Aggression

A friend has asked: Osho, earlier you used to speak very gently, in soft language. Why have you now become so aggressive?

It was my mistake to speak in gentle, soft language. And speaking gently and softly, I saw—it was my mistake. The mistake was that this society likes gentleness and soft speech, because gentle, soft language does not hurt anyone; it brings no change. Gentle, soft language is pleasant, entertaining, but it does not change life. Now the world needs people who, however gentle and soft they may be within, can be aggressive on the outside; only then can the ugliness of this life be changed—otherwise it cannot. Many good men have lived in the world. And the difficulty has been precisely that the good man was gentle and soft. That is why the world is bad. If the good man remains gentle and soft, the world will remain bad. The good man too will have to gather courage. Jesus went to the church. Jesus’ friends knew him: very gentle and…

Osho, you often say that this world is an echo point, from where we receive back exactly what we give it: love meets love and hatred meets hatred. If that is so, why were Buddha and Mahavira tortured; why were Jesus and Mansoor killed? And why are you receiving false allegations, slander, and abuse here? And can this world ever find people who offer more guileless love and blessing than you?

These feeling-moments come within you. To block them you must heap every possible abuse on Jesus. You will have to prove to yourself—convince yourself with all kinds of arguments—that this man is wrong; do not go near him, not even by mistake. So remember: man maligns to protect himself. Before giving Socrates the hemlock, the very court that ordered it also felt within… Do you think those who stood to crucify Jesus had no doubt in their hearts? No question arose—What are we doing? Is this right? How is it justified? The same happened with Socrates. The judge felt a great stirring, because this man is certainly unusual, different, unparalleled. But no error appears in him. Nothing could be proved against him in court except one thing: all of Athens is against him. Nothing else was established. But if everyone is against him—the jury against him, the magistrate against him,…

Osho, in this intensely aggressive age, people with a feminine-hearted disposition find it difficult to live anywhere, because even education trains one to live aggressively. It feels as if people will force you to become like themselves. So what should one do?

Just now Morarji went on a fast. In that fast he tried to kill two birds with one stone: first, to make Indira bow down, and second, to seat Jayaprakash in his place. Because Jayaprakash’s name is rising rapidly. And it seems he has become the foremost in the opposition; that too is a pain. So if you go on a fast-unto-death, your name becomes foremost in the newspapers. These are big games. From small children to the aged, it makes no difference. Because the craving to gratify the ego remains. So among the Jews there is this tale that the thirty-six hidden saints wander the earth. Even though no one is helped by them, they cannot awaken anyone, no one listens to them, still they continue their work out of love. What do you think—that when I speak to you, it is with the assurance that you will surely…

Question: OSHO, WHY ARE THE SO-CALLED RELIGIOUS PEOPLE AGAINST YOU? THEY ARE NOT RELIGIOUS they are only so-called religious, hence they are bound to be against me. The so-called religious people have always been against the religious people; it is nothing new. It is the most ancient thing in the world. They worship a religious person only when he is dead because then there is no problem. Jesus alive is a problem. He disturbs you in many ways, in thousands of ways. In his presence you start feeling that all that you are is just holy cowdung, nothing else. It hurts, it hurts the ego. The so-called religious person starts looking so stupid. He is stupid, but when he is living with other so-called religious people he looks like a saint. He is a rabbi, he is a pundit, he is a priest; he is respected by people.