Humor

Osho, do you find your jokes funny or are you catering for our sense of humour? P.s. We love them!

To me the whole life is a joke and I find everything funny. It is all so ridiculous. But remember, I am not catering for your sense of humour. I never cater for you in any way. And if I tell a joke it is simply a trick because it is only during the moment when you open your mouth that I can help you swallow something. It is just a device. Your mouth is open and you are unaware. I can throw in something! It really goes in. Your mind is no longer functioning, your thoughts are no longer there. When you laugh, the mind disappears. In laughter, mind cannot exist -- for a moment there is a gap, and I seek that gap. That gap is of tremendous importance because only through that gap can I make a contact with you. The last question:

Osho, you tell us so many jokes -- what is the basic secret of a joke and why do you tell them?

I HAVE TO TELL JOKES TO YOU, otherwise you will fall asleep. A joke shocks you back into awareness. It is a small electric shock. That's the beauty of a joke, and that's the secret of a joke. It is impossible even for the dullest mind to remain unalert when a joke is being told. Even the dullest, the most stupid, will become interested -- even one who is snoring will come out of his snoring and will start listening to what is going on. That's the beauty of a joke. A joke is something that brings in you a subtle awareness. The awareness comes because you have to listen to the joke very alertly, otherwise you will miss the punchline. If you miss a single word in a joke, it is lost. A joke is a very small thing -- a few lines. You cannot afford to be unaware.…

What is the secret of a joke?

The sudden unexpected turn, that is the secret of a joke -- the revelation. You are expecting something and it doesn't happen; what happens is so totally absurd and yet has a logic of its own... it is ridiculous and yet not illogical. That's what suddenly becomes a laughter in you. You see the ridiculousness of it, and also the logic of it. It is unexpected -- if it is expected, then it doesn't bring laughter to you. If you know the joke then it doesn't bring laughter to you, because now you know, everything is expected. Two insects were living in a cemetery. One said to the other: "Want to make love in dead Ernest tonight?" Now, poor dead Ernest...! An Englishman on his first trip to America went to one of those stand-up comic nightclubs for the first time. After he had had a couple of drinks, the…

Beloved Osho, according to you, what is the most hilarious thing in the world?

Niyama, according to me the most hilarious thing in the world is man. Amongst all the animals, trees, mountains, rivers, oceans, stars, clouds, man is the only hilarious animal. I will give you a few examples: Hamish MacTavish became a sergeant with the Scottish Highlanders' regiment. One day he walked into the pharmacy and deposited an old condom on the counter. "How much for a repair job?" he asked. "Well," replied the chemist, "with washing, drying, patching, lubricating, and re-rolling it comes to thirty pence." "My God," said MacTavish, "how much for a new one?" "Fifty pence," replied the chemist. Tucking the condom back in his kilt, MacTavish walked out saying, "I will talk it over with the lads at the barracks and let you know our decision tomorrow." One day, Paddy, who worked in the local brewery, fell into a gigantic barrel of beer and drowned. When his wife…