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::Photography: Osho Photo Services
::Photography: Osho Photo Services
::Printing: Thomson Press (India) Ltd.
::Printing: Thomson Press (India) Ltd.
::Introduction [[Sw Devageet|Swami Devageet]], Osho's dentist. See [[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|discussion]].
::Introduction [[Sw Devageet|Swami Devageet]], Osho's dentist. See below.
  }}
  }}
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language = English|
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== Introduction with the 1998 edition ==
::There is a funny story about ''[[Books I Have Loved]]''.... Immediately following His first dental session on the Ranch in Oregon, Osho sent for His dental team - Ashu, Amrito and myself - during a colossal thunderstorm. We sat on the floor at His feet as He outlined His vision of a book He would dictate from the dental chair. "...And you, Devageet, will be my notetaker." Those words are imprinted in my heart. Osho went on to say that, "These books will be so that my people can know how a master speaks when he is with just two or three of his intimate disciples."
::At first I had no notion that there would be more than one book: Osho was simply speaking, and I was noting it all down: checking my notes for accuracy against a tape which He had instructed, "...should be the same tape, used every day." After six sessions Osho announced, "This is the end of the first series."
::This was the first time I had heard that there were going to be different series. Osho called the next series ''Om Mani Padme Hum''. "This is an ancient mantra, Devageet, and I will speak on this until I have penetrated your concrete skull. I will not leave it until it has penetrated to your being. You are obstinate, but I am more obstinate! There is no man more obstinate than me! I can be terrible!" He spoke on this, the second series, for six sessions. Together they form the book, ''[[Notes of a Madman]]''.
::Then Osho said, "I have loved books my whole life. They helped me when nothing else was shining in the darkness. Remember, I never had a master ...not ever, not in any of my lifetimes. Many masters wanted me to become their disciple but always I said I must follow my own way no matter how long it takes, no matter where it leads.
::"There are many books which have a taste of the truth, but nothing much. Some books, though, can be really helpful. Such books help people to hear the song of truth singing in their hearts. These are the books which are knocking now on the door, asking me to speak about them. I will give one book for every year of my life until now" (He was fifty years old at that time.)
::Osho began to speak, and I took notes by hand as He was speaking. He was lying in the dental chair, in the dental office located just behind His living room. Ashu, Osho's dental nurse, was seated on His left side. At His feet was Amrito, his personal physician. And seated on a spare dental stool was Vivek, Osho's personal caretaker. The whole room was nine feet long and seven feet wide and packed with dental machinery. It resembled the pilots' compartment of a space module.
::As Osho spoke, he was funny and I was utterly absorbed in my task. Suddenly, He asked, "Devageet, what number is it? You know how I cannot follow numbers beyond three."
::Quickly I flipped through my notes and said, "That was number five, Osho."
::"Good, okay, number five..." and then He started speaking on another title that He had loved. I was confused. I had meant that the last book had been number five, and this one should therefore be number six. Now we had two number fives! Never mind I could clear it up later.
::About half an hour later, He again asked, "What is number now, Devageet?" Thinking quickly, I said, "The next one is number eight, Osho." I had made a swift calculation as to what the right number should be, and then corrected it. "Okay, number nine..." Osho began.
::Oh no! He had jumped forward this time. I was getting confused, and there was no time to think it out because I was too involved in writing the notes, trying to catch each word. He had told me that He would speak on ten books in each session, but I couldn't remember how many books had been covered. We had two number fives, no number eight, and now we were on number nine.
::That session ended having covered only nine books. I went back to my room, looked through my notes, worked it all out, and sent a message to Vivek, explaining. She replied that I was the notetaker and that I should get my act together!
::The next session was on that same evening and I was determined to keep on track. About half an hour into the session, Osho asked which number we were on. I replied, "This last book was number two, Osho."
::"Okay, number two..." and He immediately started speaking. I felt that I couldn't stop Him. It didn't feel right. At that time I only spoke in response to Him, never initiating a conversation. But now we had two number twos. The very next book, He announced as number five! After He had spoken, He asked me where we were. I said, "Well, that was number five, but really it should have been number er...er...four?"
::Osho was silent for a long moment. "Okay, but remember, Devageet, follow my numbers. Now; number three! And once again Osho spoke long and fully about one of the books He had loved. I took the notes, but was completely at a loss about the numbers. He said the next book was "number four"... and on and on. I was lost.
::A little bit later He asked me where we were with the numbers, and I replied, "I can't follow where we are. I will have to sort it out later, but I think we're on number six."
::"Okay Devageet, the next book is number seven, but remember this is your work. I have made you my notetaker."
::That session I think He spoke on about twelve books. We had two number threes, no number four, three number sixes, two number eights, two number nines and a number ten. Most sessions were like this, but not all. This fact made it all the worse. I could never determine when it would happen. My mind was in a flat spin.
::After a few sessions Osho asked how many books we had spoken about in total. I replied that due to the confusion with the numbers I would have to try and work it out and let Him know at the next session. It came to about sixty-two. I never knew for sure, I was too confused. When I told Him, Osho said, after a long and mind-shattering silence, "Devageet, I am the one who cannot follow numbers. I am relying on you to keep the numbers for me. You are my notetaker. It is your work. My work is on you. My work is to crack open your skull. Now I will have to speak on two books for every year of my life." And he began again but it was no different. Each session Osho would tie my brain in knots. I never knew whether he was going forwards or backwards with his numbering. If I said it one way, he would go the other way... or maybe not.
::After another number of sessions He again asked how many books we had covered. I had no idea. I tried to work it out, but I never could. When I tried to explain to Him, each mumbling, ineffectual word fell into His utter silence, fading into meaninglessness. He simply listened. Then He spoke. "Mmmm.... This is an existential problem. There are many books knocking on my door. Some of them are very insistent, trying to push their way to the front of the queue. People like Madame 'Blavatasky'...." (He always mangled her name). "She is a terrible woman. She is there pushing the silent ones, like Gautama the Buddha, to one side. The truly silent ones, the ones whose books are the real jewels, never push their way forward. But I must speak on this Blah-Blah-Blavatasky woman otherwise she will never give me peace. She really is a blah-blah-Blavatasky! I may be the only human being to ever have read every word this woman has written. I dug up the whole Himalayas to find if she had any truth. All I discovered was a dead rat!"
::Osho is wonderful. Recalling now, those days sitting with Him in the dental room which He referred to as, "My Noah's Ark", brings it all flooding back. My heart is full, and tears tremble on my lids. He tied my poor brain in knots, and released my heart from its prison.
::[[Sw Devageet|Swami Devageet]], Osho's dentist.
[[category:Interviews and Press Conferences]]
[[category:Interviews and Press Conferences]]
[[category:First Edition Series]]
[[category:First Edition Series]]

