According to Osho, playfulness arises by recognizing that existence is an inexhaustible, ‘far out’ wholeness—this and that both spring from the same overflowing source, and nothing is ever lacking. Relax your grip, trust the surplus, and move experimentally. When you know the whole remains whole, you can risk, dance, and laugh without fear, because nothing real can be lost.
Life is a never-ending toy box, so you can relax and play because nothing important runs out.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, would you please tell us more about what the sufis call "adab"? Is it a "tariqa"... A method that extends beyond the physical presence of the master, becoming part of the innermost being of the disciple and reflecting, in every action of his daily?
Radha Mohammed, yes, adab is a tariqa, a method. It is the beginning of something very immense, of something utterly incomprehensible to the intellect. It is the first step of a great eternal pilgrimage. To be with the Master is simply a lesson in how to be with God. That's why down the ages the Master has been called "God". It is very symbolic, it is a metaphor. The word "metaphor" is beautiful. Meta means beyond, phor means going: that which takes you beyond. The Master is a metaphor -- he takes you beyond himself. He is just a beginning, a jumping-board. To be with the Master is nothing but a discipline in how to be with God. God is not visible, the Master is visible; it is easier to learn from the visible and then move to the invisible. Have you looked into children's books? We have to make…
Suppose your passive form to be an empty room with walls of skin -- empty.
GRACIOUS ONE, PLAY. THE UNIVERSE IS AN EMPTY SHELL WHEREIN YOUR MIND FROLICS INFINITELY. SWEET HEARTED ONE, MEDITATE ON KNOWING AND NOT-KNOWING, EXISTING AND NOT-EXISTING. THEN LEAVE BOTH ASIDE THAT YOU MAY BE. ENTER SPACE, SUPPORTLESS, ETERNAL, STILL. In siddhasana, the gravitational pull is at its minimum. The body is inactive and passive, closed inside, it has become a world unto itself. Nothing is moving out, nothing is coming in .Eyes are closed, hands are locked, feet are locked -- energy moves in a circle. And whenever energy moves in a circle, it creates an inner rhythm, an inner music. The more you hear that music, the more you feel relaxed. SUPPOSE YOUR PASSIVE FORM TO BE AN EMPTY ROOM -- just like an empty room -- WITH WALLS OF SKIN -- EMPTY. Go on dropping into that emptiness. A moment will come sometime when you feel everything has disappeared;…
Osho, you emphasize playfulness, leela. But is it possible for a playful mind to be a plastic surgeon or a scientist?
You will see it in the East: people have become dull, people have lost all joy of invention -- because all luxury has been condemned; it is a sin to seek comfort. But if you are not seeking comfort then there is no point in exploring, if you are not seeking luxury then all search stops. Then all that you need is a shelter, food, clothes -- but there you are finished. And when you don't explore you don't become rich, when you don't explore you stop growing. In the East it has happened, it has happened terribly: because the so-called priests and religious people condemned all luxuries, man became uninventive. The East is poor because of the saints -- because people are bound to remain poor if they don't explore. If people are satisfied with just whatsoever is the case they become more and more poor every day, because…
Invocation
AUM, MAY BRAHMAN PROTECT US BOTH. MAY HE NOURISH US BOTH. MAY WE BOTH ACHIEVE ENERGY. MAY THIS STUDY MAKE US BOTH ILLUMINED. MAY WE NEVER HATE EACH OTHER. AUM, PEACE, PEACE, PEACE. AUM, MAY MY LIMBS BECOME STRONG. ALSO, LET MY SPEECH, PRANA -- VITAL AIR -- SIGHT, HEARING, AND ALL THE SENSE ORGANS, BE VIGOROUS. THE ENTIRE EXISTENCE IS THE BRAHMAN OF THE UPANISHADS. MAY I NEVER DENY BRAHMAN; MAY BRAHMAN NOT DENY ME. LET THERE BE NO DENIAL AT ALL. LET THERE BE NO DENIAL AT LEAST ON MY PART. WHATEVER VIRTUES ARE IN THE UPANISHADS, MAY THEY ABIDE IN I WHO AM DEVOTED TO THE ATMAN -- SELF. MAY THEY ABIDE IN ME. AUM, PEACE, PEACE, PEACE. It is just like heating water. At a particular degree, a hundred degrees, it evaporates. Do not think that at fifty degrees half will evaporate. It will not evaporate…
So make it a point to laugh more. Always keep laughter alive so that for any tiny reason, or for no reason, you are always ready to burst into laughter. And don't wait for excuses to laugh. If they are available, good. If they are not available there is no need for them. One can laugh without them. It looks mad if you laugh without any reason but don't be bothered about what others say. It is your life and the more you fill it with laughter, the more sacred it will become. Laugh your way to God ! [An elderly sannyasin says:... I was never really a child when I was one, but these last few days, I often feel like a little child... and I want to tease everybody. I want to do crazy things.] [chuckling] That's really a miracle, really a miracle!