According to Osho, true rejuvenation isn’t extending the body’s lifespan but learning the art of dying—accepting and welcoming death so fear dissolves. Without fear, you can live totally in each moment, which brings real freshness and meaning. Chasing longevity only stretches problems; presence restores vitality. Stop escaping through speed and distraction; be where you are, live fully now.
Don’t try to keep the body young forever; accept death without fear, and you’ll feel fresh and truly alive right now.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Are you going to show us how to rejuvenate our bodies? Are you going to show some alchemical method to become young again? If that's the case then it's worth spending our money to come there.
Man is unable to live; that's why there is so much running about. He wants to go on putting more power into his vehicles so he can run faster. Ask where he is going, where he wants to reach, and his answer will be, "I can't tell you right now; I don't have time. I have to get there soon. We have to land on the moon; we have to land on Mars." All our lives we are running. What are we running from? What is the fear? The fear is that on the one hand we are unable to live fully, and on the other hand the fear of death is imminent, present. Both things are interconnected. The man who is afraid of death will not be able to live his life; he will remain terrified of death. Then what is the answer? You ask me, "What's the answer?…
Osho, we don’t know how to keep the ritual of your gathering; we don’t know how to smear ourselves with the ash of our own body. O Osho, you who teach the way to die, listen: we don’t know how to die before we die.
If you learn the art of dying, each morning you will find you are a child again. Butterflies call again; the dew speaks again; pearls are scattered all around once more; moon and stars turn mysterious. What does childhood mean? Innocence—no self-consciousness yet. Whoever learns to die every day wins the taste and doorway to childhood day after day. The delight that was in self-forgetfulness—where is it? We came to our senses, and we saw. You ask, “Before death we cannot die.” If you die only when you are killed—what art is that! Everyone dies when they are killed—dogs and cats, men and women. If you die only when death slays you, what will be your mastery? What will be your worth? That mighty Bhima, of whom it is told There dwelt the strength of sixty thousand elephants— He could not lift a single piece of wood off his chest…
Osho, when I was young I never even thought of death, and now that I have grown old, death keeps frightening me all the time. What should I do? Is it possible to get rid of death?
Ramnath, Freedom from death is not possible. But who told you that you will die? You have never died before, nor can you die now. The one who dies is not you; it is someone else. The body dies—that is merely a sheath. The mind dies—that is a subtler sheath. Within these two peripheries sits the master, the indweller, who is neither born nor dies. This life has happened many times. You are not new. You have come many times and gone many times. But the one seated within is eternal. Neither birth touches it, nor death touches it. Until you know and recognize that inner witness, this fear will go on tormenting you. When a person is young, naturally the worry about death does not take hold. Why should it? Human vision is not far-seeing. Our sight is shallow, small. We see just a few steps ahead. We have…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, THEN ALMITRA SPOKE, SAYING, WE WOULD ASK NOW OF DEATH. AND HE SAID: YOU WOULD KNOW THE SECRET OF DEATH. BUT HOW SHALL YOU FIND IT UNLESS YOU SEEK IT IN THE HEART OF LIFE? THE OWL WHOSE NIGHT-BOUND EYES ARE BLIND UNTO THE DAY CANNOT UNVEIL THE MYSTERY OF LIGHT. IF YOU WOULD INDEED BEHOLD THE SPIRIT OF DEATH, OPEN YOUR HEART WIDE UNTO THE BODY OF LIFE. FOR LIFE AND DEATH ARE ONE, EVEN AS THE RIVER AND THE SEA ARE ONE. IN THE DEPTH OF YOUR HOPES AND DESIRES LIES YOUR SILENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE BEYOND; AND LIKE SEEDS DREAMING BENEATH THE SNOW YOUR HEART DREAMS OF SPRING. TRUST THE DREAMS, FOR IN THEM IS HIDDEN THE GATE TO ETERNITY.
Question: BELOVED OSHO, IN WESTERN SOCIETY, AT LEAST, YOUTH IS CONSIDERED TO BE EVERYTHING, AND TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, IT SEEMS THIS IS AS IT SHOULD BE IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE GROWING IN EVERY DIMENSION OF LIFE. BUT THE NATURAL COROLLARY OF THAT IS THAT AS ONE MOVES AWAY FROM YOUTH, BIRTHDAYS ARE NO LONGER A CAUSE FOR CONGRATULATIONS, BUT ARE AN EMBARRASSING AND UNAVOIDABLE FACT OF LIFE. IT BECOMES IMPOLITE TO ASK SOMEONE THEIR AGE; GRAY HAIR IS DYED, TEETH CAPPED OR REPLACED ENTIRELY, DEMORALIZED BREASTS AND FACES HAVE TO BE LIFTED, TUMMIES MADE TAUT, AND VARICOSE VEINS SUPPORTED -- BUT UNDER COVER. YOU CERTAINLY DON'T TAKE IT AS A COMPLIMENT IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT YOU LOOK YOUR AGE.