According to Osho, the realization of the Eternal is a direct, timeless knowing shared by all awakened ones—unchanging like the sun—while only its expression varies. Words arise as a fragile rainbow needing three elements: realization, a rightly placed speaker, and a receptive listener. The realization is ancient, ever-present; the saying is moment-bound, dependent on attunement, and can vanish with the slightest misalignment.
The truth never changes, but how it’s said depends on the speaker and listener meeting at the right moment.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, about the Eternal, the Sanatan, that you speak of—did its realization come to you seven hundred years ago, and are you speaking today in that same symbolic language? Or is it in today’s circumstances that the realization of that eternality occurs to you?
The Eternal has been realized by all. There is no obstacle in realization; the obstruction arises in expression. Mahavira has the realization of the Eternal, Buddha has it too. But Mahavira expresses that realization in the language of the old; Buddha expresses it in the language of the new. I want to express it in the very language of the Eternal. And you ask, “Did it happen to me seven hundred years ago?” Almost. The expression, though, I will give only today. Because even if something was known seven hundred years ago, when it is said today, the knowing does not change—but the saying changes greatly. Seven hundred years ago, this could not have been said; there was no reason to say it in this way. The situation is somewhat like a rainbow that appears during rain. It is a very amusing phenomenon. From where you stand, the rainbow becomes…
Osho, what does realization feel like? How can a seeker know that something has truly happened? How can one distinguish reality from self-created imagination? How can others recognize the attainment of one who is realized?
You ask: “How can a seeker know that something has truly happened?” When you have a headache, how do you know you have a headache? When I was in school, I had a Muslim teacher—perhaps he is still alive—Rahamuddin, a lovely man, but very strict in one thing: it was almost impossible to get leave from him. He himself never took leave and would not grant it to students. I often needed leave. I would say my stomach hurts, or my head hurts. He said, “Listen, I accept fever; I do not accept stomachache or headache. If you have fever, I can at least take your hand and feel it. But how am I to know whether you truly have a stomachache or headache?” I said, “Since you ask, let me ask you—have you ever had a headache? A stomachache?” He said, “I have.” I said, “What proof can you…
Osho, is it possible to experience the eternal, the immortality about which you have been talking, in the conditions and circumstances of today?
The experience of the eternal has been there for all. There is no difficulty in having the experience. The difficulty is in giving expression to the experience. Buddha had the experience of the eternal, but Mahavira was expressing it in the old language and Buddha in a new language. I want to express it in the language of the eternal itself. You mean to ask whether I had that experience seven hundred years ago. Yes, I nearabout had the experience then, but I am giving expression to it today. When one attempts today to express whatsoever was known seven hundred years ago, there will be no difference in the knowing, but there will be a great difference in expressing it. Seven hundred years ago it could not have been told in this way; there was no reason for it. The situation is like the appearance of a rainbow during the…
Question: BELOVED OSHO THERE IS NO SECOND PERSON MASTER CHANG CHING SAID, "THE ULTIMATE TRUTH IS WORDLESS. PEOPLE OF THE TIME DO NOT REALIZE THIS: THEY IMPOSE THE PRACTICE OF OTHER THINGS, CONSIDERING THEM ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THEY DO NOT KNOW THAT INHERENT NATURE HAS NEVER BEEN SENSE OBJECTS, THAT IT IS THE GATE OF SUBTLE WONDROUS GREAT LIBERATION, AWARE OF ALL THERE IS WITHOUT BEING STAINED OR OBSTRUCTED. THIS LIGHT HAS NEVER STOPPED: FROM AGES PAST UP TO THE PRESENT IT'S BEEN STEADY, NEVER CHANGING. THE SUBTLE ILLUMINATION OF THE SPIRITUAL LIGHT DOES NOT DEPEND ON BEING CULTIVATED AND REFINED. SINCE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND, PEOPLE GRASP THE FORMS OF THINGS -- IT'S JUST LIKE RUBBING THE EYES, FALSELY MAKING OPTICAL ILLUSIONS ARISE. I am also a dewdrop in the same ocean in which you are a dewdrop. The moment the dewdrop falls in the ocean, all separation disappears.
Osho, whenever someone experiences the Vast, it inevitably expresses itself in some form. Is it not so with the enlightened ones?
The experience is such that, try to hide it and it will not hide; it will manifest. As far as the experiencer is concerned, it will certainly be expressed. But as far as you are concerned, it depends on you: it may be revealed, or it may remain unrevealed. Buddha has said what he came to know—whether you heard it or not… On Buddha’s side, it has been expressed; on your side, it may or may not be revealed. The rain falls: lakes, ponds, pits and hollows fill; the mountains stay empty. If your pitcher is kept upside down, no matter how much the clouds thunder and pour, you will remain empty; for you, the rain will not have happened. Not that there was no rain—there was; only, not for you. And until it is for you, what difference does it make whether it happened or not? Even if the…