What was Mahavira seeking that led him not to go to any master?

Osho, why could Mahavira not find any master or sect at whose feet he could surrender? What was Mahavira seeking?

And remember: one who bows to someone is always stiff before someone else. One who touches somebody’s feet is eager to have others touch his feet. I once went to the ashram of a great sannyasin. On a big platform the head sannyasin was seated; below him, on a smaller seat, sat another sannyasin; below that, others were sitting on the floor. The head sannyasin said to me, “Do you see who is sitting beside me?” I said, “I don’t need to know; someone is sitting, that’s enough.” He insisted, “Perhaps you don’t know—he is the Chief Justice of the High Court. Not an ordinary man! But very humble—he never sits on the platform with me, always on the smaller seat below.” I said, “That I can see. But below even that small seat some others are sitting—he is not humble towards them; he sits above them. And they are…

Beloved Osho, I have heard you say that seeking the truth is as ecstatic as finding it. Does that not eliminate the search?

"And anyway we cannot deceive you. All that we know, we have given to you. We don't know whether it leads to truth or not, because how can we know? -- we are also in the middle of the way. Whether it leads to somewhere or not can be known only when we have reached to the end. And I know almost all the masters around. It is better you start moving alone -- on your own." Perhaps Buddha is the first person who reached to the goal without a master. But one cannot say that those masters did not help him. They did not help him to the end -- they may have helped him only in small ways -- but they certainly helped him to eliminate many things. They certainly made it clear to him that it is better to go alone, to take the risk. Perhaps that…

Osho, yesterday you said that when anger is watched consciously, it dissolves. But why is it that when sexual desire arises, even in awareness its intensity persists? Why is it so?

There is no entanglement in the breath. If you try to practice on anger… Anger is not happening every moment; it happens sometimes. And when it happens, it happens with such intensity that you are already going deep into it; so much is at stake in those moments that you may think, “We will look into awareness later; first let’s settle this now.” Lust is very deep, because existence has made it so deep; life depends on it. If lust were so easy that you decided and were freed, perhaps you would not even have been born—because many before you would have become free, and the possibility of your being would have been almost nil. But your parents, and their parents, did not become free; therefore you are. You too will not get free so easily, because your children are also to be—they are waiting: “Do not run away midway.”…

Osho, Mahavira preached asharan—seek no refuge—and yet he also made disciples. Are these two not mutually contradictory?

They look contradictory; they are not. And whoever has been a truly awakened being in this world will always appear paradoxical. Life is paradoxical, so whoever mirrors life in its suchness will also appear paradoxical. Only the pundit is not paradoxical. The knower will always be paradoxical, because the knower does not prune life, he does not force a framework onto it. For him, life as it is, is accepted. He simply reflects life, and whatever is in life gets reflected in him. He functions as a mirror. Now Mahavira says, asharan—seek no refuge. Do not go into anyone’s shelter. Yet disciples come to Mahavira and say, “Siddhe sharanam pavajjhami.” O perfected one! We come to your refuge. “Arihante sharanam pavajjhami.” O victorious, realized one! We come to your refuge. Mahavira accepts them too. Then it seems all upside down: Mahavira says, “No refuge,” and yet those who seek refuge…

Osho, immediately after his enlightenment Buddha said: Having known by myself, whom shall I call a master and whom shall I teach, whom shall I make a disciple? And yet for forty years he initiated and taught millions. But before the Mahaparinirvana, his final instruction was: Atma Deepo Bhava! Bhagwan, please shed some light on this.

You know how to play the veena. Your fingers are skillful. The veena is there. Yet music is not arising. You are not placing your fingers on the strings. You are not pouring your skill onto the veena. Pour your skill onto the veena; the veena will shower music on you. Everything is present. You know how to cook. There is flour, salt, ghee, lentils, water, the fire is lit—and you sit hungry! And you also know how to cook! Nothing is lacking. Everything is there. Only a little coordination is needed. A little arrangement is needed. There will be no need to remain hungry. Therefore Buddha says: Whom shall I teach? What shall I teach? Truth cannot be taught at all. Whatever is taught will not be truth. Even to say “taught” is too much; truth cannot even be said. Whatever is taught is not your nature. All teaching…