Why should we be religious when the beginning and end are unknown, and there is no trace of God or soul?

A friend has asked, Osho, why should we be religious when neither the beginning nor the end is known, and there is no trace of God or soul? The enlightened ones speak of truth—if that truth is real, why can’t they make everyone experience it?

No one is telling you to be religious—at least Lao Tzu would not. The so-called religious people have created so much disturbance that it is better you do not become one of them. Lao Tzu does not say, “Be religious.” He simply says: be what you are. You may ask, why should I be what I am? Because that is the only thing you can be. There is no way to be anything else. Yes, you can try to be something else—and in that trying your life can be wasted. You may then say, why not waste life? No one can stop you. And precisely for this reason even the enlightened ones are defeated and cannot give you the knowledge of truth—because you say, why should we know the truth? What can the enlightened do? They can speak. They can try to awaken in you the thirst for the joy…

One friend asks: why should we be religions when we do not know the beginning, when we do not know the end; when we have no knowledge of god or atman? Why can't a buddha who experiences the truth give this experience to all?

No one wants you to be religious -- at least Lao Tzu does not tell you to be. Religious people have created such confusion that it is better if they cease to exist. No one wants you to be religious. Lao Tzu says only this: "Be what you are." You may ask, "Why should we be what we are?" The answer is that that is all you can be. There is no way of becoming something else. You may try to become something you are not, but you will simply be wasting your life. Then you might say, "Why should we not waste our life?" Nobody can stop you from doing what you like. Buddhas also accept defeat. They cannot make you realise truth. What can sages do? All they can do is to tell you of the bliss they have attained; the peace, the enlightenment, that they have received.…

Another friend has asked: Osho, what is the relationship between the method of meditation and jati-smaran (recollection of past lives)?

But the one who becomes skilled in this—who can fully awaken any day’s memory up to the age of five—will find that the memories begin to awaken completely. And you should test it. As today passes, note down some events and lock them up. After two years, try to recall today. Most of it will have been forgotten. Then remember—and after remembering, break the lock and compare whether what you recalled matches what you had written. You will be amazed—astonished—that besides what you wrote, many more details have come back which you did not even note at the time. They will all be there in memory. Buddha called this alaya-vijnana. There is a corner of the human mind he called the storehouse of consciousness. Like a junk room in the house where we keep all the odds and ends, there is a storehouse that collects memories—where everything from birth after…

Osho, what is the definition of God?

Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…

I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty.

YOU DON'T GRASP THE FACT THAT WHAT IS MOST ALIVE OF ALL IS INSIDE YOUR OWN HOUSE; AND SO YOU WALK FROM ONE HOLY CITY TO THE NEXT WITH A CONFUSED LOOK! KABIR WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH: GO WHEREVER YOU LIKE, TO CALCUTTA OR TIBET; IF YOU CAN'T FIND WHERE YOUR SOUL IS HIDDEN, FOR YOU THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE REAL! I DON'T KNOW WHAT SORT OF A GOD WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. THE CALLER CALLS IN A LOUD VOICE TO THE HOLY ONE AT DUSK. WHY? SURELY THE HOLY ONE IS NOT DEAF. HE HEARS THE DELICATE ANKLETS THAT RING ON THE FEET OF AN INSECT AS IT WALKS. GO OVER AND OVER YOUR BEADS, PAINT WEIRD DESIGNS ON YOUR FOREHEAD, WEAR YOUR HAIR MATTED, LONG, AND OSTENTATIOUS, BUT WHEN DEEP INSIDE YOU THERE IS A LOADED GUN, HOW CAN YOU HAVE GOD? And Rabbi Kotzker's…