According to Osho, decision-making by the mind—rooted in desire, fear, or borrowed roles—creates tension and entanglement; you end up chasing consequences and suffering even with good intentions. True intelligence is choiceless awareness: see clearly, and right action happens without inner conflict. When understanding flowers, decisions are not made; they unfold naturally, leaving no burden or regret.
Quiet your mind, see clearly, and the right choice makes itself.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, like Krishna, do you also tell us that all our resolves are false?
People come to me and say they are in great difficulty. If they do not take sannyas, day and night there is regret: “We are falling behind; others are moving ahead. Others are courageous; we are weak, cowardly; others are daring.” So guilt persists in the mind; there is pain. If they do take it, then troubles arise: “What mistake have I made!” People ridicule them. People say, “He too has gone mad. You have dropped your mind! Lost your intelligence!” Don’t take it, and regret catches you; take it, and regret catches you. Then what will you do? Whatever you do, regret will seize you. The meaning of regret is only this: you are divided. One part of the mind says, “Take it”; another part says, “Don’t.” Whichever of the two you obey, the one you did not obey sits inside, waiting for the right moment to say to…
If there is absolute emptiness inside an enlightened one, then how is it that he seems to be making decisions, discriminating, liking this or disliking that, saying yes or no?
The same is the situation with unenlightened minds and enlightened minds. An enlightened mind simply looks. Everything is clear. He has a clarity. His whole being is light. He looks around and he simply moves, acts -- he never thinks. You have to think because you don't have eyes. Only blind men think; they have to think because they don't have eyes. They need substitute eyes, and thinking provides that. I never say that Buddha or Mahavira or Jesus are great thinkers. That would be just nonsense. They are not thinkers at all. They are knowers, not thinkers. They have eyes, they can see, and through their seeing they act. Whatsoever comes out of a Buddha comes out of emptiness, not out of a mind filled with thoughts. It has come out of an empty sky. It is the response of emptiness. But for us it is difficult because nothing…
Beloved Osho, living decisively, knowing what one wants, seems easy. However, my reality is that I can never make up my mind about anything. I can always see both sides of an argument and can never decide which is right. So I am left hanging between the two. One part of me, listening to you, feels this is okay, but it makes me feel static, as if I am only partially alive. Please comment.
What I have been telling you is that it is the nature of the mind to be in a limbo. It is the nature of the mind to be in the middle of polar opposites. Unless you move away from the mind and become a witness to all the games of the mind, you will never be decisive. Even if you sometimes decide -- in spite of the mind -- you will repent, because the other half that you have not decided for is going to haunt you: perhaps that was right and what you have chosen is wrong. And now there is no way to know. Perhaps the choice was better that you had left aside was better. But even if you had chosen it, the situation would not have been different; then this which would have been left aside would haunt you. Mind is basically the beginning of…
This happens very unconsciously; it does not happen in your awareness. If it began to happen in awareness, it would never happen. It happens in those dark corners within of which you yourself are not conscious. You will become conscious later; it takes time. Conversation will happen with this person. And according to the decision your mind has taken, the mind will find in the person those very points it has already decided upon. Usually you think you make decisions after thought. But those who understand the mind say: you decide first, and thought afterwards is merely an excuse. You fall in love with someone. If someone asks you “Why?” you say, “His face is very beautiful; his voice is very sweet.” But psychologists say: you fall in love first; these are only later rationalizations. If someone asks, “Why have you fallen in love?
First of all, you have asked, “Then what should that person do—choose the marketplace or the forest?”
Choose, and you are lost. In choice is the world; even if he chooses the forest, it is the world—because in choice is the world. And if he stays in the marketplace without choosing, that is sannyas. Choicelessness is sannyas; choice is the world. Therefore there is no way to choose sannyas—sannyas happens. So many people come to me. I see two kinds of sannyasins—those who make it happen, and those to whom it happens. Those who try to make it happen say, “We’re thinking about it; what you say appeals; we’re considering.” “We’ll take sannyas someday—just not now. Right now there’s so much to do; yes, what you say does make sense.” I have heard: Mulla Nasruddin was sitting in the mosque and the preacher gave a sermon. In the middle, in a very dramatic way, he asked, “Those who want to go to heaven, please stand up.” Everyone…