What are the three rings of love: the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering?

Osho, what is the definition of God?

Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…

Question: The fifth question: Osho, why do you make so much fun of marriage? Marriage is an old institution, very old. And the older it is, the more rotten it has become. Marriage cannot survive in the future; its days are over. We will have to find some new alternatives. The search for alternatives has begun. But in the alternatives now being sought there is one fallacy: they think there was suffering in marriage, and in this alternative there will be no suffering. That is a fallacy. Yes, in the alternatives there may be more or less suffering—but suffering will be there until you become steady within yourself. In fact, the very need for marriage arises because you think happiness can come from another—and there lies the root of all ignorance. Happiness cannot come from the other.

There are matriarchal societies still alive where man is weaker than the woman, because they have lived in a different way. The woman is the food gatherer, she is the hunter; the man takes care of the children, looks, takes care of the house. The man is a housewife and the woman is really the husband. And strange phenomenon: in these matriarchal societies the man is weaker than the woman. It is just because of certain historical situations that man became more powerful -- it is not natural -- but once he became more powerful he used his power to dominate the woman. Now all over the world the married woman carries signboards that she is married; no man carries any signboard. It is a strange thing.

Osho, can you tell what was in front of the window? What were they seeing through that hole?

Whoever keeps repeating a lie becomes a lie. Whoever holds a lie in place becomes, little by little, a corpse—dead, a hypocrite. When there is no love, you have to say there is love, to proclaim there is love, to put on a show of love. A thousand devices are needed—because love is gone. If love is there, it is enough; no need to bring a sari, no need to bring bouquets or buy garlands—love is sufficient. Love has its own air, its own fragrance. But when love dies, then bring saris, bring jewelry, bring gifts; somehow make up for what has died, gather a few hollow contrivances to maintain the deception that love is there. Because once a promise was made—now how to break the promise! But what can you do? This fire is such that you cannot light it, you cannot put it out. You are helpless. Love…

Osho, when Taru Ma sings the sutras, I feel as if preparations for my wedding are going on. But today, while she was singing, it occurred to me that sannyas is actually the engagement.

Birds of assurance—words— chirp upon the branches of vows; in the lotus-groves of longing fragrant patience scents each step. Words of love have sprung in the innocent courtyard of affection; someone’s name, unknowingly, has become the base of my songs. In the inner mirror I tried to cast a form that belittles light, but to confine the boundless is not easy—there I was defeated. Naked, failing lines raise their hands and gaze at the sky; the life of some unknown image has taken on my very shape. Here, prayer is being made. All these songs are prayers. Here, hands are being raised toward the sky. Here, the begging-bowl is being held out before God: fill it! The One who is unknown today, utterly unknown—that very One is to be betrothed. The One who seems so far is to be brought near. With the One from whom all our connections have…