What is the dialectical growth of man towards enlightenment?

Beloved Osho, I remember you saying once that the growth of man is dialectical; and you have also explained about thesis, antithesis and synthesis. Would you please give more clarity in this reference on the growth towards enlightenment?

That feeling cannot be expressed by "I" because "I" is just another way of saying "ego." Before enlightenment there was ego; ego can exist only in conflict. This state can be spoken of only as "am"-ness, without any "I." It is a very strange feeling: you are not, and yet you are. You are not your old self; you are no longer a self, but you have not lost the feeling of am-ness. So the question of what happens to individuals when they dissolve into the universal.... They still remain individuals, but with no assertion of "I" in them... just a silent song of am-ness or isness. It is as if we put hundreds of candles in this room; all their light will become one. You cannot differentiate in the light -- which part belongs to which candle -- it has become a universal phenomenon. But still, each candle has…

Osho, the play-acting I have to do for security—should I keep doing it or drop it? And now even the acting itself seems to be abandoning me. Please guide me to the right path.

The whole of life is a play—of relationships, of the marketplace, of the household. Life is acting. Where will you leave it and go? Where can you run? Wherever you go, there again you will have to enact some drama. So I am not in favor of escapism. Become a skillful actor. Do not run away. Act knowingly, not in unconsciousness; act with awareness. Awareness has to be cultivated. A thousand tasks will have to be done—and perhaps they are necessary. But doing them with awareness is essential. Slowly you will find that life is no longer “life” as you knew it; it has become sheer play, and you have become an actor. To be an actor means that there is a great distance between you and what you do. For example, someone who plays Rama in the Ramleela performs the role completely—perhaps better than Rama himself, because Rama never…

I only teach the simple art of how to see. In the East we don't have any word exactly parallel to 'philosophy'. The word that we have is 'darshan', which is a totally different word. Philosophy means thinking about truth and darshan means seeing the truth. So I never translate darshan as philosophy but as philosia. 'Sia' means to see, 'philo' means love -- love of seeing; not love of thinking but seeing. The truth is always there, coming continuously, knocking on your doors -- but your doors are closed. Sannyas means the art of opening your doors, the art of opening your eyes, becoming receptive, available. All that is needed on the part of a sannyasin is to be available to the beyond, to be in a yes mood with the beyond -- and truth comes, it inevitably comes and liberates.

Osho, you say we cannot take full responsibility for ourselves until we are 'awakened '. The western growth movement says we cannot be awakened until we take full responsibility for ourselves. Is there a conflict?

For ninety-nine percent? Patanjali will be the way. So I don't discard Patanjali -- I don't discard anything. Everything is accepted and used. Use all the methods skillfully and you will be benefited by all. And don't become obsessed with a method. Don't say that "I believe in gradual growth." If you say, "I believe in gradual growth," then you are preventing the possibility of sudden enlightenment. Maybe you are the person -- who knows? -- you are Hui Neng! Even Hui Neng was not aware until he became enlightened. Who knows?! Somebody may be here who is a Hui Neng, a potential Hui Neng, and if he starts thinking that "No, it is not possible. I don't believe in sudden enlightenment," that very idea will prevent him. Then he will listen to the four lines of the Diamond Sutra and will not become enlightened because of his idea. I…

Beloved Osho, you advise watching patiently the untangling of the gordian knot that ties me to the past. Some part of me is happy to do that; another part wants you to slash the knot asunder. Is this laziness or masochism or a mind trip?

A boy was found who had been raised by wolves in the forest, and just the other day a girl was found. She was the same age, thirteen, and she had been raised by animals. So the boy and girl walk on all fours -- naturally, they have imitated their parents. It has happened in Calcutta too. They tried to make him stand on two legs, thinking that the man should be restored to humanity -- they killed him. Just the effort to make him stand on two legs was so difficult because he now had a fixed structure. For fourteen years he had walked on all fours; now suddenly he could not stand. And the same happened in the Lucknow case: in six months they had killed the boy. I put the whole responsibility on the stupid idea that these people should be restored. They were perfectly beautiful; there…