What should I ask God for?

Question: Sixth question: Osho, if I must ask God for something, what should I ask? If you ask for anything, you will go wrong. Best is not to ask. Not asking is the very best. Without asking, pearls are given; ask, and you won’t get even chaff. Why go to the doorway of the Divine as a beggar? If you go as a beggar, you will get only what you ask for. And many times a great mistake happens, because you will ask only for what fits into your mind. Even in asking, you will ask for something small. Just think—what will you ask for? You will not be able to ask for what truly should be asked, because it won’t even occur to you. You have no taste of it. And then you will regret it greatly. I have heard: A very wealthy lady went to her physician.

A friend has asked, Osho, when we pray to God we say: remove all my sorrow so that only happiness remains. And you have said happiness and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. Then what should we ask of God? What should we pray for?

As long as there is asking, no relationship with the Divine is established. Prayer is not asking. More rightly, prayer is thanksgiving, not demand. Prayer is not a demand for what has not been given; it is gratitude for the grace of what has been given—thanksgiving. Do not ask for anything. Your very asking will become a barrier between you and the Divine. For whenever we ask for something, what does it mean? It means that what we are asking for is greater than God. A man asks God for wealth. That means the goal is wealth; God is merely the means. A man asks for happiness. That means happiness is greater. It can be obtained from God—hence he asks God. But God has been reduced to a medium, merely a means. We want even God to serve us! Whenever we ask for something, the thing asked for becomes important;…

Osho, what should I call you—Prabhu, Vibhu, or Shambhu? I ask this so that I may bow at your feet continuously. Only there do I wish to bow for all three times. Now please hear my prayer!

So absorbed in worship that one forgets even to raise the hands. You don’t remember to bow—you are bowed. So immersed in devotion! “Now, for prayer, my hands no longer rise; the heart seems lost in surrender and consent.” The temperament is so drowned in worship, in prayer: who remembers when to raise hands, when to offer flowers, when to mark the forehead? Bowed is bowed. Bowing is not an outer affair. It is inner—an inward mood. You ask to bow for three times. You will be in trouble, and you’ll put me in trouble too. If you must bow, bow—just spare me! “Because I may bow at your feet continuously.” What is the fear? Why make it “continuous”? Is this moment not enough? Settle this moment within itself. The next moment will care for itself. Why keep accounts of tomorrow? Surely your today is poor. Talk of tomorrow arises…

Osho, what should I do? How should I pray? How should I worship?

“What should I do? How should I pray? How should I worship?” Bid farewell to the word “how.” Move into inactivity. Sit for an hour—do not think what to do—just sit for an hour. If birds are singing, listen. If sunrays are dancing upon you, feel them. If a breeze comes and rustles your clothes, makes them quiver, feel it. Just sit. You will be amazed to discover that if you can sit for an hour without any occupation, one day prayer will be born within you—like a wonder. But when you ask “how,” you don’t realize what you’re asking. You are saying, “All right, I will sit for prayer—just give me some occupation. Should I turn a rosary? Chant a mantra? Arrange a puja tray? Perform aarti?” You want some device to keep busy. You cannot remain without doing. Doing is your disease, your madness. In the shop you…

Question: THE SECOND QUESTION: I WANT TO ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING, WHAT SHOULD I ASK? Go to god's door as a lover, not as a beggar. Like a lover putting everything at the feet of his beloved, like a beloved putting everything at the feet of her lover -- make your relation with god like this! Not of give and take, not of strategy and tricks, not of desires and expectations. Don't ask, prayer is soiled by asking. Let prayer remain free, free from asking. Only then can prayer fly up into the sky. Otherwise the stone of asking is heavy, making prayer fall to the earth, unable to rise to the sky. What will you ask? You mind will ask, will it not? One has to become free of the mind. How will you become free if you satisfy its demands? What will you ask for?