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Osho on What is the deep longing in man to dissolve the ego, and how does it differ from Freud's Thanatos?

What is the deep longing in man to dissolve the ego, and how does it differ from Freud's Thanatos?

The deep longing within you is not to dissolve the ego, but to awaken to the question, "Who am I?"—a journey inward that reveals the divine presence of egolessness.

— Osho
According to Osho, there is no real ego to dissolve; the innate pull is not to “die as an ego” but to inquire, “Who am I?” Turning inward reveals egolessness—the divine presence. This is unrelated to Freud’s Thanatos, a death-lust that appears when Eros (the life-drive) is frustrated—an outward, pathological reaction, not a spiritual inquiry.

You don’t kill a pretend monster; you just look closely and see it isn’t there—very different from wanting to die when life feels empty.

In His Own Words

From the Discourses

Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.

Athato Bhakti Jigyasa · Discourse 40
1978-03-30 · Pune · Hindi · English translation

Osho, does the ego have some elixir of life? Even on the verge of dying it seems to revive—who knows from where, how, and why?

Haven’t you seen that the harder it is to obtain the woman you fall in love with, the more your love seems to grow? Had Majnu got his Laila, you would never even have heard his name. The whole crux of the Majnu-Laila story is that he never got her. Quite possibly, had he got her, they would have ended in divorce. Stories proceed in strange ways. Because he did not get her, he kept weeping, aching, wandering deserts and mountains, calling “Laila, Laila!” Have you ever seen any husband doing that? Ask a husband and perhaps he hasn’t even properly looked at his wife’s face in twenty years. You too are a husband or a wife—try this: close your eyes and try to recall your spouse’s face. You will find it difficult. The faces of film actresses will come, but your wife’s face will not come clearly. And if…
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Death Is Divine · Discourse 8
1978-10-08 · Buddha Hall · English
Question: OSHO! KILL ME, O LORD, KILL ME! KILL ME, I CRAVE DEATH. KILL THAT DEATH OSHO DIED AND SAW. I AM SUCH A STONE, I CAN NOT COMPLETELY MELT. I AM UPSET. WHAT SHOULD I DO? How does the ego die? The ego dies by accepting what you are. You say, I am fine as I am, where I am is good. I remain just as god made me. Whatever his will is, is my will. If you let go of tension for the future -- this should be, that should be -- the ego is gone. The ego lives on a foundation of past and future. Consider the fact a little. The ego claims that in the past I did this, I did that: it is all past. And ego says I will go on doing it, I will do it and show you. It is all future.
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Athato Bhakti Jigyasa · Discourse 26
1978-03-16 · Pune · Hindi · English translation

Osho, may the color of that flower fade so that only the fragrance remains; let the head go if it must, but let honor remain. Let Your glory be proven by my negation. May I efface myself so completely that only You remain.

No need to rush. Don’t even start trying to erase the “I.” The “I” is such a clever craftsman that if you set out to erase it, it will hide behind the eraser. One day the ego will rise and proclaim, Look, I have destroyed my ego! Now I am egoless! Who is as humble as I? Such a declaration is the ego’s own. Awaken within. Watch and recognize the routes of ego. There is no need to fight. Fight only if you wish to lose—if you want to be defeated. Then how does ego go? Ego dissolves through awareness alone—just as darkness disappears when a light is lit. You don’t have to shove darkness out! You don’t have to slash it with a sword! You don’t wrestle with darkness. If someone starts wrestling with darkness, thumping his chest, do you think he will ever win? He will die fighting,…
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Mare He Jogi Maro · Discourse 8
1979-11-18 · Pune · Hindi · English translation

Osho, “Slay me, O Lord, slay me; I long for death. Slay me with that death by which Rajneesh died upon seeing.” I am so much a stone that I cannot fully melt. I am restless. What should I do?

A man came to Ramakrishna and said, “I am going on pilgrimage, to bathe in the Ganges. What do you say?” Ramakrishna said, “Go, brother, fine—but keep one thing in mind. Have you seen the big trees on the banks of the Ganges?” “Yes.” “Why are they standing there?” “How should I know? Trees stand—what kind of question is that?” Ramakrishna said, “I’ll tell you the secret. You go with the bundle of your sins on your back and take a dip in Mother Ganges. As you dip, by her grace, the sins fall away. But sins don’t leave you so easily; they perch on the trees. They say, ‘Son, how long will you stay under water? Come out, and we’ll ride you again.’ You come out, and they jump back on. So all becomes as before. Keep an eye on those trees—if you dip, don’t come out again!” The…
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Mahaveer Meri Drishti Mein · Discourse 20
1969-09-29 · Hindi · English translation
Question: Isn't this ego? Understand first; don't be in a hurry. That man stood up in a headstand and died. But people were very frightened. A fear also arose: who would bring his corpse down? Because what did it mean—had the man really died? He was still in a headstand. He had died; people checked his breath, put their ears to his heart—no thump, breath stopped. Yet even then it seemed absurd to them: to tie to the bier a man who is still doing a headstand! So doubt spread through the crowd. People said, “All right, wait a little—don’t do anything to him. His sister lives nearby; she’s a nun in a temple close by. Call her. She’s his elder sister and knows his habits well—she’ll know what to do.” The sister came running.
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