According to Osho, expectation is the mind leaning into the future; by itself it does little, but clinging to it breeds tension, disappointment, and blindness to what is. Life flowers in choiceless awareness: stop demanding outcomes, be present and receptive, and happenings unfold on their own. Let expectation dissolve into watchfulness so action arises naturally, without strain or harm.
When you expect too hard, you miss what’s happening now—relax, watch, and let things unfold by themselves.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Otherwise, people are always lagging behind. Life is always running ahead and they are far, far behind. They are simply dragging themselves. And they are so far behind that they are bound to be miserable -- because they will be almost dead, and by the time they reach to where life is right now, life has moved again. It is like a river: it is not stagnant, it is dynamic. A sannyasin has to see it clearly that everything changes, nothing remains the same, even for two consecutive moments. Then the whole desire for keeping things as they are forever drops. And in that dropping you are free. Suddenly, a great freedom is felt. Then you are no longer disturbed by anything, nothing can disturb you. Things disturb you because you were hoping for something else and it is not happening that way.
[A sannyasin couple and their baby are present. The man says he expected to come here and feel better, more loving. Instead, he says, in some ways he feels more sad, tense, angry.] Expectation always creates misery. If you expect something, that very expectation will become the barrier. So live a life without any expectations. Your expectations are your demands on life and a demanding mind always becomes miserable. Bliss is where demand is not, because only in a non-demanding state can you relax and receive it. So this is not a problem which is personal to you; this happens to many people. Naturally, you come with great expectation -- that this is going to happen, that is going to happen... many fantasies in the mind. Because of those fantasies you cannot relax; you are always waiting for the result.
Question: IT WOULD NOT BE BETTER IF THINGS HAPPENED TO MEN JUST AS THEY WISH. UNLESS YOU EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED YOU WILL NEVER FIND THE TRUTH, FOR IT IS HARD TO DISCOVER AND HARD TO ATTAIN. NATURE LOVES TO HIDE. THE LORD WHOSE ORACLE IS AT DELPHI NEITHER SPEAKS NOR CONCEALS -- Expectation means your known projecting itself into the future, into the unknown. That's why I say if you are a Christian, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist, or a Jaina, you will miss -- because what does to be a Christian mean? It means a Christian expectation. It means a god seen through Christian eyes. It means a conception, a philosophy. What does it mean to be a Hindu? It means a system of belief.
Osho, “The Beloved struck me with a flower and I was hurt to my very core; people threw stones, and I did not feel even a speck of pain.”
The miracle was this: one last desire had remained hidden; that too was seen. Had a hand descended from the heavens, it would not have been so great a miracle. Had the earth split or the sky, even that would not have been so great a miracle. Had the sun sunk at high noon—it would still not have been so great. Had Jesus ascended bodily to heaven—even that would not have equaled it. The true miracle, in my view, was that in his own unconscious the very last chain became manifest. The moment it revealed itself, the hour of awakening struck. Instantly Jesus said, “No, no—forgive me. What have I said? Who am I? Not my will—let thy will be done. Let what you wish come to pass. Let thy will be fulfilled. What will have I? I am content with thy will. Let thy kingdom come upon the earth,…
Can you talk about facing the death of each moment and letting go?
In the West now, there is a craze about how to prolong life. That simply shows that somewhere life is being missed. Whenever a country or a culture -- starts thinking about how to prolong life, it simply shows one thing -- that life is not being lived. If you live life, then even a single moment is enough. A single moment can be equal to eternity. It is not a question of length, it is a question of depth; it is not a question of quantity, it is a question of quality. Just think: would you like one moment of Buddha's life or would you like a thousand years of your own life? Then you will be able to understand what I mean about the quality, the intensity, the depth. In a single moment fulfillment is possible: you can bloom and blossom. But you may not bloom for one…