Revision as of 12:13, 9 March 2015


Having read more than 150,000 of the world's greatest books on every conceivable subject, Osho shares the fragrance of some of his favorites in these spontaneous and intimate talks. From the very first book, Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, to the last entry, The Book, by Alan Watts, he takes us on a journey of discovery, sampling gifts from authors we have known along with some surprises from mystics and poets never heard of before. Not only are we offered a tantalizing reading list, but an insight into the dimension of enlightened consciousness.
<video id="j1h8-WvzexY" width="500" position="left" />
The books mentioned by Osho in these transcripts are :
Chapter 1
  • Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • The Book of Mirdad
  • Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
  • Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
  • The Parables of Chuang Tzu
  • The Sermon on the Mount
  • Bhagavad-Gita
  • Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore
  • The One Thousand Songs of Milarepa
Chapter 2
  • The Book (of the Sufis)
  • The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  • The Book of Lieh Tzu
  • Dialogue on Socrates by Plato
  • The Notes of the Disciples of Bodhidarma
  • The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam
  • Masnavi by Jalaluddin Rumi
  • The Isa Upanishad
  • All and Everything by George Gurdjieff
  • In Search of the Miraculous by P. D. Ouspensky
  • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Chapter 3
  • Hsin Hsin Ming by Sosan
  • Tertium Organum by P. D. Ouspensky
  • Geet Govinda
  • Samayasar by Kundkunda
  • The First and the Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti
  • The Book of Huang Po (The Teachings of Huang Po)
  • The Book of Hui Hi
  • The Song of Solomon
Chapter 4
  • The Fragments of Heraclitus
  • The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
  • The Royal Song of Saraha
  • Tilopa's Song of Mahamudra
  • Zen and Japanese Culture by D. T. Suzuki
  • Let Go by Hubert Benoit
  • Ramakrishna's Parables
  • The Fables of Aesop
  • Nagarjuna's Mula Madhyamika Karika
  • The Book of Marpa
Chapter 5
  • Brahma Sutras by Badrayana
  • Bhakti Sutras by Narada
  • Yoga Sutras by Patanjali
  • The Songs of Kabir
  • The Secret Doctrine by Madame Blavatsky
  • The Songs of Meera
  • The Songs of Sahajo
  • The Book of Rabiya-al-Adabiya
  • The Songs of Nanak
  • Vivek Chudamani by Shankaracharya
  • The Koran - Hazrat Mohammed
Chapter 6
  • The Dhammapada - Gautam the Buddha
  • Jaina Sutras - Mahavira
  • Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
  • The Declarations of Al-Hillaj Mansoor
  • The Fragments of Mahakashyapa
  • Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
  • The Stories of Baal Shem
  • The Songs of Farid
  • Vigyana Bhairava Tantra - Shiva
  • Tatva Sutra by Uma Swati
  • The Songs of Naropa
Chapter 7
  • The Poetry of Malukdas
  • Guru Grantha Sahib (the book of the Sikhs)
  • The Light on the Path by Mabel Collins
  • The Songs of Lalla
  • The Verses of the mystic Gorakh-Nath
  • The Supreme Doctrine by Hubert Benoit
  • Shiva Sutra
  • The Songs of Gaurang
  • The Songs of Dadu
  • The Statements of Sarmad
Chapter 8
  • The Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche
  • A New Model of the Universe by P. D. Ouspensky
  • The Statements of Sanai
  • The Fragments of Dionysius
  • At the Feet of the Master by Jiddhu Krishnamurti
  • The Fragments of Junnaid
  • God Speaks by Meher Baba
  • Maxims for a Revolutionary by George Bernard Shaw
  • The Teachings of Hui Neng ("Do not think; be.")
  • The Jokes of Mulla Nasruddin
Chapter 9
  • The Destiny of the Mind by Haas
  • The Sayings of Eckhart
