Choices made in fear go wrong; choices made in calm awareness go right—and the best is to be so aware that action happens naturally.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, is choiceless awareness also a kind of choice? It seems to come down to a paradox.
No, choiceless awareness is not a choice. Choiceless means we do not make any choice, we do not select any option; we simply awaken. In that awakening we do not decide, “This is right, that is wrong; this should be accepted, that should be dropped.” We make no decision. We simply look, awake. In this awakened seeing there is no choice at all. And as long as there is choice, we cannot see with awareness. “Awareness with choice”—there is no such thing. Awareness, as such, is without choice. Awareness by its very nature is choiceless. So awareness can never be together with choice, because choice means bias has begun; sleep has begun. There are so many people sitting here: if I say, “Bacchu-bhai is a fine man,” then I cannot be aware in relation to Bacchu-bhai either, because my attachment has begun. Nor can I be aware in relation to…
One who has attained to the eternal absolute shall remain so even after death. So, oh innocent, attain samadhi, the highest state of unity with the supreme, and be free of the choices. The knot of ignorance in the heart is destroyed, the moment one achieves self-realization, through nirvikalp samadhi, choiceless awareness.
ONE SHOULD GIVE UP THE SELF BASED ON EGO BY STEADYING ONESELF IN UNITY WITH THE HIGHER SELF. AND ONE SHOULD BE INDIFFERENT TO EGOISM, ET CETERA, AS ONE REMAINS INDIFFERENT TO POTS, CLOTHES, AND OTHER THINGS. FROM BRAHMA THE CREATOR, DOWN TO THE STONE, ALL APPEARANCES ARE FALSE; THEREFORE, SEE EVERYWHERE YOUR OWN EXCELLENT SELF, WHICH IS EVER-UNCHANGING. THE SELF IS THE BRAHMAN, THE SELF IS VISHNU, THE SELF IS INDRA, THE SELF IS SHIVA, THE SELF IS THE WORLD, AND THE SELF IS EVERYTHING; AND THERE IS NOTHING OTHER THAN THE SELF. This sutra is concerned with choicelessness. Mind is always choosing -- choosing this against that. Mind is the mechanism of choice. Have you observed this? Observe: Mind is always choosing this against that. There is not a single moment when the mind is not in a state of choosing. We go on choosing -- choosing pleasure…
Beloved Osho, in being responsible, one has to choose. How does it fit together with choicelessness?
He came back. He was looking very miserable, even after the shower. And I said, "I was just joking! Can't you see me? Can't you understand? Have you forgotten all those Hindus outside?" -- because in India you can recognize very well who is who. Mohammedans have different caps, different kind of clothes; Hindus have different caps, different kind of clothes. It is not difficult. I said, "You are just unnecessarily bothering." He fell again. He kissed my feet this time really hard. He said, "I was suspecting while I was taking the shower... this man does not look like a Mohammedan. And I am relieved of a great difficulty; otherwise I would have repented my whole life." I said, "You will have to repent. Can't you see my beard?" He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Exactly what you understand. I am a Mohammedan." The man rushed back…
A friend has asked: Osho, whether I move in deepest attunement with nature, in the outermost attunement, or even against it—in all three situations nature is equally pleased; I am completely free to choose any one of them. Then why should my happiness differ among the three choices?
There will be a difference, because each leads to a different experience. Consider: the earth has gravity. You walk along the road; if you walk upright, you don’t fall. You are free—you can also walk crookedly and fall. Gravity will not say, “Don’t walk crookedly.” Walk askew, fall, your leg breaks—there is pain and trouble. When you fall sideways on the ground, the same gravity is at work; it was at work when you were walking, too. No difference. The same law functions—impartially. If you err in walking, or choose wrongly, you will be hurt. Choose rightly, and you will not be hurt. What does happiness mean? Happiness means: in accord with the law. Unhappiness means: against the law. The law is neutral. You drink poison—nature will kill you. You are ill; you take a dose of poison—the illness dies and you become healthy. Even water, if you drink too…
Is sadhana a natural growth, or is it a jump outside the evolutionary process of nature? If sadhana is not a jump and transcendence of the natural evolution, then is it possible that the entire human race can reach spiritual heights all by itself? If it is true that the course of evolution continues to move ahead, why were the greatest spiritual cultures of the past left behind in the whole evolutionary process?
As the individual becomes more and more conscious, his ability to choose becomes more and more profound. The more unconscious an individual is, the less profound is his ability to choose. For example, there is no way that water lying in the sun cannot turn into vapor -- it would be difficult for it not to. The water can't decide whether to become vapor or not. If it stays in the sun, then it is sure to become vapor, and lying in the cold, it is sure to become ice. This, the water will have to live through, although it will have no knowledge that it is living through it, because its consciousness is low, or not at all, or dormant. Trees in Africa rise hundreds of feet in search of the sun. They grow in height. Trees in India won't grow to such heights, because in India there aren't…