According to Osho, man is a seed: the sprouting into godhood is instantaneous, but the time lies in the seed's (ego's) disintegration. Like water suddenly flashing to steam at 100 degrees, the divine leap occurs the moment total readiness is reached. Where man ends, God begins; our delays come from fear and retreat at ninety-nine degrees, not from God taking time.
When your ego fully lets go, becoming one with God happens all at once, like water turning to steam.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Another friend asks: when we sow a seed, it takes time to sprout. And you say that man is a seed, seed of godhood, and that he can sprout into godhood this very moment, instantly. Will you please explain this seeming contradiction?
Every one is naked behind his clothes and no one gets upset about it. Inside our clothes all of us are naked and no one is disturbed. But everyone is disturbed because two persons shed their clothes during meditation. It is a great irony. It would be understandable if someone had disrobed you and you got upset. But why are you upset about someone shedding his own clothes? It was okay to be upset if someone had robbed you of your clothes, although that too would be meaningless. Jesus has said, "If someone deprives you of your coat, give him your shirt too. Maybe, he could not take more because of his shyness." His protest was justified if someone had removed his coat. But why should he lose his head if someone takes off his own coat? It seems that he was just waiting for an opportunity when someone took…
Osho, when we sow a seed, the sprout takes time to emerge. Yet you say everything can happen this very moment. And man is called the seed of the Divine.
I certainly say so. When you sow a seed, it takes time. The time is taken in the breaking of the seed, not in the sprouting. The sprout bursts forth in a single instant—an explosion. But the seed’s breaking takes time. Your breaking can take time—I don’t deny that. But the coming of the Divine takes no time; it happens in a single moment. It is like heating water. Heating can take time. To reach a hundred degrees takes time. But becoming steam takes no time—a leap! The water reaches a hundred degrees—the jump—and it has leapt, become steam. It is not that steam takes time to form—half water, half steam; one corner steaming, another not. No, when steam happens, it happens in a jump. Yes, reaching the point of steam takes time. But until it becomes steam, it is still water—whether at a hundred degrees, ninety-nine, or ninety-eight. The…
I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty.
YOU DON'T GRASP THE FACT THAT WHAT IS MOST ALIVE OF ALL IS INSIDE YOUR OWN HOUSE; AND SO YOU WALK FROM ONE HOLY CITY TO THE NEXT WITH A CONFUSED LOOK! KABIR WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH: GO WHEREVER YOU LIKE, TO CALCUTTA OR TIBET; IF YOU CAN'T FIND WHERE YOUR SOUL IS HIDDEN, FOR YOU THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE REAL! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SORT OF A GOD WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. THE CALLER CALLS IN A LOUD VOICE TO THE HOLY ONE AT DUSK. WHY? SURELY THE HOLY ONE IS NOT DEAF. HE HEARS THE DELICATE ANKLETS THAT RING ON THE FEET OF AN INSECT AS IT WALKS. GO OVER AND OVER YOUR BEADS, PAINT WEIRD DESIGNS ON YOUR FOREHEAD, WEAR YOUR HAIR MATTED, LONG, AND OSTENTATIOUS, BUT WHEN DEEP INSIDE YOU THERE IS A LOADED GUN, HOW CAN YOU HAVE GOD? And Rabbi Kotzker's…
Osho, what is the definition of God?
Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…
Please explain how a seed can flower without the bit in between.
The wife listened. The same problem always came to everybody. She started thinking about the child. If she becomes a sannyasin and moves with this beggar -- her ex-husband, now he is a beggar -- if she moves... and what will happen to the child? She has not said anything, but Buddha said, "I know what you are thinking, because I have passed that period where promises given in the sleepy state all crowd together and say, 'What are you doing? -- your child...' You are thinking that, 'Let the child become a little more aged, let him be married, then he can take over the palace and the kingdom,' and then you will follow. But remember, there is no future, no tomorrow. Either you follow me right now or you don't follow me." But the wife... And a feminine mind is more asleep than a male mind. There are…