Is there any exception to the idea that one has to pay for everything in life?

You say that one has to pay for everything in life. Isn't there any exception?

Listen to this anecdote. An American in Paris asked a cabby to give him the address of a good brothel. He went there alone, selected his partner, and ordered dinner. Later that evening, after satisfying his every whim, the thoroughly-drained gentleman went downstairs and asked the Madame for his bill. 'There is no charge, Monsieur,' said the lady of the house. Astonished, but not disposed to argue the matter, the gentleman departed. The next night he returned to the brothel and repeated his performance of the previous night. Upon leaving this time however, he was shocked to learn that his bill was eight hundred francs. 'Impossible!' the American shrieked. 'I was here last evening and I got everything and you didn't charge me a sou.' 'Ah,' said the Madame, 'but last night you were on television.' Yes, sometimes you may get something free, but be aware -- you may be…

Beloved Osho, in his book "the fourth way", ouspensky says, "in the work, the first condition is understanding what one wants to gain and how much one is prepared to pay for it, because one has to pay for everything." in the marketplace we accept that nothing is free; yet as far as the non-material things are concerned, like love, happiness, meditativeness, we tend to think this law does not apply. We seem to take them for granted, as if they are our due -- things that life owes us, because we have been good enough to grace existence with our presence. Would you please comment?

She said, "That is absolutely true. You can see, all my things are with me. I am also amazed about what has happened. Perhaps he forgot or something, that's why he has not returned them." Those things were never returned, and when the woman asked, "I had given them because of my friend's assurance that they will be returned tomorrow morning, but three days have passed. The teaching has started, but I cannot concentrate on the teaching; my whole mind is thinking about my money and my diamonds and my ornaments, because that was all that I had." Gurdjieff said, "The first woman's things were returned because she offered them with love and trust. Yours will not be returned because you offered them with the idea that they will be returned -- and first you made sure of it by asking your friend. You have not given out of trust…

Why must everybody who wants to do meditation or hear the lecture pay for this?

I am also not interested in the mob, in the crowd. I am not interested in casual visitors, I am interested only in the few sincere seekers. They have to show their mettle. And, the money that you have to pay is just the beginning. It is just the alpha; by and by I will persuade you to pay with your life. Unless you have that much courage, nothing is going to happen. Religion is not cheap, certainly not free. But the Indian mind is very money-minded: they talk about being religious but they are very money-minded people. Their whole outlook about things is money. No westerner has ever asked this; they understand: the ashram has to be maintained, the place has to be ready for you, some musician has to prepare for the music, somebody has to conduct the meditation, the gardens have to be looked after, the buildings…

Osho, the questioner is a shopkeeper. He knows well that a beautiful thing also comes at a high price. The trouble is, he is also a miserly Marwari. Even knowing that the world and liberation cannot be managed together, he has a taste for both.

Even if you take two annas of profit, you say to him, “I am taking two annas only so I can remain here to serve you tomorrow; no other reason. So that when you come tomorrow, I am still here. So I take two annas. This item is ten rupees; in it are two annas profit.” Your relationship with the customer changes. He is no longer a “customer”—he is “Ram-ji.” It was just like this with Kabir when he went to sell cloth. He sold till the very end. His devotees said, “Please don’t sell now; it doesn’t look right. We are your servants—what do you lack? You weave cloth in this old age and go to market—we feel ashamed. People ask us, ‘Your guru sells cloth!’” But Kabir would say, “You think of me—think also of the Ram-jis! Those who have always relished wearing my cloth—what about them! They…

Beloved Osho, someone once told me the saying: "all that you put into the lives of others comes back into your own. "it has been with me ever since, and I feel it to be true. Can you please talk about this? It keeps coming up a lot for me.

But Zeno said, "I am not going to argue with anybody. Even if somebody says in the day that it is night, I will say, `Yes, it is night.' I am not going to argue, because if I win in any argument, then I have to pay half the fee to you. That I am not going to do." Almost a year passed and he did not argue with anyone. The master even sent many people to provoke him to argumentation, but he would always be willing to accept whatever you said. You say, "God exists" and he says, "Yes, God exists." You say, "God does not exist." He will say, "God does not exist, I am in absolute agreement with you. The question of argument does not arise." Finally the master, who himself was a great arguer, thought of a strategy: he should bring him to the court, sue…