According to Osho, mythic and Puranic tales form around enlightened beings because history records outer facts while myth conveys the inner essence—buddhahood, the radiance behind events. Myths portray what ‘should have happened,’ the universal storms of the heart, so the living truth becomes relatable and inspiring. They supply flesh and marrow to the bare outline, translating timeless, deathless insight into psychologically truthful, archetypal narratives.
Stories grow around sages to show the deep truth and human feelings inside, not just dates and facts.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Why do Puranic, mythic tales gather around enlightened ones? Please explain.
The full moon is a symbol of fullness. Grasping that symbol, the Purana says: the Buddha was born whole—born on a full-moon night—born cool, radiant, with the complete beauty, carrying a unique ambrosia. Then, on a full-moon night, that hidden nectar within him flowed forth, blossomed, opened like a lotus—he attained. And on a full-moon night he departed, for even the death of a buddha is full, as his birth was full. Everything in the Buddha’s life is complete. To say this—that everything in the Buddha’s life is complete—we chose the symbol of the full moon. People choose different symbols, but the value lies not in the symbol itself; the value is in the meaning we pour into it. That is why Puranas arise around enlightened ones; mythic stories are created. Through the meanings hidden in those stories you can understand what buddhahood signifies. There are two kinds of fools…
Osho, there is a story in the life of paramahansa ramakrishna, and we have heard it from you more than once, about his lust for the palate which sharada devi told about. Doesn't it indicate that desire is intrinsically related to living, to life itself?
One way is through something else. I give you a message, then you give it to somebody else, then he to somebody else. Then it reaches to whomever it was to be given -- to whom it may concern. Then it reaches -- and it has changed. Every time it is given to someone, it is changed. With our eyes we don't see alike. We cannot see alike because in a subtle way every instrument is different. So when I see light I feel it in a different way. When you see light you feel it in a different way. When a Van Gogh sees the sun, certainly he sees it in a different way, because he will become just mad, begin to dance, cry, scream. He will just be mad when he sees the sun. For one year Van Gogh continuously painted only sun pictures. He would not sleep:…
Those like Buddha or Christ, who wear clothes, are as capable of nakedness as Mahavira. They have nothing to hide. But perhaps others are not ready to see nakedness—why assault them? To veil the eyes of others, the simplest way is to put cloth on one’s own body. I have heard—when thorns first troubled people’s feet, a king summoned wise men to find a protection. They proposed—cover the whole earth with leather. The king said—where will you find so much leather? The earth is vast. A servant suggested—cover the feet with leather; then wherever you go, there will be leather. Likewise, the simplest way to cover everyone’s eyes is to cover your own body. Going to cover all eyes is impossible. Even so, this remains hard. Hence two opinions arose about Mahavira’s nakedness. Certainly he was naked; there is no second option.
Many western historians feel that humanity is constantly making progress. If this is the case, then how is it that human consciousness is so unevolved?
Mark and Luke are contradictory because they are writing history. But Tulsidas and Valmiki are not contradictory. They are not writing history, they are not concerned with history at all. They are reliving, in their imaginations. They say, "We cannot say much. We cannot say enough because we are not capable. All that is said is only a fragment. It is not the whole story." If you yourself see Krishna, you will see something else altogether. But you are at liberty to see it because the event is not historical. So the life of Krishna or of Ram, becomes very rich. Jesus' recorded life was very poor because his followers were obsessed with history. They could not write anything that was beyond history. The eastern mind could see that we cannot do justice to Krishna or Buddha if we limit ourselves to bare events. This will be an injustice because…
Performing samyama on the present moment, the moment gone, and the moment to come brings knowledge born of the awareness of the ultimate reality. From this comes the ability to distinguish between similar objects which cannot be identified by class, character, or place.
THE HIGHEST KNOWLEDGE BORN OF THE AWARENESS OF REALITY IS TRANSCENDENT, INCLUDES THE COGNITION OF ALL OBJECTS SIMULTANEOUSLY, PERTAINS TO ALL OBJECTS AND PROCESSES WHATSOEVER -- IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE AND TRANSCENDS THE WORLD PROCESS. The chronological time is fixed, it has to be fixed, because it is a social necessity; but the psychological time is fluid, it is not so solid, because each person has his own psychology, his Own mind. Have you watched? When you are happy, time goes fast. Your clock will not go fast; the clock has nothing to do with you. It moves at its own pace -- in sixty seconds it moves one minute, in sixty minutes it moves one hour. It will continue; whether you are happy or unhappy doesn't matter. If you are unhappy your mind will be in a different time; if you are happy your mind…