According to Osho, “Be still” means don’t try to become still—drop methods, the ‘how,’ and all inner “shoulds.” Restlessness is born from striving. Simply be where you are, consent to what is, and stillness reveals itself. It’s an immediate, non-doing recognition; when the urge to achieve quiet ceases, silence is already present.
Stop trying to get calm; just be with what’s here now, and calm shows up by itself.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, what is Jesus’ idea about “Be still”?
Jesus’ idea is exactly what I am saying. Jesus is saying: Be still. The real meaning of “Be still” is: don’t try to be still—just be still! Yes, if you try to be still—bring in techniques, methods, processes—then right now you are not still, not quiet. So how will you become quiet? You decide to do something to become quiet, and by doing you think you will become quiet. The irony is that we are restless precisely because we are doing something. That is the very problem. What Jesus says—“Be still”—he is pointing to a very difficult matter. Mahesh-ji didn’t understand at all. In his haste he spoke as if somehow he could convince people that both say the same thing, that these two statements are one and the same. In that effort his mind was occupied the whole time. And where is the harmony between what he and I…
Osho, what exactly do you mean by saying "be still and know" and also "seek the strength of no-desire"?
BE STILL AND KNOW is one of the most fundamental sutras of the inner alchemy. But by being still is not meant that you have to force stillness upon yourself. A forced stillness is not true stillness. One can sit like a Buddha, almost like a statue, absolutely still, and yet deep down there may be great turmoil, a thousand and one thoughts rushing. There may be great traffic in the mind. The body can be forced to sit silently for hours, and you can also learn tricks to still the mind. For example, if you chant any mantra for hours, any name of God, if you simply go on chanting "Allah, Allah, Allah," it functions like a tranquilizer. Repetition of a single word or a single mantra creates a certain melody in your mind soothing, very soothing, very calming. And a kind of stillness will be felt which is…
Osho, last night you explained inner stillness through the dimension of inner silence. Please explain inner stillness from some other dimension.
Jesus says that we are just dead -- not alive! One day, he was passing by a fisherman just as the morning sun was going to rise. The fisherman had thrown his net into the lake, and Jesus put his hand on the fisherman's shoulder and said, "Are you going to destroy your whole life just catching fish? I can show you something better to catch. I can make you a fisherman of life." The fisherman looked at Jesus as if some magnet was working on him. Then he threw away his net and followed Jesus. When they were just going out of the village, someone came running and told the fisherman, "Your father is dead. He has just died, so come home. Where are you going?" The fisherman asked permission. He said to Jesus, "Allow me to go home. Soon I will come back. I have to bury my…
You say, Osho, don’t try to be something, to become, to attempt “becoming”—just be, just being. Please explain in detail how this is to be attained.
The very moment you ask how to practice it, you miss the understanding. Because “to practice” already means the effort to become something has begun. When I say, remain as you are, just as you are, the question of practice does not arise. Practice means you have started trying to be what you are not. So you have not understood. Any practice implies discontent; there is no fulfillment in being as you are. The mind says, let something more happen. A little money—let’s gather more. A little knowledge—accumulate more. A little renunciation—become a great renunciate. A slight taste of meditation—let’s manufacture the taste of samadhi. It is all the same; there is no difference. The issue is neither money nor meditation; the issue is the demand for “more.” So whether you ask for wealth you remain worldly, and even if you ask for meditation you remain worldly. Wherever there is…
"the practice of witnessing makes me quiet, still, and silent, but then the friends around me say that I have become serious. There seems to be some substance in what they say. Please explain how one can grow simultaneously in stillness and playfulness."
"AND PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW ONE CAN GROW SIMULTANEOUSLY IN STILLNESS AND PLAYFULNESS." One grows! There has never been any case that is otherwise. One grows simultaneously in stillness and playfulness, but if your stillness is false then the problem arises. All those who have known silence have always been playful, non-serious. They could laugh, and they could laugh not only at others, they could laugh at themselves. Bodhidharma entered China fourteen hundred years ago, from India. He put one of his shoes on his head; one was on one of his feet and one was on his head. The Emperor of China, Wu, had come to welcome him. He became disturbed. There were many, many rumors, of course, that this man was strange, but he was an enlightened one and the emperor wanted to welcome him to his Kingdom. He became disturbed. His courtiers, they also became disturbed. What type…