What leads one on the inner journey?

Osho, you say that desire moves outward; then what is it that leads one on the inner journey?

To be defeated in the world; to be defeated in lust; the failure of craving leads you to the divine, leads you inward. When a deep wound awakens in you—that life as you are living it is futile—then the excitement about the outer life drops. Understand this a little. I see many people who are eager for the inner life, but they have not been wounded; the outer life has not failed for them, yet they get interested in the inner. Then their so‑called inner life is only a part of the outer life; it is not inner life at all. Their temple too is just a corner of their shop. Their prayer is merely the opening line of their ledgers—“Shri Ganeshaya Namah.” The ledger begins with God. To keep the shop running smoothly they remember the Divine. By remembering God they make arrangements for hell. As far as I…

Understand it: when your stomach aches, you become aware of the stomach. When it does not, you never know you have one. When your head aches, you know you have a head; without pain, you never notice it. Wherever there is pain, that limb is felt. The wise have said: when there is pain in your consciousness you feel “I am.” When all pain is gone, there is no sense of “I.” That not‑knowing frightens—“I am not! Better keep hold of sorrow; at least the bank remains. Otherwise I’ll drown midstream!” Only when someone sees sorrow so thoroughly that he realizes “sorrow is me, my ‘I’ is woven of sorrow; without sorrow there is no ‘I’”—after such deep seeing, when such a one comes to a Sadguru, then “by even slight upadesha” a revolution happens.

Osho, the journey so far has been hard, but with your hint and support I have passed through it. I feel blessed to have received what I had never even imagined! Whatever I experienced, I kept explaining to others as well. But the journey ahead seems not only difficult, it feels absolutely impossible. You say, “You are at the destination; drop the very idea of journey.” It seems somewhat understandable, yet the resolution doesn’t stay. Osho, why does this complaint arise? Am I expecting the impossible before its time? Is waiting an even harder practice than practice itself? Osho, what is this r

You get a glimpse that the teaching is right; but the ancient mind won’t let the glimpse stay. It protests, “How can this be right? What will happen to me? Where will I go? If you are already God, then what is the point of religion? What meaning has practice? If you are God, then who is saint and who sinner? Who is Ravana and who Rama?” The mind creates a thousand disturbances. “Then what difference between a drunkard and a devotee—if all are God?” It becomes hard to answer such questions. And the truth is: between saint and sinner there is no difference—only on the surface, in the mind; within, the same One resides. Between Rama and Ravana there is no difference. Have you ever gone behind the stage of a Ramlila? There the reality is revealed. The curtain lifts: Rama and Ravana stand with bows and arrows aimed,…

Osho, you say, “As He wills, let us become mere instruments; whatever role in life we have been given, let us fulfill it.” But letting what happens happen—i.e., flowing along with the body, mind, and ego—gives rise to suffering. So should we keep applying the principle of instrumentality even in relation to the body, mind, and ego, and go on suffering? How do we solve the riddle between the principle of instrumentality and the continuous reality of suffering?

That supreme bliss is beyond both pleasure and pain. It is neither like night nor like day. It is twilight. The sun has set, night has not yet come; the light remains—very gentle, sweet, non-aggressive—that is twilight. Morning has come, the sun is not yet risen, the night has gone—such is the twilight. One who abides in that twilight—that is what we call prayer. That is why Hindus call their prayer sandhya. Sandhya means one who has stopped in between the dualities, who has found the truce between the two. Between pleasure and pain, love and hate, victory and defeat, night and day, life and death—one who has found the pact and stands in that concord. Seek that interval of conjunction. Krishna says, it is simple to find. If you cease to be the doer, you will find it instantly. It is only through your doer-ship that you keep missing.…

Osho, Sahjobai’s path is love, devotion, surrender, and worship of the guru. Then why does she begin to emphasize inwardness, the inner journey, and dispassion?

The guru is outside. But the outer guru is merely a ladder leading to the inner guru. When you lay yourself completely at the feet of the outer guru, open your eyes and you will find that the outer guru has bid you farewell. It was your outward mode of seeing that made the guru appear outside. Suddenly you find this music is resounding within. This is no one outside—someone within is speaking. I have heard: a fakir came to a mosque. Perhaps he was a little late; people were already dispersing. He said, “Brothers, the congregation is breaking up so quickly. Why such haste? Pray more slowly, more gently.” One man said, “You don’t blame yourself for coming late, and you blame the congregation. The Prophet has completed the prayer.” This is a story from Muhammad’s time. “The Prophet has completed the prayer. Now what is there to do,…