact the pastbinding, cannot be ultimately binding. If you find one day that you are not growing in a certain commitment -give it all that you can give but if you find that you are not growing, thatsomething is missing, that you don't fit or it does not fit with you - then onehas to be courageous enough to come out of it.

Life is more valuablethan your goal. And what does vowmean? It means that in a certainmoment you felt that you were going to be this way for your whole life, butthat is the feeling of a certain moment. It was true in that moment but who know about the next moment?

It is just like fallingin love with a woman: you say thatyou will be with her for your whole life or even if you have another life, youwould like to have her as your beloved again. And these are not false words, you are not pretending: youare true, you are authentically so. This is your feeling.

Mm? Just now one man took sannyas but thatwas not authentic. he was takingsannyas and thinking to drop it; it is meaningless. And I don't say that sannyas cannot be dropped, I don't saythat, but you should not carry that idea in the mind right now otherwise whatis the point of taking it?

When you are taking ityou will be totally in it and feeling that you are going to be with it for yourwhole life, but I don't say that one day a situation cannot arise where youfeel that you are no more growing;. Then it has to be dropped! And there is no breach, no betrayal; it simply show that in that momentyou go very very emotionally into it. But you have not grown and now you are feeling like a prisoner: if you remain with it your growthsuffers; if you get out of it, you feel guilty. But some decision has to be taken.

One day love happens,another day it disappears; what to do? What is one supposed to do? And of course you will remember your promises that you had given to thewoman but what can you do now? Youwere as helpless that time when you were in love as you are now to get out ofit. you have to get out of itotherwise it will be an ugly relationship: you will carry on without love. you will go on pretending that you lovethis woman because in the past you have promised.

Just the other day I wasreading a beautiful story ... AJew was very ill. He was a veryrich Jew but be had never contributed, never donated a single pai (penny). He was really on the death bed, and thedoctors told him that he could survive for three more days at the most.  They said "If you want to dosomething, do it; we cannot help you. Medicine has failed."

So just out ofdesperation the man called the rabbi and told him "If you pray for me andif I survive, I am going to give you fifty thousand dollars for the newsynagogue that you are going to build."

The rabbi prayedcontinuously day and night for the three days. Fifty thousand dollars! - and this man has not even given asingle pai to anybody ever! Theman survived. One month passes andthe rabbit tried diplomatically many times to remind him about those fiftythousand dollars, but he would not even listen! He would not even talk about it; he would avoid the subject.

Finally the rabbi was ata loss what to do. One day he saidfrankly, "Have you completely forgotten?! What about those fifty thousand dollars that you promisedfor the new synagogue: Now you areokay. The miracle happened - Iprayed three days, day in, day out. I didn't sleep."

The old Jew said,"What fifty thousand dollars? What are you talking about? Did I promise you? Thatsimply shows how ill I was, that's all. That simply shows how ill I was!".

There are moments whenone is so ill that one can say "Fifty thousand dollars!" There are moments when one can get intoit. I am not saying that it is wrongto get into things: that's how one live life.

But this ismeaningless. If you are beingfulfilled I am the last person to take you out of it. Simply go into it, escape from here; these people maydisturb you, you may get into some new thing;. just escape from here! If you are feeling fulfilled, if you are feeling you are growing, go andgrow with all my blessings. But ifyou are feeling that nothing has happened and you have been just a victim(christopher shakes his head in negation) then get out of it! No past can be binding.  Have the courage to get out of it.  you have

become wiser ...

When did youpromise? How many year ago?

Christopher: Mustbe four or five years ago.

Bhagwan: Fouror five years? That means you musthave become a little wiser, more understanding, more alert.  Just think of it in this way:  if you meet your so-called gurumaharajji for the first time today, are you going to take the vow?  Just think of it that way.  If you think that still you will takethe vow, then it's okay; then the vow is still valid. But if you think that if you meet him now you are not goingto be caught in it, then the vow is invalid. You follow me?

Christopher nods again and I reckon he was won over muchearlier on but can't get it together to say so yet.

It is simple, verysimple - and always let it be a criterion even with me: if you become a sannyasin and afterfive years you feel that now if you meet me you will not become a sannyasinthen drop it immediately! It isfinished! Never carry anythingthat you have outgrown, but if you feel that yes, you would still like tobecome a sannyasin, it is still alive. Then something is still possible, it is potential.  Then go into it, go with it.  Think about it.

But if you really wantto get into things here your vow will become a barrier. And I am not saying, not even hinting,that you break it. I am simplysaying: you have to be very alertabout what you are doing to your being. A vow cannot be binding; it cannot become an imprisonment for you - yourfreedom remains intact. It was outof your freedom that you took the vow. You are still free: you can take it back.

If you feel that you cangrow here, that you can grow here, that you would like to go into things here,then drop that. Yes, you will feela little disturbed - that too is childish; that too is a kind of guilt thatsociety creates in people.

The past is nomore! Live in the present anddon't think too much of the past because nothing is more valuable thanfreedom. Meditate over it. Mm?

end