Nature and Silence
The perfect balance is to accept the noise outside and to appreciate the silence inside yourself.

Interview with Veeresh by Chandrika and Geetee
27 December 2007

Geetee: Hi Veeresh. When I look at you during group staff meetings, in the studio discussing our latest music, in the PR office designing our latest brochure and actually in every situation in your life you always radiate natural silence, peace and harmony.

It does not matter how intense or difficult the situation seems to be, you always keep in your centre. Being with you I touch this space inside of me too, suddenly there are no more problems. Everything is ok the way it is, and it becomes easy to allow my heart to love.
What can we do to make this a quality of our lives and of living together on this beautiful planet earth?

Veeresh: I am deeply touched with your words about my state of silence. It is true, I love hanging out in the center of the cyclone. I create my life that way. My latest trip, Geetee, is 'Good thoughts, good words, and good deeds!' To be in your center is a beautiful way to live. It is the enlightened position, the position of a master - and also of a healthy, happy human being. When you promote good thinking, you create more good thinking, and it keeps you conscious of how you relate towards others. People around you imitate your behavior. When you express yourself in the most beautiful way, the other person can respond with positivity too. It is nice to be friendly; it is a beautiful way to be in silence. Start with yourself, if you think negative, correct it. If you see yourself shooting your mouth off in a negative way, change it. Whenever we behave ugly, we end up being an embarrassment to god. Behave like a Buddha!

Chandrika: You were growing up in New York City with a population of around 7,5 million inhabitants in 1950. How was your relationship to nature back then?

Veeresh: My connection to nature was very minimal. I grew up in a tenement house, with 21 families. When I looked out of the window there was an elevator train passing back and forth all day long. That sound was always rattling through the building and the house was shaking. Between three and five in the morning, the train would stop running. There would be this enormous silence through the neighborhood and it was driving everybody crazy. So, when the trains would start again, I could relax.I remember going to the park. I didn't appreciate nature back then, the flowers or the trees. It was just a place to play games and use drugs.

Now it has changed. I appreciate being on top of the Swiss Alps and for moments being lost in the beauty of endless mountain tops with snow caps. I am just awed by the wonders of nature and the beauty of the world.

Chandrika: The Humaniversity is located five minutes from the North Sea. You use a lot of expressive processes when working with people. What role does silence and nature play in your work?

Veeresh: Often it is interference to the process. We talk about sending the group for a beach walk, but then there are so many other things we want to do. I am more concerned that people are looking at who they are, and where they are going in their life. I know that they can enjoy mountain tops after the group.

Chandrika: I had a beautiful nature experience in the morning, after going through the night without sleep. The sun was rising, and the whole sky was pink and full of light, the birds were singing, it was almost psychedelic. I could appreciate it, because I was ready inside myself to see the beauty outside.

Geetee: Yes, we prepare people so that they can appreciate nature in its pure beauty. How would you describe your relationship to the earth today?

Veeresh: I'm more conscious than ever about our planet earth. Growing up I didn't appreciate how amazing it is; I used to take it for granted. Then I came upon this concept that this earth doesn't belong to us, we belong to it - and it all fell into place. It has been here over six billion years and it is going to be here after we leave. I ended up realizing how small I am in comparison to the earth.

I get upset when I hear that the polar bears are eating each other because there is not enough food for them since the ice is melting. The whole biosphere cycle is in chaos. Future generations will see polar bears only in the zoo in cages. It is an indication of where our greed can lead us to. Global warming is nothing but greed, wanting more money.

I turn off the tap when I am brushing my teeth in order to save water. I feel a great responsibility towards future generations because that is what they are going to inherit later.

For us the Osho Humaniversity is a symbol of the earth. The way we live here together is how we would like to take care of the whole planet by keeping it clean, beautiful, harmonious, loving and caring. People say: "Wow, what a beautiful place!" It is a result of who we are and how we like to live. We stand behind our words and the proof is our place.

Chandrika: For example with 'house care', a daily scheduled time for working and cleaning, we teach people practical awareness and how to beautify their immediate environment. Hopefully, they will take this awareness home.

The next question is: In the eastern tradition older people are withdrawing into the silence of nature and step out of their worldly affairs. Would that be interesting for you?

Veeresh: I will always be involved in my world and what I do. Once, I was asked if I was retired because of my age. I was shocked! The word retirement doesn't fit in my vocabulary. It's like giving up life. I want to continue sharing, expanding and giving everything until I die. I love being involved with people, creating, being stimulated, and teaching. I don't distinguish work from my life because my life is my work. What are you going to retire from? Life?

Geetee: You said to me that you don't want to harbor any negativity inside of yourself because it is not healthy for you. What do you mean by that and why is it important for you?

Veeresh: I grew up with an alcoholic stepfather who abused my mother and me in his drunken way. I ended up hating him so much, up to the point where I didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.
It was such a horrible experience in my life. I would just block him out and feel all this anger and rage inside of me. In Phoenix House, a drug rehabilitation centre, where I stopped using drugs, I relived an experience, in which I felt I just wanted to kill him.

Later, my mother wanted me to go and visit him in the hospital. He had a stroke and was dying. I was so upset with him and felt like: "I hate him and never want to see him again.", when my mother said:"Please, do it for me". I saw it was important for her, so I went. When I saw him, I realized I had been carrying so much hurt and suffering because of this man. I just sat on his bed and started to cry.

He had shrunk since I last saw him. He was this pathetic, skinny old man and I just melted – all the hatred melted away. I remembered the moments where I enjoyed being with him and I only shared that with him. He was crying. I never wanted to consider him before. I just wanted to block it all out.  Leaving the hospital it felt a giant burden had been lifted off my heart. It wasn't a question of forgiving him, it was accepting what had happened and that now it is over.

When you carry negativity, it gets into your body, your mind, your heart, and your soul and it stops you from functioning totally. You cannot have peace or silence with that inside of you. It will eat you up. Our work is to help people to get all that negativity out of the way, so that they can find silence inside of themselves. I'm curious to hear, when do you experience silence at the Osho Humaniversity?

Geetee: I experience silence when I am with you on the group staff in the Wow: I am totally involved, keeping my heart open, and being aware and present with the participants and everything that is happening around. I can be active on the outside in stressful situations, but when I am aware and present, I am silent inside.

Veeresh: For me, I do not define silence by the length of time – silence is in the moment.

Geetee: (Laughing) I already said it in the beginning, every time I am with you I am in this silent space.

Veeresh: The perfect balance is, when you can accept the noise outside, and appreciate the silence inside yourself.

more on Veeresh and the Humaniversity at :
www.humaniversity.nl