According to Osho, raising both hands signifies our longing for the stars—an upward surge of consciousness beyond ideology; he chose two hands partly to defy Germany’s ban on the one-hand salute. 'Yaa-Hoo' is a joyful, meaning-free sound whose vibration awakens your belly; he playfully gives it the sense 'Ah, God'—a greeting born from laughter and love, not from war.
Two hands up means reaching for the stars, and shouting “Yaa-Hoo” is a fun, happy way to feel God inside—like a laugh that tickles your tummy.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, my hand just won’t leave my heart—how are we to salute you?
So I said to that man, “Do not say this again. I understand why you are saying it: so that the people of your village will recognize that although you have come for the darshan of a non-Muslim, you are still a Muslim. If even in a moment of love it still occurs to you that I am a Muslim, I am a Hindu, I am a Jain, I am a Christian, then that love is not worth two pennies.” It is enough that your hand has reached your chest. And the hand has reached the chest only because the feeling has arisen in the heart. The salaam has happened, the pranam has happened, the prayer has happened, the meditation has happened. All the mantra-like, mysterious experiences of life happen in that small instant. Now do nothing more. Because if you do something more, then you will be the doer.…
Osho, Zen masters often ask their disciples, How does one hand clap? We, your new disciples, ask you: How does one hand clap?
It happens every day—and you simply don’t hear it. What you don’t want, that is what I am giving you. What you never asked for, that is what I am distributing to you. The clap is sounding with one hand. Even for what you are not yet ready, I am pouring into you. The clap is indeed with a single hand. Try to understand this a little. Where you don’t wish to go—where you had not even dreamt of going—I am taking you there. The hand from your side that should be there for the clap is missing. My single hand is clapping. And the day your hand appears there, I will withdraw mine. Still, the clap will be of one hand. Then there will be no need of my hand. Then you will have become capable yourself. “One hand clapping” is a symbol—a very deep symbol of the anahat…
Beloved, it was you who sang whatever songs I wrote. It was you who gave crimson to the sky that day, you mirrored yourself in the dawn, you lent your raga to birdsong, your light to the sun’s rays, your fragrance to the southern breeze, and to the trembling lotus you gave your sweet pollen of delight. The devotee is no more—the Lord himself dances in the devotee. A unique rasa! A festival of joy, a great celebration! Flowers upon flowers bloom; reed upon reed plays; ever-new curtains of mystery rise; lamps flare everywhere. Diwali has come—and Holi too—both at once. Jagjivan beseeches and asks only this: let me never forget. Only one prayer remains: that I never forget, never again fall into oblivion. Mark this—and ask for nothing else. “I know this vision did not come because I was worthy. I am unworthy.
Beloved Osho, yes!
Do you know this word amen, what it means? It simply means "Yes, Lord, yes. Let thy will be done. Don't listen to what I say, I am ignorant. Don't listen to what I desire; my desires are stupid -- bound to be so. Go on doing whatsoever you feel right -- go on doing it in spite of me." That is the meaning of the word amen. Mohammedans also end their prayer with amin -- it is the same word. Sarjano, your question is tremendously significant. First, it is not a question, hence it is significant. It is a declaration, it is a dedication, it is surrender, it is trust. You say: "Beloved Osho, YES!" This is the beginning of real sannyas. If you can say yes with totality, with no strings attached to it, with no conditions, with no desire for any reward, if you can simply enjoy…
Osho, in this verse the fourth and final yajna is called the Yoga Yajna. In the Gita Press translation it is called the Ashtanga Yoga Yajna. Please clarify this as well.
Now a lovely thing: Om has A, U, and M. If you emphasize M, vibration immediately occurs at the navel. Islam has the word Allah. Sufi fakirs use the word Allah as with Om. “Allah”—the H lands just where M lands. “Allahu”—the Hu lands exactly at the navel where Om lands. Allah and Om are entirely different words, but the intent is one, and the result is one; the meaning too is one. The Sufi begins with Allah—Allah, then Lah, then Lahu, and finally only Hu remains. And Hu’s blow lands on the navel; and at the navel the sleeping master begins to awaken. By a thousand methods yoga awakens the sleeping master. And as soon as that master awakens, integration arises in the personality—yoga happens. Fragments gather together. The marketplace disappears; soldiers in formation stand. Then the personality obeys command. In the market’s crowd no one obeys; there is…