Mystic Mantra: Smile your smile

When you smile just look within and ponder over what kind of a smile it is. Don’t be surprised because there are several types of smiles. There is a social smile, a political smile, a smile to hide your pain and anger, and a smile to avoid answering an awkward question. And there are times when the warmth of your heart genuinely blossoms into a smile. There are benefits of a social smile for sure but deep inside it divides your energy into two. Because smiling is not a physical act, it is an expression of your happiness or love.

A smile in which your heart does not participate distorts your energy. The inner synchronicity is broken. There is a misalignment in the body and mind, as if you are functioning like two persons. These days people even go to a cosmetic surgeon with a photo of their favorite actor and ask to be surgically operated to have his/her smile plastered on their face. They have no clue what they are doing to their inner life. They are destroying their authenticity which causes an irreparable damage to their wholeness and well-being.

Instead of opting for a fake smile to please fake people try this Osho meditation for kindling an inner smile. The smile you will get will be more beautiful and it takes much less time than what you would spend on a surgeon’s table.

The first stage: Sitting, whenever you have nothing specific to do, relax the lower jaw and let your mouth open just slightly. Start breathing from the mouth, but not deeply. Simply let the body breathe so the breathing becomes more and more shallow. And when you feel that the breath has become very shallow, and your mouth is open and your jaw relaxed, your whole body will feel very relaxed.

The second stage: Now start feeling a smile — not on your face but all over your being. It is not a smile that comes on the lips; it is an existential smile that spreads just inside.
You will feel something like a sunrise in the belly whose golden rays are spreading all over the body, or like a rose flower opening in the belly and the fragrance permeating the body. You will feel as if your belly is smiling. Stay with this soft and delicate feeling.

The third stage: Once you have known what this smile is you can remain happy all the time. And whenever you feel that you are missing that happiness, just close your eyes for a few moments and catch hold of that smile again, and it will be there.

Amrit Sadhana is in the management team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune.

She facilitates meditation workshops around the country and abroad.