Can the capacity for egolessness be available to an ordinary person?

One last question. A small, final question a friend has asked: Osho, can the capacity for egolessness be available to an ordinary person too?

From his question it sounds as if, poor fellow, how could an ordinary person ever get it? Whereas the truth is: for the extraordinary it is very difficult. Because “extraordinary” itself means egoistic. It can be attained only by the ordinary. But not by the merely ordinary—by the extraordinarily ordinary, one who is ordinary in an extraordinary way. Whom do I call “ordinary-ordinary”? I call him ordinary-ordinary whom everyone else calls ordinary, but who himself does not accept he is ordinary. And whom do I call extraordinarily ordinary? The one whom the world may call extraordinary, yet he knows himself to be ordinary. For twelve years I traveled across the country. I met hundreds of thousands of people. Hundreds came to me and said, “What you say—how will it ever be understood by the ordinary man?” I asked them, “Do you understand it?” They said, “I do understand; but how…

The question is: can the common man acquire the capability of egolessness?

From his question it seems it is not possible for an ordinary person, whereas the fact is, it is very difficult for an un-ordinary person to attain egolessness. The very meaning of un-ordinary is egoistic. But it is not attained by the ordinary ordinary. It is attained by the extraordinary ordinary. The ordinary ordinary, I call him, who is looked upon as ordinary generally but who does not consider himself ordinary. The extraordinarily ordinary I call him who even though the world looks upon him as extraordinary, considers himself to be ordinary. I travelled all over the country for 10-12 years and met thousands of people. Many of them would come and tell me that what I said would not be understood by ordinary people. I would then ask the person if he understood and he invariably said he did but he was sure the ordinary man would not. I…

In the process of becoming more ordinary, what is happening, to the ego?

Somebody asked Jesus, "What is the secret of entering into your kingdom of God?" and he said, "Ask the lilies or the fish or the flowers. Ask!" What is the secret of a lily flower? What is the beauty of the poor lily? What is the richness of the poor lily? The richness is that it is always here and now, it knows only the present time. It knows nothing of the past and nothing of the future. Remember, if you are interested in the future you will always remain attached to the past. Why? Because if you want to become somebody, from where will you get the knowledge to become? The knowledge will be supplied by the past, by the memory, by the skill that you have learned, by all the experiences that you have passed through. The knowledge will be supplied by the past, the know-how will be…

Osho, can there be an egoless program?

Yes, certainly there can be; it has nothing to do with ego. Ego is quite another matter. Ego is quite another matter. For example, we have decided that at five o’clock we will all sit with such-and-such preparations. In this, there is no question of the seeker’s being egoless; the only question is that the one who is to become the medium be egoless. And egolessness is not such a thing that you can sometimes be it and sometimes not. If it has happened, it has happened; if it hasn’t, it hasn’t—isn’t that so! If I am egoless, I am; if I am not, I am not. It is not that tomorrow morning at five I will become egoless. Do you understand what I am saying? How will I become? There is no method. If I am now, I will be at five as well—whether I make some arrangement or…

A friend has asked: Osho, is it possible for someone to live egoless in this ego-filled world and still be successful? Where everyone is full of ego, wouldn’t living egoless be like swimming against the current? Wouldn’t it bring obstacles, difficulties, failures?

Notice: even the egoist pays respect to the egoless. Even the politician comes and sits at a saint’s feet—this person has stepped out of the arena; one enemy less; he has left the fight; he has begun to flow with the current. So if you think that by becoming egoless you will flow against the current, you are mistaken. As an egoist you are already against life’s current. In egolessness you flow with life’s stream. Yes, you will go opposite to the egoists—but that will create no obstacle. Hindrance only comes if, even through egolessness, you still want wealth, prestige and position in the world. Then there can be trouble. It is said: An emperor was praying in a temple on New Year’s Day. He used to come on the first day of the year to pray. He was saying to God, What am I! The dust of your feet—worse…