Will the thirst that drives me mad ever come to an end?

Osho, will this thirst ever come to an end—the thirst that has driven me mad? That has pierced my very life like a thorn? That blazes each moment in my chest like a flame? Ah! To whom shall I confide the secret of my heart! In this crowded world I am utterly a stranger and completely alone. When will the veil be lifted from the doorway of that unknown mystery?

There is no veil on that door; the veil is on your eyes. The notion that there is a veil on that door is your mind’s delusion—and the mind’s trick. For then the matter slips out of your hands: “There is a veil on His door. When He lifts it, it will be lifted. Nothing can be done by me.” In this way you have protected yourself. I want to tell you: I do not want to leave you any place to escape, any device by which you can avoid. I tell you, the veil is on your eyes. The sun has risen, and you stand there with your eyes closed. Then you say, “O Lord, when will the veil be removed from the sun?” If there is no veil, how will it be lifted? And since there is no veil, it will not be lifted—you will sit waiting for…

Osho, what is this thirst! Even after being fulfilled from all sides, it still feels as if something is missing. There is nothing in this world that I have not attained. But Osho, what should I do with this thirst of the mind? Osho, please be compassionate and clarify this state—this is my prayer!

A poor man does not come to know he is poor. Only the rich come to know. A healthy person does not come to know he is healthy; illness is needed to know. When the opposite happens, awareness dawns. Thakur Rana, you say: “There is nothing in the world that I have not attained—then why this thirst?” Precisely for that reason this thirst is here. Now the Divine must be attained. Now the world holds no more meaning for you. What was to be known has been known, what was to be seen has been seen. Now the hour has come to close the eyes and look within. Now the moment has come to lift your head from the earth and turn it toward the sky. You have gathered enough pebbles and stones—now fill your bag with diamonds and jewels. When the nest of sighs, of night, turns into a…

Question: First question: Osho, the thirst does not arise; the doors do not open. Have you ever seen yourself die? Perhaps you will not die!” Up to the last breath a person thinks death is always the other’s, not one’s own. It is someone else’s bier that is carried; has anyone ever carried yours to the cremation ground? Deep inside, a hope remains that perhaps God will exempt you from the rule. When a thief goes to steal, he knows thieves get caught; but he thinks, “Perhaps I won’t be caught. Those others were unskilled.” When a murderer kills, he knows the consequences, but he thinks, “Will I be caught? No. I have arranged everything.” You use this rule daily.

Osho, when God stands directly before the devotee, why does the longing still not lessen?

He says: Seeing this, I fled. I was so afraid I even set the chain down gently, lest it ring by mistake. And I was so afraid I took my shoes—worn up the temple steps—into my hands, lest the footfall be heard inside; lest he open the door and say, Come; lest he embrace me—and then I would be annihilated. There would be no rescue then. And seeing him standing there, even running away would seem unseemly. The song’s final stanza says: From that day, having fled, I wander on all roads except the road to that temple. My search continues. I tell people I am seeking God, practicing yoga, meditating. And I know very well where he is. Leaving only that place, I search everywhere else. For me, the atheist is precisely that person who, in some birth, suffered a very profound pain—so terrible that he does not wish…

Question: Fifth question: Osho, People drink and they stagger; in your refuge they find so much. As for us, in your gathering we come thirsty, and thirsty we go! Then that thirst is not really thirst. Right now it is only an idea, not actual. Otherwise, who is stopping you from drinking? If you return thirsty from the very shore of the lake, then your thirst was not thirst. When thirst truly seizes someone, he will drink even from a foul puddle. What is needed is thirst. And when there is no thirst, even if the pristine Lake Manasarovar is before you, what will you do? Look for the thirst. Seek it. Otherwise the “thirst” will be false. Many people feel a false thirst. By hearing talk about thirst, real thirst does not arise; instead a greed takes hold within—“one should have thirst.