Is ego a part of divine play?

Question: BELOVED MASTER, IS NOT EGO A PART OF DIVINE PLAY? WHO AM I TO DROP IT? Vedant Bharti... so please don't drop it! The venerable old rabbi, known throughout the land for his wisdom, lay in a coma, very near death. On either side of his bed hovered his most worshipful disciples. "Rebbenyu," pleaded the spokesman for the grieving congregants, "please do not leave us without a final word of wisdom. Speak to us for the last time, dear Rabbi." For a few moments there was no response, and the weeping visitors feared he had passed on to his well-earned reward. But suddenly the rabbi's lips moved ever so slightly. They bent over him to hear his final words. "Life is a cup of tea," he whispered in a faint voice. The disciples looked at each other in perplexity. What did he mean?

Osho, does the ego have some elixir of life? Even on the verge of dying it seems to revive—who knows from where, how, and why?

Haven’t you seen that the harder it is to obtain the woman you fall in love with, the more your love seems to grow? Had Majnu got his Laila, you would never even have heard his name. The whole crux of the Majnu-Laila story is that he never got her. Quite possibly, had he got her, they would have ended in divorce. Stories proceed in strange ways. Because he did not get her, he kept weeping, aching, wandering deserts and mountains, calling “Laila, Laila!” Have you ever seen any husband doing that? Ask a husband and perhaps he hasn’t even properly looked at his wife’s face in twenty years. You too are a husband or a wife—try this: close your eyes and try to recall your spouse’s face. You will find it difficult. The faces of film actresses will come, but your wife’s face will not come clearly. And if…

Question: Isn't this ego? Understand first; don't be in a hurry. That man stood up in a headstand and died. But people were very frightened. A fear also arose: who would bring his corpse down? Because what did it mean—had the man really died? He was still in a headstand. He had died; people checked his breath, put their ears to his heart—no thump, breath stopped. Yet even then it seemed absurd to them: to tie to the bier a man who is still doing a headstand! So doubt spread through the crowd. People said, “All right, wait a little—don’t do anything to him. His sister lives nearby; she’s a nun in a temple close by. Call her. She’s his elder sister and knows his habits well—she’ll know what to do.” The sister came running.

A question in bad faith -- why do you talk so much against the ego? Isn't the ego also a manifestation of god, a game played by existence?

IF YOU UNDERSTAND THAT, then there is no problem about the ego. That is the whole purpose of why I go on talking against the ego so that you are not and God is. If you have come to such a deep understanding, that the ego is also God's play, then it is perfectly good! Then there is no problem. Then there is no need to drop because you have nothing to drop. If you understand that ego is also God's play, then you are not in it. Everything is God's -- that's what egolessness means -- even ego. But beware! You may be just playing a trick upon yourself, and mind is very cunning. In the name of God you may be trying to save your ego. It is up to you! But be watchful. If you have REALLY understood that all is God's, then you are not. So…

Yesterday Dhabbu-ji was saying, Osho, I finished my worship and then saw my little niece, a while later, sitting on the same seat with eyes closed, hands folded, swaying and singing: “Do bechaare, bina sahaare, phirte maare-maare!” (Two poor fellows, without support, roam around hounded!)

Dhabbu-ji told me this, and I burst out laughing. I asked, “Ninu, what’s this?” She said, “Please be quiet, I’m doing puja, Uncle!” Dhabbu-ji said, “Puja? But that’s a film song, not a hymn!” She quickly shot back, “In puja you and Grandma also sing ‘Om Jai Jagdish Hare’—that’s a song from the pictures too.” What difference does it make what you’re singing? Whether it’s a bhajan or a film song—within your sleep, all is equal. Even if you dream of heaven, it makes no difference. Even if gods appear in your dream, nothing changes. When you wake up, you’ll find all dreams were false. Some people are lost in worldly dreams; others are lost in dreams of renunciation. And these renouncers you’ve kept calling “great souls.” Their sleep is just like yours—no real difference at all. Even their dreams are like yours, because a dream is a dream; what…