What happens when one tries to get out of the well?

Questioner: you say that all the so-called individual wells are one and they are already joined with the ocean which is emptiness. If so, what need is there to go through any sadhana or spiritual discipline in order to be one with the emptiness or the void?

So the question invariably arises in our minds, "Why go where I will die and disappear? Why go there at all, if death is certain?" But if this death is a certainty, it is what it is. And how on earth will you save yourself through such self preserving efforts? If it is true that you will die on entering the ocean, how are you going to save yourself as a well, and for how long? If, in your view, becoming such a huge ocean amounts to dying, how are you going to survive as a tiny well and for how long? Soon its walls will crumble; soon its water will evaporate, and soon it will be covered with dirt and dust. When you are not to survive as a vast ocean, how will you survive as a petty well? And for how long? This is how the fear of…

Osho, upon reaching the goal the wise man finds that it is impossible to know the self, because there the knower, the known, and knowledge become one. In that state, why do they still tell us, “Know yourself”? What do they mean by it?

Certainly, in that ultimate state the knower is lost, knowledge is lost, and the known is lost. This trinity dissolves into a single current. Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati—all three disappear; only the ocean remains. The one who went in search is no longer there; that which he went to search for is also no longer there. And yet, something remains. What remains is greater than the three; it is more than the three. What is lost was rubbish. What remains is the very essence. Still the wise say to you, “Know yourself.” Are they inviting you to be erased? If it were only erasing, and nothing were gained, the invitation would never be given. From one side, there is disappearing; from the other side, there is being. That which you presently are will fall away, and your real being will remain. Your false, counterfeit “being” will vanish; your eternal substance, your…

Osho, it seems true that one who attains self-realization finds supreme bliss in life. But after death, such a person’s soul is lost in Existence, like a salt doll dissolving in the ocean. Then what meaning does the effort for liberation have in such a case? In the absence of the soul, who will experience this liberation? Kindly clarify!

The trick is to ask questions first on which the subject cannot lie. “Look at the clock—what time is it?” “Nine twenty.” The graph is recorded. “What is in my hand?” “A book.” “Which book?” “The Bible.” The graph runs. “Is the door open or closed?” “Open.” Many such questions where he cannot lie. Then the psychologist asked, “Who are you?” The man was exhausted by endless arguments and thought, “Let me end this bother. I’ll plainly say I’m not Abraham Lincoln. In my heart I know I am, but how long can I quarrel with people?” “Are you Abraham Lincoln?” He said, “No, I am not Abraham Lincoln.” And the machine showed: he was lying. The belief had sunk so deep into the heart! The play had become real. Do you think if we told this man, “It would be best if you ceased to be Abraham Lincoln; then…

Osho, a Sufi poet has said— “Erase your very self if you desire rank, for the seed, mingling with dust, turns into flowers and gardens.” Osho, will you bestow your grace to erase my self, so that my inner seed may sprout, blossom, and bear fruit?

This so‑called fraternity of priests and saints is very clever. To the rich they say “Laxmi-Narayan”—to the poor, “Daridra-Narayan.” To the rich they say, “Your wealth is due to past merits.” To the poor they say, “Don’t worry; bear poverty with peace and contentment; ahead, a great rank awaits.” That is why no revolution has happened in this country in five thousand years. How could it? The poor are consoled, “In heaven you will be first—don’t worry.” He sits waiting for heaven—for tomorrow, which never comes. Tomorrow is an outright lie. Premmurti, first of all—do not desire rank. What will you do with rank? What does “rank” mean? That others will honor you! Why do we seek respect from others? Because we feel an inferiority complex within. This psychology must be understood clearly. The person who feels inferiority within seeks respect from others so that somehow the inner pit may…

1. 79 tirath men to sab pani hai

THERE IS NOTHING BUT WATER AT THE HOLY BATHING PLACES; AND I KNOW THAT THEY ARE USELESS, FOR I HAVE BATHED IN THEM. THE IMAGES ARE ALL LIFELESS, THEY CANNOT SPEAK; I KNOW, FOR I HAVE CRIED ALOUD TO THEM. THE PURANA AND THE KORAN ARE MERE WORDS; LIFTING UP THE CURTAIN, I HAVE SEEN. KABIR GIVES UTTERANCE TO THE WORDS OF EXPERIENCE; AND HE KNOWS VERY WELL THAT ALL OTHER THINGS ARE UNTRUE. 1. 82 pani vic min piyasi I LAUGH WHEN I HEAR THAT THE FISH IN THE WATER IS THIRSTY: YOU DO NOT SEE THAT THE REAL IS IN YOUR HOME, AND YOU WANDER FROM FOREST TO FOREST LISTLESSLY! HERE IS THE TRUTH! GO WHERE YOU WILL, TO BANARAS OR TO MATHURA; IF YOU DO NOT FIND YOUR SOUL, THE WORLD IS UNREAL TO YOU. Disciples had moved, that's true, and from both sides -- and the…