  • The Sayings of Boehme
  • The Sufis by Idries Shah
  • The Way of Zen by Alan Watts
  • The Sayings of Rinzai
  • The Lectures of Hazrat Inayat Khan
  • All of the books by Hazrat Ali Khan
  • Jesus, the Son of Man by Kahlil Gibran
  • The Madman by Kahlil Gibran
Chapter 10
  • Being and Nothingness by Jean Paul Sartre
  • Time and Being by Martin Heidegger
  • Tractatus Logico Philisophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Vimalkirti Nirdesh Sutra
  • Commentaries on Living by J. Krishnamurti
  • Commentaries by Maurice Nicoll
  • Our Life with Gurdjieff by Hartmann
  • Shree Pasha by Ramanuja
  • The Future Psychology of Man by P.D. Ouspensky
  • The Book of Bahauddin
Chapter 11
  • The Outsider by Colin Wilson
  • The Analects by Confusius
  • The Garden of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
  • The Voice of the Master by Kahlil Gibran
  • Who am I by Maharshi Ramana
  • The Mind of India by Moorehead and Radhakrishnan
  • Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  • Alice through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
  • The Wanderer by Kahlil Gibran
  • The Spiritual Sayings by Kahlil Gibran
  • Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Chapter 12
  • Tales of the Hasidim by Martin Buber
  • I and Thou by Martin Buber
  • Das Kapital by Karl Marx (Osho: "Do not read it.")
  • Lectures on Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
  • Meetings with Remarkable Men by Gurdjieff
  • The Grantha (written by an anonymous disciple of Kabir)
  • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
  • The Myth of Sisyphus by Marcel
  • The History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
  • The Songs of Dayabai
Chapter 13
  • Lust for Life by Irving Stone
  • The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
  • Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy
  • Notes on Jesus by Thomas
  • War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
  • The Mother by Maxim Gorky
  • Fathers and Sons by Turgenev
  • The Phoenix by D.H. Lawrence
  • Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious by D.H. Lawrence
  • Light of Asia by Arnold
  • Bijak, Kabir's selection of songs
  • One Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse
  • The I Ching
  • Nadi Ke Dvip (Islands of a River) by Sacchidanand Vatsayana
Chapter 14
  • The Art of Living by Lin Yutang
  • The Wisdom of China by Lin Yutang
  • The Talmud
  • Shunya Svabhava by Taran Taran
  • Siddhi Svabhava by Taran Taran
  • Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Psychosynthesis by Assagioli
  • Prose Poems by Kahlil Gibran
  • Thoughts and Meditations by Kahlil Gibran
Chapter 15
  • My Experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi
  • Confessions by Saint Augustine
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • The Art of Tantra by Ajit Mukherjee
  • The Tantra Paintings by Ajit Mukherjee
  • Bhaj Govindam moodh mate by Adi Shankaracharya
  • Philosophical Papers by Ludwig Wittgenstein
  • Zen Flesh Zen Bones - Paul Reps
  • Zen Buddhism by Christmas Humphries
  • The Songs of Chandidas
Chapter 16
  • Shiva Puri Baba by Bennett
  • Listen Little Man by Wilhelm Reich
  • Principia Mathematica by Bertrand Russell and Whitehead
  • Poetics by Aristotle
  • Three Pillars of Zen by Ross
  • The Gospel of Ramakrishna by M
  • The collected works of Ramatirtha
  • Principa Ethica by G.E. Moore
  • The Songs of Rahim (Rahim Khan Khana)
  • Divan by Mirza Ghalib
  • The Book by Alan Watts
notes
Later published as 168 Books to Change Your Life
Dictated. According to Sw Devageet, all audio tapes were destroyed on Osho's request.
time period of Osho's original talks/writings
from 1982 : timeline
number of discourses/chapters
16


