Ram isn’t a magic statue or story hero to cling to; let go of ideas so you can feel what’s real inside.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Ram is one of the names of god. In india we have one thousand names for god. The basic idea is that all names are of god -- obviously, because there is nobody else other than god so all names are his, all forms are his. It is god manifest in everything. Ram is one of the names of god, and the indian term ram, if read backwards, becomes 'mara'; that means death. So life and death are not two separate things. If you read this one way it is life, god himself, if you read the other way it is death itself... so life and death are two aspects of the same coin. There is a story about valmiki; he was an uneducated man, very rough. He was a robber and a murderer, and he was going to rob a saint.
Osho, You have said that Maryada Purushottam Ram was not religious, because nowhere in his life does a spark of rebellion appear. Then what is the reason that his name has lived for thousands of years and has become synonymous with God?
Understand these three words clearly: - A villain (durjan) is one who goes against society’s values. - A gentleman (sajjan) is one who goes along with society’s values. - A saint (sant) is one who neither goes with nor against; he lives by his inner inspiration. Sometimes that inner inspiration will come out against, sometimes alongside—this is secondary. If it comes out against, so be it; if alongside, so be it. But Ram is a strict line-walker. He walks the beaten track. He places each step with caution. He tiptoes. A washerman says a word…and is the washerman’s word to count for so much?…and Sita is thrown out! As if an excuse were being sought! As if the words were put into the washerman’s mouth by himself! If one man’s remark can cause so much panic, then what of the fire-ordeal Sita had already undergone? Even that became useless! And…
Osho, “Ramnam janyo nahin, bhai puja mein hani; kahi Rahim kyon manihain, Jam ke kinkar kani.” You have named the discourse series beginning today after the great poet Rahim’s couplet: Ramnam janyo nahin. Osho, is death truly only for those who do not know Ram? How is this Ram known? And, Osho, what is worship?
The biggest liars in this world are those believers who, without search, without inquiry, without any exploration, have accepted God. What impotence is this? The shadow of this impotence covers the whole earth. These grand churches and towering temples and minarets reaching the sky—these only hide your impotence, nothing else. Those temple bells, these calls to prayer from mosques, these church prayers, these lights and incense in the Shiva shrines—all this is pomp, deception, dishonesty. It keeps you complacent that believing is enough, knowing is unnecessary. Go to church on Sunday—enough. Get the Satyanarayana story recited once in a while—on loan from a two-bit priest. Or distribute sweets at a temple, or fast and abstain—job done. Whom are you fooling? I look into your eyes and see you are not fooling anyone but yourself. And the greatest deceit in this world is to deceive oneself. If you want to know—do…
Osho, it is said: “Nirbal ke bal Ram” — the strength of the weak is Ram. Is this true?
So what does it mean when we say, “Nirbal ke bal Ram”? Not what you imagine. You think you will go to the temple and say, “O God, I am very weak, now give me strength — run my business well, make my shop prosper, increase my prestige in the market. All right, I admit I am weak; now show your miracles.” That is not the meaning. People have foolishly taken it so: that if we cry and weep, plead, “We are fallen, you are the purifier of the fallen; we are nothing, you are everything; we are the dust of your feet, you are the king; now save us” — then He will come running. These are childish expectations. It means you have co-opted Him into your service. Clever! Your flattery worked. Your prayers are flatteries. That is why prayer is called stuti — praise, eulogy. Your prayers are…
Beloved Osho, hearing your discourse on 'rama the only refuge' I remembered your declaration in the anandshila meditation camp: "I have come to awaken, not to teach. Surrender and I will transform you. This is my promise." please explain this immensely reassuring statement to us in detail. Also, please tell us what is the difference between learning and awakening, what is the relation between surrender and transformation?
But while we are in it, it is difficult; and this is so because our investment in the sleep is great. Our great hopes, and the wildest fantasies of our dreams, are all contained in sleep, and if we break out of our slumber, all these hopes and dreams begin to collapse. You say to your wife, "I love you"; but when awareness fills you, you will have to say, "I have never loved you". You tell your children, "I am living for you"; but filled with awareness you will discover that it is not true. You are not living for your children, you are keeping them alive so that you can live on through them when you are dead. Your children are your desire; they are supposed to complete that which you were unable to do. You are trying to travel on their shoulders into the future. Through them…