What happens when our ego gets hurt?

A friend has asked: Osho, is it possible for someone to live egoless in this ego-filled world and still be successful? Where everyone is full of ego, wouldn’t living egoless be like swimming against the current? Wouldn’t it bring obstacles, difficulties, failures?

Notice: even the egoist pays respect to the egoless. Even the politician comes and sits at a saint’s feet—this person has stepped out of the arena; one enemy less; he has left the fight; he has begun to flow with the current. So if you think that by becoming egoless you will flow against the current, you are mistaken. As an egoist you are already against life’s current. In egolessness you flow with life’s stream. Yes, you will go opposite to the egoists—but that will create no obstacle. Hindrance only comes if, even through egolessness, you still want wealth, prestige and position in the world. Then there can be trouble. It is said: An emperor was praying in a temple on New Year’s Day. He used to come on the first day of the year to pray. He was saying to God, What am I! The dust of your feet—worse…

Osho, You who deck the latticed windows of my dreams with flowers—do your dreams hold any place for me, or not? Ask with your eyes and tell me: is there any dawn written in the destiny of my nights, or not?

Has the ego ever given you happiness? Then why do you go on constructing it? Ego is only a thorn, a spike that pricks. Other things that hurt you, hurt only because of the ego. Someone insults you—you are disturbed. If you think you are disturbed because of their insult, your analysis is wrong. If there were no ego, you would not be disturbed. People abused the Buddha. People have always abused Buddhas. But the Buddha was not disturbed. He merely said, “If you have finished, may I go? I must reach the next village; people will be waiting. And if you haven’t finished, don’t worry—on my way back I’ll stop again and hear you out.” They were abusing him. They could not believe there could be such an answer to abuse. One of them said, “What are you saying? We are abusing you—these are not words, these are poison-tipped…

The ego has to go -- it is not worth preserving. It is the root cause of our misery and it is good that it is wounded. Help it to die! Once it is gone for the first time you will be able to relate with people. How can you relate with the ego there? It only pretends. When two persons are meeting there are really four persons meeting. Between these two persons meeting there are two egos standing; you are standing behind your ego and the other is standing behind his ego. How can there be a meeting? Even while making love in bed there are always four persons. It is always a group phenomenon! Many more can be there but four are necessarily there. The ego has to go... say goodbye to it! Let it bleed to death.

Osho, what is the fundamental anguish of human life?

There is only one anguish: that a human being cannot become what he was born to be. There is only one anguish: that the seed remains a seed and does not bloom like a flower; that it cannot scatter its fragrance to the infinite winds; cannot converse with the moon and stars; cannot offer its colors to the sky; cannot be expressed. If the poem within the poet cannot be revealed—anguish. If the painter cannot paint—anguish. If the dancer cannot dance—if chains lie on his feet—anguish. Anguish means only this: that what we are meant to be—our innate nature and destiny—does not come to fruition, and we are forced to be something else. Then anguish is born. Then melancholy gathers over life. And all those countless people you see burdened with sorrow, living in a kind of hell—the reason is only this: each has come carrying the seed of becoming…

Osho, whenever someone tells you that such-and-such is happening in meditation and you say, “Good, that is auspicious,” the ego grows even more. And at all other times the ego keeps raising its head. Even while writing this question the ego thought a lot about it, and still...?

And I tell you: only the shadow remains with you; you have lost the soul. Imagine what your plight must be! Losing a shadow caused such trouble; you have lost the soul and kept only the shadow. But perhaps you don’t notice much trouble because those among whom you live have also lost their souls. The truth is, if you gain your soul, the trouble begins—those without souls become your enemies. Otherwise, why would people stone Mahavira, insult Buddha, crucify Mansoor, poison Socrates, kill Jesus? The crowd is without soul. Whenever a soul-full person stands among them, they become very uneasy. What foolishness! They should learn from the soulful how to become soulful. But seeing a soulful person, they get anxious. They say, “His presence proves we failed to become what we should have become. We lost.” Anxiety arises: “Our life is wasted. Remove this man; his presence is a…