The West runs fast thinking there’s only one life; the East walks slowly thinking there are many; the wise way is to act now but stay calm inside.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Why is there so much hurry in the west while the east seems to be so relaxed?
Different time orientation. The East thinks in terms of eternity, in terms of many many lives, incarnation after incarnation, one after another. The time span is very big, so there is no hurry. In the West the time span is very small, so there is hurry -- only one life. Only one life? -- and life is slipping by, it is going down the drain. If you live sixty years, twenty years will be lost in sleep; twenty years will be lost in some stupid job; fifteen years will be lost eating, defecating and things like that -- what is left? And whatsoever is left will be lost sitting before a TV -- finished! Fear arises, one becomes very much frightened. Something has to be done before it disappears... great, hectic hurry! The East thinks in a very very infinite span -- one life after another, the wheel of life…
You ask: “Osho, when will morning come?”
The council met—yet not inside the church; they gathered under a tree, at a safe distance. There was much opposition: “The ancient church, our forefathers’ heritage, centuries of experience and love—how can we pull it down?” But if no worshippers come, what is a church for? It must be done. So they passed some resolutions. First: with great sorrow, out of compulsion, O Lord forgive us—we resolve to demolish the old church. But instantly, struck by guilt, they passed a second: we will build a new church exactly like the old one, a perfect replica. Still the guilt hurt, so a third: we will build the new church using the old church’s bricks, doors, windows, glass—nothing new will be used. But the guilt was very deep; they passed a fourth: until the new is built, the old will not be pulled down. Our attachment to words, doctrines, scriptures, temples and…
तुम पूछते हो: ‘ओशो, सुबह कब होगी?’
पंचायत बैठी लेकिन पंच भी चर्च के भीतर बैठक नहीं बुलाए, वे भी चर्च से काफी दूर एक झाड़ के नीचे मिले। बड़ा विरोध था। अनेकों ने विरोध किया कि पुराना चर्च, इतना प्राचीन, बापदादों की धरोहर, सदियों-सदियों का अनुभव, सदियों-सदियों की प्रीति, ऐसे गिराया नहीं जा सकता। मगर फिर उपासक कोई आते भी नहीं तो चर्च का प्रयोजन क्या, गिराना तो होगा ही। तो फिर उन्होंने कुछ प्रस्ताव पास किए। पहला प्रस्ताव था कि हम बहुत दुखी हैं, मजबूरी है, हे प्रभु हमें क्षमा करना, इस पुराने चर्च को गिराने का हम प्रस्ताव करते हैं। लेकिन तत्क्षण अपराध-भाव से पीड़ित वे थे, दूसरा प्रस्ताव उन्होंने किया कि नया चर्च बनाएंगे और बिलकुल पुराने जैसा बनाएंगे, ठीक हूबहू यही होगा, ऐसा ही होगा। लेकिन अपराध-भाव बड़ा था, इतनी पुरानी चीज को तोड़ने जा रहे थे, तो तीसरा प्रस्ताव किया कि नया चर्च बनाएंगे तो पुराने चर्च की ही ईंट, द्वार, दरवाजे, खिड़कियां, कांच, सब पुराने चर्च के ही लगाएंगे, नई एक चीज जरा भी न लगाएंगे। लेकिन अपराध-भाव बहुत गहरा था, तो चौथा प्रस्ताव उन्होंने पास किया कि जब तक नया न बन जाएगा, तब तक पुराने को गिराएंगे नहीं।
Osho, why have I always been in such a hurry? Today I saw so clearly that it was my way of keeping the divine at a distance, and I felt incredibly sad, and saw the absurdity of this pattern.
Silverstein, the inveterate joiner, came rushing home, proudly holding a membership card to his newest organization. "Look," said Silverstein to his son, "I just joined the Prostitute Club!" "What?" said the boy. "Let me see that card." After reading it, he announced, "Pa, that's the Parachute Club!" "All I know is," said Silverstein, "they guaranteed me three hundred and sixty-five jumps a year." There are these people who are constantly joining this club and that, and this organization and that. They are simply afraid of being themselves, simply afraid of being left alone. There are people who are constantly rushing -- don't ask where, they themselves don't know. But in the rush they are occupied, and the occupation keeps them away from themselves, away from looking into their own inner hollowness. This constant hurry is nothing but an escape from your inner self. And there is a truth in it…