What is the relationship between harshness and compassion in teachings?

Osho, you have said that in liberated souls compassion remains, and that compassion is the subtlest form of desire. In desire there is always conflict, always two—two mutually opposed. In that case, what is the opposing element of compassion that still remains in liberated souls?

First, not that compassion is a subtle form of desire; compassion is desire’s ultimate form. There is a difference. By “ultimate form” I mean the bridge between desire and desirelessness. If you wish, you can call compassion the final form of desire, or you can call it the first form of desirelessness. It is the link in-between where desire ends and desirelessness begins. Compassion is not a subtle form of desire. If it were, there would be duality in compassion too. Desire is always dual. No one can be free of duality within desire. Therefore there is suffering in desire, because wherever there is duality, there is suffering. So however pleasurable desire may seem, its painful counterpart will always be standing right behind it; it cannot be avoided. Thus every desire, at a certain limit, turns into its opposite. The opposite of each desire is present instantaneously; it is never…

Osho, what is compassion?

Man goes on living like a robot, functioning well, efficiently. In fact, the more like a robot you are, the better you function, the better the society feels with you -- because it is a society of robots. To be awakened, alert, conscious here is dangerous. It is a society of blind people; to have eyes is to invite danger. But without creating consciousness you will never be able to know the beauty, the blessing that God has bestowed upon you. You will never know the great opportunity that has been given for you to grow, to become. You can be sunlit peaks and you are just dark holes! "Shit!" said Polaris. "I got a real jolt in court this morning. The judge fined me five hundred dollars for attempting to rape some broad I met on the subway. And then when he took a good look at her he…

Osho, yesterday you spoke about justice and compassion and said that only a man of wisdom can bring compassion along with justice. Is a synthesis of justice and compassion possible?

On the basis of logic—no. On the plane of logic—no. A synthesis of justice and compassion is not possible according to logic, because they belong to two different planes. Understand. Justice means: let what is proper happen. Compassion is not included in justice. Justice only means that the appropriate rule be applied. In compassion there is the heart; in justice there is only the intellect. Compassion is the greater thing. Compassion means: let what ought to be happen. It is not about rules; it is something bigger than rules. Consider: you go to court; you have stolen. The judge looks into his books, flips the pages, searches the law. You stole fifty rupees; he looks up the penalty; the penalty is written in the book; accordingly he sentences you. He keeps his distance; he does not enter into any human relationship with you. He does not think that within you,…

Beloved Osho, buddha was saying again and again to his disciples that meditation and compassion should grow side by side. These days I have been feeling your compassion as never before, and I have also been feeling the urge to start learning from it, at least the abc. For now, the only thing that makes me feel close to it are those warm tears that flow down my cheeks as I look at you. Beloved, can you please talk about compassion, and how to go into it from the stage I'm at.

Chidananda, Gautam Buddha's emphasis on compassion was a very new phenomenon as far as the mystics of old were concerned. Gautam Buddha makes a historical dividing line from the past; before him meditation was enough, nobody had emphasized compassion together with meditation. And the reason was that meditation brings enlightenment, your blossoming, your ultimate expression of being. What more do you need? As far as the individual is concerned, meditation is enough. Gautam Buddha's greatness consists in introducing compassion even before you start meditating. You should be more loving, more kind, more compassionate. There is a hidden science behind it. Before a man becomes enlightened, if he has a heart full of compassion there is a possibility that after meditation he will help others to achieve the same beautitude, to the same height, to the same celebration as he has achieved. Gautam Buddha makes it possible for enlightenment to be…

The first thing that Bodhidharma did when he became enlightened was to laugh. It is said that tor seven days he was laughing and laughing. His friends, other meditators, started enquiring, "Have you gone mad or something?" He said, "I was mad, now I am sane. And I am laughing because it looked so big. But I was making a mountain out of a molehill; it was nothing, Now that I have gained is so much that that price was almost nothing. Just for a song I have attained the ultimate." Hence the presence of a Master is helpful, In those moments of pain and anguish and anxiety you can always look up to him, you can always see that there is a future because he represents your future. He is what you will be one day.