Do the conditions of the moment of death determine the nature of an enlightened being?

"do the conditions of the particular moment of death determine something about the nature of an enlightened being? Or vice versa? "

Vice versa. Death does not determine, neither does the time of death determine anything. It is you, conscious or unconscious, who determine the meaning of death. It is an Enlightened consciousness that makes death so beautiful, so tremendously beautiful. You are making even life ugly, and an Enlightened man makes even death beautiful. It is you in the final analysis, always you, the decisive factor, who decide whatsoever happens to you. Remember it. This is the very key. If you are unhappy, it is you. If you are not living rightly, it is you. If you are missing, it is you. The responsibility is totally yours. Don't be afraid of this responsibility. Many people become too much afraid of the responsibility because they don't see the other side of the coin. On one side is written 'responsibility'; on another side is written 'freedom'. Responsibility means freedom. If somebody else is…

Question: BELOVED OSHO, IS IT POSSIBLE TO DIE CONSCIOUSLY WITHOUT BEING ENLIGHTENED? Nirah, existence follows certain laws -- and there are no exceptions. If one wants to die consciously, the only way is to be enlightened. Death is such a great surgery: your soul is being taken apart from the body and mind, with which it has been involved for seventy or eighty years. Even for a small operation you need anesthesia; and this is the greatest operation in existence. Unconsciousness is nothing but nature's way of giving you anesthesia. Unless you are completely unidentified with body and mind, you cannot die consciously -- and a death which is not conscious is a great opportunity missed. Enlightenment is an absolute necessity. Enlightenment only means that your whole being is conscious: there are no dark corners left inside you.

Osho, Ma Vipassana and Swami Chinmaya journeyed as far as the sixth chakra before death. And Swami Devteerth Bharati, and only yesterday Swami Anand Vimalakirti, attained the supreme enlightenment before their death. Osho, is the happening of Buddhahood at the time of dying easier than awakening while living? Please be compassionate and explain. By now Kabir’s couplet has become the very longing of all of us sannyasins—“That dying which makes the world afraid fills my heart with joy. When shall I die, when shall I meet total, supreme bliss?”

Like arms in dance that arc into a rainbow— The curves of the road outshine the destinations—what can one do? Forget the destinations; the bends of the road themselves seem so lovely that we get entangled in them. Like arms in dance that arc into a rainbow— As if arms in a dance had drawn rainbows. The curves of the road outshine the destinations—what can one do? The very twists and turns of the path appear so charming, so sinuous, that we lose ourselves there. We talk ourselves into it. It is but the accidents of time—whether autumn or spring— All is a matter of coincidence, we console ourselves. Boat and river—mere happenstance. It is but the accidents of time—whether autumn or spring— Whether spring comes or fall, it’s all coincidence. What must pass will pass; why grieve—what can one do? We keep consoling ourselves that whatever must pass will…

If a being is enlightened, how can he die?

He never dies because he is already dead. You die because you cling to life. Then life has to be taken away, then you have to die. An enlightened being never dies because he does not cling to life. He has voluntarily given it up; he is already dead. But it appears to you that he also dies like you. That is only appearance -- don't be deceived by the appearance. A Buddha dies, of course. A Mahavir dies. Baal Shem will die, Moses will die -- everybody will die. And they die just like you on the surface, but that is only the surface. Watch an ordinary man dying. He makes every effort not to die, he clings to life to the very last, he cries and weeps tears of anguish and fear and trembling. A horror surrounds him; he is terror-struck. And then watch an enlightened man dying;…

Beloved Osho, sannyasins who are dying in your presence discover their enlightenment. Why is it so difficult for those of us who are still alive? Is it that life comes so close to death, and we are afraid of dying yet still not capable of being alive in this precious moment?

Drop all that nonsense which is holding you back from experiencing life in its totality. Drop all that which is keeping you in a narcotic sleep. And what I am asking you to drop is worthless, perhaps worse than worthless. It is poison that you are not dropping, that you are holding on to: Jealousy is poison, hate is poison, greed is poison. The ego is perhaps the most dangerous poison. Just the other night I was talking to a woman journalist. She had come directly from Billy Graham -- she had been covering Billy Graham for three weeks, and of course she asked about him. And I said, "He is a worthless man. None of my sannyasins will be impressed with that idiot, and none of his audience is going to understand me. His audience consists of retarded people. His face itself looks retarded. Whenever I see his photograph…