editions

Books I Have Loved

In memory of Alan Watts

Year of publication : 1985
Publisher : Rajneesh Foundation International, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, USA
ISBN 0-88050-716-0 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 247
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : P
Edition notes : First edition July 1985, 10,000 copies.
Author as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Published by Ma Anand Sheela
Editing: Sw Devaraj, Sw Devageet
Editing assistant: Ma Deva Ashu
Design: Ma Deva Sandipa
Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima
Introduction: Sw Anand Madyapa

Books I Have Loved

Year of publication : 1998
Publisher : Rebel Publishing House, India
ISBN 81-7261-102-1 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 257
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : H
Edition notes : Second edition 1998. Copyright © 1985 Osho International Foundation.
Editors: Sambuddha Swami Devaraj, M.D., M.B., B.S., M.R.C.P., M.M., D.Phil.M.(RIMU), Acharya;
Mahasattva Swami Devageet, B.D.S., M.M., D.Phil.M.(RIMU), Acharya
Assistant editor: Bodhisattvaa Ma Deva Ashu, M.M.(RIMU), Acharya
Design: Sw Bhaven
Typesetting: Ma Bodhi Taruna, Sw Bhaven
Production: Ma Deva Harito
Photography: Osho Photo Services
Printing: Thomson Press (India) Ltd.
Introduction Swami Devageet, Osho's dentist. See below.

Books I Have Loved

Year of publication : 2000
Publisher : Tao Publishing Pvt. Ltd
ISBN 81-7261-102-1 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 256
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : H
Edition notes : Reprint

Books I Have Loved

Year of publication : 2003
Publisher : Tao Publishing Pvt. Ltd
ISBN 81-7261-102-1 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 256
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : H
Edition notes : Reprint

Books I Have Loved

Year of publication : 2005
Publisher : Osho Media International
ISBN 81-7261-102-1 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 242
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : H
Edition notes :

Books I Have Loved

Year of publication : 2007
Publisher : Osho Media International
ISBN 81-7261-102-1 (click ISBN to buy online)
Number of pages : 256
Hardcover / Paperback / Ebook : H
Edition notes :


