Is there no end to this journey?

Osho, is there no end to this journey?

There is neither a beginning to this journey nor an end. We are parts of the infinite, fragments of the eternal. We have always been, and we will always be. It is only that the waves seem to change, but the ocean remains the same. Forms change. It appears as though one journey is completed and another begins. But in truth, whatever is, is the eternal. No beginning, no end. And what greater joy could there be than this—that you are the infinite, you are the deathless? The seers of the Upanishads were absorbed in a single quest: How to move from darkness to light? From untruth to truth? And from death to immortality? If you live in darkness you will live in untruth; live in untruth and you will live in death. The three belong to one chain, one logic. Recognize the light within, and you will recognize truth—simultaneously,…

Beloved Osho, I see the beginning with you, but not the end. Please comment.

There is no end to this pilgrimage, there is only the beginning. It is a very profound question. Gautam Buddha is reported to have said "The world never begins, but it ends. Enlightenment begins, but it never ends. Ignorance has no beginning, but it has an end. Awareness has only a beginning, but no end." So it is absolutely correct that you cannot see any end, you can only see the beginning. It is not my fault, it is not your fault; it is how things are. In ordinary life, in the mundane life, everything is limited; it has a boundary to it. In the spiritual realm, no experience has any boundary; it is oceanic. It simply goes on and on, you never come to a point where you can say, "Now I have arrived." You are always arriving and always arriving, but you never arrive -- because that will…

Question: And the last question: Osho, where does the search for truth end? The very meaning of truth is: the infinite. The search for truth has no end. The search for truth has a beginning, but no end. The journey begins, but it is never finished. It cannot be finished. Because if the journey were to be completed, it would mean that truth is also limited. You have reached the last boundary—then what lies beyond it? No, truth is boundless. This is what we have said again and again in many ways—the divine is infinite, limitless, immeasurable, expansive, vast. If you enter the ocean, it is true that you have entered the ocean; but you have not attained the whole ocean—so much of the ocean still remains. You go on swimming, keep on swimming—still the ocean remains, and remains; the more you cross, the more remains.

Asked by Dharma Bharati: Osho, my taste for the world is fading, and a sadness has come. It feels as if this shore of life is slipping from my hands, and I have not even glimpsed the other shore. Loneliness frightens me, and I clutch at this shore again. Osho, what should I do? How do I reach there?

Buddha said, “Anand, don’t be angry. I understand their secret, because I am doing the same. There is no village ahead. They are kind; they don’t say ‘You won’t arrive.’ They say, ‘Keep going, keep going,’ so you don’t collapse with exhaustion, don’t stop in sorrow, don’t fall into despair. They aren’t lying; they are keeping your courage alive by saying, ‘Just about two miles… almost there.’ This is the method of the Buddhas. They always say: ‘There is the other shore. You don’t see it; I do. Come, come.’ First, the initial shore drops away. When it does, naturally you ask even more urgently, ‘Where is the second?’ And the awakened ones say, ‘Just about two miles…’ Gradually they bring you to the place where you yourself see: there is neither a first shore nor a second shore. The very idea of arrival is meaningless.” Life is an endless…

Beloved Osho, I got the point now that being totally in the heart is only the beginning, and that the journey is never-ending. Now sometimes I feel that in the old poona stories enlightenment was much easier than when you are talking about it now. Is it because we took the first step, and now you are showing us the next one?

It is certain that in my earlier teachings to you, enlightenment appeared to be much easier. It had to, because I did not want you to freak out. Now I can trust that even if I say the truth you are not going to escape. Enlightenment is not easy. But how to persuade people? They are so much engaged in futile things, and if you give them a very difficult idea, which becomes prohibitive, they simply say, "We will see. Perhaps in some life some time -- and what is the hurry? Eternity is available. The small things that we are engaged in doing right now will not be available for eternity, so let us finish them first." And they will go on putting enlightenment as the last item on their list. There is an old, ancient story in India about Kind Yayati. His death came; he was one hundred…