What happens when somebody leaves Sannyas?

Osho, how do you feel when somebody leaves sannyas?

And this too I have felt: once you have left sannyas there is a possibility you may come back -- because then you will miss me, and then you will understand what was being showered on you. Then you will miss the nourishment, then you will miss the contact. When you are getting it you start taking it for granted. Sometimes it is good to take it away so real thirst and an appetite arises in you and you start seeing. But next time, when you come for sannyas, it is not going to be that easy. I will not initiate you so easily. Then you will have to earn it. Once you drop sannyas, coming back is going to be difficult. I will create all kinds of barriers. Unless you transcend those barriers you will not be accepted again. That too is to help you, because there are people…

If somebody wants to become a sannyasin, what should he do? And what if he wants to drop out again?

There is no problem. When you fall in love, what do you do? Just fall in love; become a sannyasin -- there are no conditions. And when you want to fall out, there is no need for any divorce. You simply fall out -- we say goodbye. We celebrate both the occasions. There are no conditions when you come in. There are no conditions when you leave. It is your freedom to be part of the movement. It is your choice not to be part of it. We respect you and we respect your decision.

Beloved Osho, why do you give sannyas to almost anybody who comes to see you? What is your concept of sannyas? What obligation does it involve?

But once you know a greater phenomenon -- a greater bliss, a greater happiness -- then you are not renouncing things. They just drop away, just like dry leaves from the tree. No one knows and no one hears, the dry leaves just drop. The tree remains oblivious to it and there is no wound left behind. So, to me, everything has a moment to happen, a moment of ripeness -- ripeness is all. One must ripen; otherwise one will be wandering unnecessarily and harassing himself unnecessarily and destroying himself unnecessarily. One should ripen, then the opportunity comes by itself. So renunciation is through positive growth. That is what I mean by my sannyas -- renunciation through positive growth. There is no negativity at all, no denial, no suppression. I accept the human being as he is. Of course, now much is potential, but as he is, he is not…

What do you think about people who drop sannyas?

I love them, just as I have always loved them. Sannyas is just a formality, it does not matter. They cannot drop me; I am going to haunt them in their nights, in their dreams, in their hearts. So dropping sannyas does not matter. I don't pay any respect to rituals and formalities. I know one thing: once somebody is here with me, I make a way in his heart of which he may be absolutely unaware. He may drop sannyas, but I am going with him. I am spread over all my people; they are my home. So I will love anybody who drops sannyas exactly the same as I have been loving him when he was a sannyasin -- with no difference at all. Love never depends on formalities.

To me, sannyas is not something very serious. Life itself is not very serious, and one who is serious is always dead. Life is just an overflowing energy without any purpose, so to me, sannyas is to lead life purposelessly. Live life as a play and not as a work. If you can take this whole life just as a play, you are a sannyasin; then you have renounced. Renunciation is not leaving the world, but changing the attitude. That is why I can initiate anyone into sannyas. To me, initiation itself is a play. And I will not ask for any qualifications -- whether you are qualified or not -- because qualifications are asked when something serious is done.