According to Osho, only one with cosmic consciousness truly enjoys; others mistake misery for pleasure, trading real bliss for trivial 'coins.' The enlightened does not enjoy ordinary pleasures because they are unreal; he is enjoyment itself, delighting in the divine, the ultimate bliss. True joy requires awakening from the dream of worldly gratifications and renouncing the nonessential to taste reality.
Yes—they really enjoy, but not our usual treats; they live in a deeper joy, like being joy itself.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, can a person who has cosmic consciousness really enjoy pleasures or does he just act as though doing so?
Only a person who has cosmic consciousness can really enjoy. Only he can enjoy the ultimate bliss. Only he enjoys -- the rest of the people are under the false notion of enjoying. They are carrying false coins; actually, they are suffering. Your happiness and pleasures are nothing but the misery and agony which you have experienced. You say and you think that you are experiencing happiness, but in reality you are experiencing misery. Only the enlightened one enjoys. Ten tyakten bhunjithan -- those who renounced, only they enjoyed. He enjoys the divine. You are enjoying trivia, and the so-called enjoyment of the trivial is causing you great misery. One day a man came and put a lot of money at Ramakrishna's feet. Ramakrishna said, "Please take it away." That man said, "This is another proof of your being a great renouncer." Ramakrishna said, "You are a great renouncer, not…
Osho, can one who revels in Brahman truly be engrossed in enjoyment, or is he merely acting?
Only one who revels in Brahman is truly engrossed in enjoyment. He alone partakes of the supreme bliss. He enjoys; the rest are merely under the illusion that they are enjoying. The rest are carrying counterfeit coins; in the name of enjoyment they are suffering. If your enjoyment were to be summed up in a single word, it would be: suffering. That is what you have tasted—what else have you tasted? You say you are enjoying happiness; in fact, you enjoy suffering. Only the knower of Brahman truly enjoys. Tena tyaktena bhunjīthāḥ! Those who have renounced are the ones who have enjoyed. He enjoys the Divine. You are enjoying the trivial, and by consuming the trivial you reap great sorrow. One day a man came to Ramakrishna and placed a heap of money at his feet. Ramakrishna said, “Take it back, brother.” The man said, “You are a great renunciate—here…
Osho, you support the Upanishadic utterance “tena tyaktena bhunjīthāh”—first enjoyment, then renunciation. If one has to renounce anyway, why enjoy? Why bring in enjoyment at all?
But if you get hasty, half-baked, and say, “If one has to renounce, why enjoy?”—then how did it occur to you that you “have to” renounce? The thorn has not pricked you, so why think of removing it? You must have heard the words of one whose foot was pierced by a thorn—one who knew the pain, removed it, and knew the relief—some awakened one. You heard a Paltu, a Kabir, a Nanak, and borrowed their words. The thorn had pricked them, so there was pain; they removed it and found ease. You have not been pricked and you begin to remove a thorn that is not there—what will you remove? You will deceive yourself that there must be a thorn! A sick man takes medicine and becomes well; you, hearing of a sick man’s recovery, buy the medicine—being healthy, you will become ill. And this is what happened here.…
Osho, granted that for the self-realized the personal experience of pleasure and pain comes to an end, but surely they must still be made happy or unhappy by the pleasure and pain of others, mustn’t they? Please shed light.
No. One whose experiences of pleasure and pain have ended is not affected by the pleasure and pain of others either. It may be difficult for you to think so, because you imagine he should be deeply affected by your joys and sorrows. No — he has seen that what you call pleasure is not pleasure at all. So, seeing your pleasure and your pain, compassion arises for you, but he does not become happy or unhappy. Only compassion arises — seeing that you are still caught in a dream! Imagine two people sleeping in the same room, both crushed under a dream of suffering, both seeing a hellish nightmare. One wakes up. Naturally, for the one who has awakened, the dream’s pleasures and pains have become meaningless. Do you think that, seeing the other muttering and shouting beside him — hearing him say, “Move away, a demon is sitting…
Start with the body because the body is the most easily observable thing. It is an object. Thoughts ere also objects but they are more invisible. Once you have become aware of the body you will be able to watch your thoughts too. Once you have become aware of your thoughts you will be able to watch your moods too but they are the subtlest; so only at the third state that awareness has to be tried. Once one becomes aware of all these three concentric circles around your centre the fourth happening of its own accord. Suddenly you know who you are -- not verbally; you don't get an answer, you cannot tell anybody -- but you know. You know in the same way you know when you have a headache. You know in the same way as you know when you are hungry or thirsty.