According to Osho, proximity begins as physical—because beginners grasp only the body’s language—but it must evolve into inner trust that dissolves distance and time. With trust, you remain in living contact even when far away or after the master’s death. Hence, you don’t miss out; in fact, a true master may send you away to prevent dependence and deepen non-physical communion.
First be near the teacher, but later your trust makes you feel close from anywhere—even if the teacher is gone.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Last night you spoke of satsang and the importance of the disciple's proximity to the guru. Does this mean physical proximity? Is the disciple who lives at a great physical distance from the guru at a loss?
Yes and no! Yes, a physical closeness is necessary in the beginning because you cannot understand anything else right now, as you are. You can understand the body; you can understand the language of the physical. You exist at the physical, so yes, a physical closeness is necessary -- in the beginning. And I say no also because as you grow, as you start learning a different language which is of the non-physical, then physical closeness is not necessary. Then you can go anywhere. Then space doesn't make any difference. You remain in contact. Not only space, but time also doesn't make any difference. A Master may be dead, you remain in contact. He may have dropped his physical body, you remain in contact. If a trust happens, then time and space both are transcended. Trust is the miracle. You can be in closeness with Mohammed or Jesus or Buddha…
Beloved Osho, I feel warm love in your presence and now I realize that when I am not close to you it does not happen in the same way. Is it still true that time and space do not make any difference in the great affair between master and disciple?
People's understanding was absolutely wrong that Ananda, who had burst into tears, must have loved the master more. Asked, he said, "I am crying because he was alive, and for forty-two years I have been his most intimate disciple -- intimate in the sense that I was always with him. In these forty-two years not even for a single day was I separate; even in the night I used to sleep in his room, just to be present in case he needed something. I am not crying because I was the most intimate, I am crying because even with such a long physical intimacy I have remained separate from him. Something has remained like a barrier." Gautam Buddha was not dead yet. He had closed his eyes, and he was relaxing into the eternal. He came back, opened his eyes, and said to Ananda, "Don't be worried. It was my…
Osho, kindly explain the meaning of inner closeness to the true Master.
Now the first man was making a mistake, but at least the mistake was his own. These others were making a borrowed mistake; even their mistake was not theirs. If you bow at someone’s feet because you saw someone else do it, it will be false. If you bow out of greed, it will be false. If you bow thinking you may gain something—standing in an election and hoping to win— People come to me. They touch my feet and say, “We are standing in the election; now your blessing is in your hands.” I tell them, “If you truly want my blessing, you will lose the election. Because I can only bless that God forbid you should win. It’s better to get out of this madhouse before you enter it. Once inside, getting out becomes very difficult. Once you reach Delhi, people die at Rajghat and never return. After…
Osho, what does it mean that a disciple should be close to the master and open his heart? Please explain well. And why is it so difficult, and why is there fear?
If ever you are entering someone’s love, if ever someone’s call reaches you, if ever you glimpse a ray of the divine around someone, do not miss the opportunity. What is there to lose? One more illusion—so be it! Among millions of illusions, one more—what obstacle will that create? So many thorns have pierced you; one more thorn will pierce. So many people have deceived you; one more person will deceive you. This is what I call courage. Courage means: try once more. Courage means: do not take past experience as the whole truth. It is possible that something new may happen—trust in that possibility is faith. To believe that only what has happened so far will keep happening forever—that is to sink into melancholy, into despair. True, you have traveled many paths and none took you anywhere. There is nothing to be frightened about in that. I have heard:…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, CHOGYAM TRUNGPA WRITES IN ONE OF HIS BOOKS: "NOR IS IT HELPFUL TO CHOOSE SOMEONE FOR YOUR MASTER SIMPLY BECAUSE HE IS FAMOUS -- SOMEONE WHO IS RENOWNED FOR HAVING PUBLISHED STACKS OF BOOKS AND CONVERTED THOUSANDS OR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE. INSTEAD, THE GUIDELINE IS WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ABLE TO ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH THE PERSON DIRECTLY AND THOROUGHLY." THE KEY WORDS ARE "DIRECTLY" AND "THOROUGHLY." HOW DOES THIS WORK FROM THE SANNYASIN'S END, IN VIEW OF YOUR VIRTUALLY COMPLETE PHYSICAL INACCESSIBILITY? Krishna cannot fulfill it, Rama cannot fulfill it. Rama carries a bow and arrow, and they symbolize violence. Even Jesus cannot fulfill their criterion, because according to the Jainas you suffer only because of your past karmas.