According to Osho, 'existence takes care' means we are inseparable from the whole, which continually sustains and harmonizes us—breath by breath, heartbeat by heartbeat—without our effort. By becoming aware, especially through vipassana, we directly sense this constant support. From this experiential seeing arises trust—not belief—which relaxes anxiety, enables let-go, and opens the space for witnessing.
It means life is already looking after you, like breathing happens on its own, and noticing this helps you relax and trust.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: BELOVED OSHO, WHAT DOES THE PHRASE "EXISTENCE TAKES CARE" MEAN? Nirada, we are part of existence, we are not separate. Even if we want to be separate, we cannot be. Our life is part of being together with existence. And the more you are together with existence, the more alive you are. That's why I insist continually to live totally, to live intensely, because the deeper your living is, the more you are in contact with existence. You are born of it; every moment you are renewed, rejuvenated, resurrected by each of your breaths, by each of your heartbeats -- existence is taking care of you. But we are not aware of our own being, we are not aware of our own breathing. Gautam the Buddha gave to the world a tremendously simple, but immensely valuable, meditation -- vipassana.
Beloved Osho, when I became a sannyasin I started feeling, much more, that existence is taking care of me. Is my whole life being taken care of by existence? And if it is, how is it that I feel it more since I have been with you?
Existence is taking care of your whole life, because you are part of it. Being with me, it is not taking more care than before, it is just that you have become more aware of it; you were not aware at all before. The change has happened in your awareness. It is not that existence has started taking more care, but now you can feel it, be aware of it. (THERE IS A LOUD NOISE FROM ANOTHER ROOM.) Is somebody suffering from a menstrual period upstairs?... Whether you know it or not, existence goes on taking care of you. If you know it, you feel grateful. In your gratefulness is your religiousness. In your gratefulness is your awakening. But the care is the same. It cares for the smallest blade of grass just as it cares for the biggest star. But those poor fellows cannot be aware of it. You…
Beloved Osho, since I have been here, one feeling gets stronger and stronger -- the only thing that I really want to do is sit on your lap.
USHA, JUST FAR OUT! But please don t start doing it. I have fifty thousand sannyasins: just think of me too, otherwise I will be killed in a stampede. But the idea is great, just as an idea -- don't practise it. The idea is symbolic: a great love is arising in you. It is good, it has to be so. Unless you are in deep love with me nothing is going to happen. Only through love, the transformation happens. And it is good that you have not projected it on me -- otherwise, that too happens... Just the other day, I read in the latest issue of YOUTH TIMES a statement of an Indian film actress, Pratima Bedi. She says,"Rajneesh is sexy." Now, I really enjoyed it! She came to see me once; she must have been there for four or five minutes in front of me. She says…
Osho, what is the meaning of existence?
Buddha says: The inner emptiness is so beautiful, don't stuff it with junk, leave it as it is. And that's what meditation is all about, that's what Zen is. It means living out of emptiness, asking nothing from life, living moment to moment for no other reason, just enjoying being alive. It is more than you can ask for! What more meaning do you need? Is breathing not enough? Is this chirping of the birds not enough? Is the green and the red and the gold of the trees not enough? Is this vast existence with all its splendor not enough? You want some meaning? Yoka says: <q>THE MOON RISES ABOVE THE RIVER. ON THE BANK THE WIND PLAYS SOFTLY IN THE PINES ALL NIGHT LONG, PURE AND CALM. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THAT SERENITY? LOOK ON THE BUDDHA'S PRECEPTS OF NATURE. WINTER AND AUTUMN MISTS, DEW, CLOUDS, SPRING…
Beloved Osho, can you talk about the sufi saying, "trust in allah, but tether your camel first"? Sometimes I feel I hide in passivity, waiting for things to happen. And yet sometimes I am in awe at the way existence seems to be constantly caring for me.
Kumud, the Sufi saying is as ancient as it is wrong. Nobody has ever objected to the inner contradiction in the saying. The saying is: Trust in Allah -- trust in God -- but tether your camel first. Obviously the camel is a priority. God is just a belief. The saying is not in favor of Allah, it is simply denying the very existence of Allah. Trust in Allah cannot be put second to anything. It can be put second only if it is just a fictitious belief. That's why I say the saying is absolutely wrong. In fact it is saying, "Tether your camel first -- then do whatever you want to do with Allah. Trust or no trust, but tether your camel first." Such sayings have existed for centuries without being objected to because only a man of Allah can object. And in the marketplace you can find…