Are sannyasins leading a useful life for society?

Osho, for the practice of the five great vows—ahimsa (nonviolence), aparigraha (non-possessiveness), achaurya (non-stealing), akam (desirelessness), and apramad (alertness)—to bear fruit, and for the all-round development of the individual and society, what can your proposed new vision of sannyas contribute? Please explain in detail.

Ahimsa, aparigraha, achaurya, akam, and apramad are the fundamental sutras of the “art of sannyas.” And sannyas is an art. All of life is an art. Only those who master the “art of living” become available to sannyas. Sannyas is the art that takes you beyond life. Those who experience life in its totality naturally enter sannyas; it must be so—it is simply the next step in life. God is the temple reached by climbing the very staircase of the world. So first let me make it clear: there is no conflict between “the world” and “sannyas.” They are two stations on one journey. It is in the world itself that sannyas develops and blossoms. Sannyas is not the hostility of the world; it is the deep experience of the world. The more deeply one experiences the world, the more one finds one’s feet moving toward sannyas. Those who do…

To me, the sannyasin is one who lives life like an actor. If someone wants to blossom in sannyas living in the thick of the world, he should cease to be a doer and become an actor, become a witness. He should live in the thick of life, play his role, and at the same time be a witness to it, but in no way should he be deeply involved in his role, be attached to it, He should cross the river in a way that his feet remain untouched by the water. It is, however, difficult to cross a river without letting the water touch your feet, but it is quite possible to live in the world without getting involved in it, without being tied to it. In this connection it is necessary to under stand what play acting is.

Osho, sannyas was born in this land; it was granted the dignity of Gaurishankar (Everest). But today its honor has become merely superficial. Inside, the individual and society alike are afraid of it. Why have sannyas and the sannyasin lost their meaning? Please explain.

In my sannyas there is no prohibition—no “leave this, run from that.” Awakening is enough. Cowards run. Those who awaken remain where they are and are free there. My sannyas does not want to give you knowledge; it wants to give you meditation. Meditation means emptiness; it means: I do not know. Life is such an ultimate mystery that nothing definitive can be known about it. And I want to give sannyas a new posture—creativity. I will call him a sannyasin who sings a new song; who strikes a new music from the veena; who dances a new dance; who makes this world a little more beautiful, brings a little more blessedness to the earth. Then sannyas can regain its dignity. And I would have the sannyasin not imitate. Listen, understand, contemplate—but live from your own individuality. Therefore I give my sannyasins no codes of conduct—only processes to awaken the…

Beloved Osho, what is sannyas?

Sannyas is rebellion against all slavery; it is living life in absolute freedom. To live life in absolute freedom, without traditions, without conventions, without religions, without philosophies, without ideologies -- political, social, and others -- to live unburdened is sannyas. But it will look crazy to the whole world. Freedom looks crazy because everybody is living an imprisoned life. To prisoners, the person who escapes from the prison looks crazy, because for them prison is comfortable, convenient, secure, safe. A Hungarian secret police colonel was inspecting a strip of the border. "Too many people have been slipping across at this point," he informed the guards. "I have been ordered to test your security precautions." After deploying the guards at strategic points, the colonel began creeping on all fours toward the barbed wire. "Can you see me now?" he called out. When they cried back "Yes," he started again. On the…

Beloved Osho,what are the qualities of a sannyasin?

In the early morning he went back, fell at Buddha's feet and said, "Sir, excuse me, forgive me. I could not sleep the whole night." And Buddha laughed, and he said, "You fool! Why? I slept perfectly well. Why should you get so disturbed about such a small thing? It has not hurt me. You see my face is as it was before. Why did you get so worried?" And the man said, "I have come to become your disciple. Initiate me. I want to be with you. I have seen something unique, superhuman. But first, forgive me." And Buddha said, "This is nonsense. How can I forgive you? -- because I have not even taken any note of it. I was not angry, so how can I forgive you?" Twenty-four hours had passed, and they were sitting on the bank of the Ganges. And Buddha said, "Look at how…