Introduction with the 1998 edition

There is a funny story about Books I Have Loved.... Immediately following His first dental session on the Ranch in Oregon, Osho sent for His dental team - Ashu, Amrito and myself - during a colossal thunderstorm. We sat on the floor at His feet as He outlined His vision of a book He would dictate from the dental chair. "...And you, Devageet, will be my notetaker." Those words are imprinted in my heart. Osho went on to say that, "These books will be so that my people can know how a master speaks when he is with just two or three of his intimate disciples."
At first I had no notion that there would be more than one book: Osho was simply speaking, and I was noting it all down: checking my notes for accuracy against a tape which He had instructed, "...should be the same tape, used every day." After six sessions Osho announced, "This is the end of the first series."
This was the first time I had heard that there were going to be different series. Osho called the next series Om Mani Padme Hum. "This is an ancient mantra, Devageet, and I will speak on this until I have penetrated your concrete skull. I will not leave it until it has penetrated to your being. You are obstinate, but I am more obstinate! There is no man more obstinate than me! I can be terrible!" He spoke on this, the second series, for six sessions. Together they form the book, Notes of a Madman.
Then Osho said, "I have loved books my whole life. They helped me when nothing else was shining in the darkness. Remember, I never had a master ...not ever, not in any of my lifetimes. Many masters wanted me to become their disciple but always I said I must follow my own way no matter how long it takes, no matter where it leads.
"There are many books which have a taste of the truth, but nothing much. Some books, though, can be really helpful. Such books help people to hear the song of truth singing in their hearts. These are the books which are knocking now on the door, asking me to speak about them. I will give one book for every year of my life until now" (He was fifty years old at that time.)
Osho began to speak, and I took notes by hand as He was speaking. He was lying in the dental chair, in the dental office located just behind His living room. Ashu, Osho's dental nurse, was seated on His left side. At His feet was Amrito, his personal physician. And seated on a spare dental stool was Vivek, Osho's personal caretaker. The whole room was nine feet long and seven feet wide and packed with dental machinery. It resembled the pilots' compartment of a space module.
As Osho spoke, he was funny and I was utterly absorbed in my task. Suddenly, He asked, "Devageet, what number is it? You know how I cannot follow numbers beyond three."
Quickly I flipped through my notes and said, "That was number five, Osho."
"Good, okay, number five..." and then He started speaking on another title that He had loved. I was confused. I had meant that the last book had been number five, and this one should therefore be number six. Now we had two number fives! Never mind I could clear it up later.
About half an hour later, He again asked, "What is number now, Devageet?" Thinking quickly, I said, "The next one is number eight, Osho." I had made a swift calculation as to what the right number should be, and then corrected it. "Okay, number nine..." Osho began.
Oh no! He had jumped forward this time. I was getting confused, and there was no time to think it out because I was too involved in writing the notes, trying to catch each word. He had told me that He would speak on ten books in each session, but I couldn't remember how many books had been covered. We had two number fives, no number eight, and now we were on number nine.
That session ended having covered only nine books. I went back to my room, looked through my notes, worked it all out, and sent a message to Vivek, explaining. She replied that I was the notetaker and that I should get my act together!
The next session was on that same evening and I was determined to keep on track. About half an hour into the session, Osho asked which number we were on. I replied, "This last book was number two, Osho."
"Okay, number two..." and He immediately started speaking. I felt that I couldn't stop Him. It didn't feel right. At that time I only spoke in response to Him, never initiating a conversation. But now we had two number twos. The very next book, He announced as number five! After He had spoken, He asked me where we were. I said, "Well, that was number five, but really it should have been number er...er...four?"
Osho was silent for a long moment. "Okay, but remember, Devageet, follow my numbers. Now; number three! And once again Osho spoke long and fully about one of the books He had loved. I took the notes, but was completely at a loss about the numbers. He said the next book was "number four"... and on and on. I was lost.
A little bit later He asked me where we were with the numbers, and I replied, "I can't follow where we are. I will have to sort it out later, but I think we're on number six."
"Okay Devageet, the next book is number seven, but remember this is your work. I have made you my notetaker."
That session I think He spoke on about twelve books. We had two number threes, no number four, three number sixes, two number eights, two number nines and a number ten. Most sessions were like this, but not all. This fact made it all the worse. I could never determine when it would happen. My mind was in a flat spin.
After a few sessions Osho asked how many books we had spoken about in total. I replied that due to the confusion with the numbers I would have to try and work it out and let Him know at the next session. It came to about sixty-two. I never knew for sure, I was too confused. When I told Him, Osho said, after a long and mind-shattering silence, "Devageet, I am the one who cannot follow numbers. I am relying on you to keep the numbers for me. You are my notetaker. It is your work. My work is on you. My work is to crack open your skull. Now I will have to speak on two books for every year of my life." And he began again but it was no different. Each session Osho would tie my brain in knots. I never knew whether he was going forwards or backwards with his numbering. If I said it one way, he would go the other way... or maybe not.
After another number of sessions He again asked how many books we had covered. I had no idea. I tried to work it out, but I never could. When I tried to explain to Him, each mumbling, ineffectual word fell into His utter silence, fading into meaninglessness. He simply listened. Then He spoke. "Mmmm.... This is an existential problem. There are many books knocking on my door. Some of them are very insistent, trying to push their way to the front of the queue. People like Madame 'Blavatasky'...." (He always mangled her name). "She is a terrible woman. She is there pushing the silent ones, like Gautama the Buddha, to one side. The truly silent ones, the ones whose books are the real jewels, never push their way forward. But I must speak on this Blah-Blah-Blavatasky woman otherwise she will never give me peace. She really is a blah-blah-Blavatasky! I may be the only human being to ever have read every word this woman has written. I dug up the whole Himalayas to find if she had any truth. All I discovered was a dead rat!"
Osho is wonderful. Recalling now, those days sitting with Him in the dental room which He referred to as, "My Noah's Ark", brings it all flooding back. My heart is full, and tears tremble on my lids. He tied my poor brain in knots, and released my heart from its prison.
Swami Devageet, Osho's dentist.