A Master Is A Master Of Himself

I have heard a story about Diogenes. He was caught by thieves. And then they brought him to a slave market. He was a beautiful man; very few people have been so beautiful... a very strong body...

by Osho

Meditation is standing in your own authority

They put Diogenes on the slave-block to be sold. He stood there smiling, humming a song, unconcerned with what was happening. Then he saw a man, a young man, very rich -- his clothes were very rich, but he was standing there very absentmindedly, maybe drunk. He was standing there in the crowd, almost asleep, depressed, sad; a deep sorrow surrounded him. Diogenes said to the thieves who had caught him, and who had brought him to the slave market, "Sell me to that man. He looks as if he needs a master."

Jesus or Diogenes, Buddha or Mahavir, they have their own authority; they are masters of their being.

You are not here to follow anybody

Diogenes is his own authority. And this is his message, that everybody should be his own authority. Be your authority, be an authority unto yourself. You are not here to follow anybody; you are here to be yourself. Your life is yours; your love is yours. Your innermost core of being is your authority for everything you do. And until you become an authority unto yourself you will be moving astray; you will be following this and that. You will be following shadows, and you will never be fulfilled.

Osho - excerpted from Come Follow Yourself, Vol 3, #5