What happens to a seeker who experiences a setback after nearing their goal?

Osho, it is frightening to think that a seeker, even after reaching close to the goal, can, due to a slight lapse, be thrown so far back that he has to begin all over again from the very start. Then has so much labor gone to waste for a tiny mistake?

Understand this well: the greater your possibility, the more you will be tested. The smaller the possibility, the sooner you will be let go. As the hour of God’s arrival approaches, the tightening increases; you are gripped more and more firmly. Because now you are approaching your ultimate possibility. Now all the examinations must be completed. You are reaching that beyond which there is no further going. You are reaching that beyond which there is no further growth. You are reaching the supreme peak, the summit of Kailash. Now every test must be passed. Now every fiber of your being must be tried. Now only pure gold must remain. Let no drowsiness remain in you; remain pure and aware. Let no trash remain in you. Now it is necessary to throw you into the final fire. Therefore, if you miss even a little at the last stage, you are thrown…

Osho, the fall of ordinary people seems understandable. But how is it that even someone who walks the path of renunciation, dispassion, austerity, and sadhana—who has come close to the destination—can still fall into the abyss?

The ordinary person cannot really fall. Where would he fall? One who walks on level ground—even if he stumbles, where is there to fall? Only the one who tries to climb the mountain peaks can fall. To fall you need a summit. And near the summits lie hidden ravines and chasms. On level ground, on the royal road, even if someone falls, what kind of fall is it? He is already fallen. The ordinary person never becomes “fallen,” because there is nowhere left to fall. So when you say the fall of the ordinary is understandable—you have not understood. How is the ordinary to fall? He lives at the point below which no further decline is possible. He lives at zero degrees, at the very bottom. He has made the ravine itself his home. Only the extraordinary fall—those who undertake the ascent to the peaks; who strive for heights; who…

Beloved Osho, the fall of an ordinary person can be understood, but how can the fall be possible of a seeker who is treading the path of renunciation, detachment and austerity?

An ordinary person cannot fall down. Where will he fall? Where can a person fall who is walking on even ground? Only a person who is trying to climb the summit of the mountain can fall down. You need mountain peaks to fall down. And there are hidden abysses and ditches near the mountain peaks. But how can a person walking on the flat, even ground, on the main road, fall down? Where will he fall down to? He has already fallen down. An ordinary person cannot fall down because there is no more scope for him to fall down. So you have not understood what you have said: "The fall of an ordinary person can be understood." How can an ordinary person fall down?... because he is living at the point from where no more fall is possible. He is living at the zero degree. He is already living…

In yesterday's talk you said that the seeker should first worry about his own receptivity and should not go begging from door to door. But the very meaning of a sadhak is that there are obstacles on his path of spiritual growth. He does not know how to be receptive. Is it so difficult to meet the right guide?

So the Brahman is the ultimate obstacle -- the last barrier in the ultimate quest of the seeker. Now only the being remains, but nonbeing has yet to be realized. The being, the is-ness, is known, but the nonbeing has yet to be realized -- that which is not still remains to be known. Therefore, the seventh plane is the nirvana kaya, nirvanic body, and its chakra is the sahasrar. Nothing can be said in connection with this chakra. We can only continue talking at the most up to the sixth -- and that too with great difficulty. Most of it will turn out to be wrong. Until the fifth body the search progresses within a very scientific method; everything can be explained. On the sixth plane the horizon begins to fade; everything seems meaningless. Hints can still be given but ultimately the pointing finger breaks and the hints too…

A friend has asked: Osho, the soul cannot be seen. Why is so much importance given to what cannot be seen? And why are you also speaking about this same unseen soul?

A tree is visible; its roots are not. The roots are hidden in the earth. But that does not reduce the value of the unseen roots. In fact, the visible tree depends entirely on those invisible roots. And whoever wastes time caring only for the tree and ignores the roots, his tree is bound to dry up. That tree will bear neither leaves nor flowers nor fruit. The life of the tree is hidden in its unseen roots. Whatever is truly important in life is hidden. What appears is only the outer shell. What remains unmanifest is the inner life-breath. The body is visible because it is the outer shell. What is within the body is not visible. But the value of what is unseen does not diminish for that reason. Rather, precisely because it is not visible, its search becomes all the more necessary. Let it not happen that…