Attraction

Why do I find attractive people frightening?

If it is frightening, let it be frightening, but go into it. The fear will disappear. The only way to drop any fear is to go into the very thing of which you are afraid. If somebody comes to me and says that "I am afraid of darkness," then I always suggest to them, "The only way is: go into the dark night, sit somewhere alone outside the town under a tree. Tremble! Perspire, be nervous, but sit there! How long can you tremble? Slowly slowly, things will settle. The heart will start beating normally... and suddenly you will see that darkness is not that frightening either. And slowly slowly you will become aware of the beauties of darkness -- which only darkness can have: the depth, the silence, the velvety touch of it, the stillness, the music of the dark night, the insects, the harmony. And slowly slowly, as…

Osho, what is that unknown force that is drawing us toward you?

Everything in life is unknown—even that which we think is known. Socrates once said: When I was young I thought I knew a great deal. As I grew older, my knowing grew too. But alongside it, step by step, another strange thing kept happening: the more I came to know, the more I realized how little I knew. And finally there came a moment in life when I had only one sentence left to say: I know only this much—that I know nothing. These are among Socrates’ last words. A lifelong journey in search of knowledge, and the outcome—the innocence of a small child who knows nothing. In Greece there is the temple of Delphi. In those days it was very famous; now only its ruins remain. The priestess of Delphi must have been like Ramakrishna. Sometimes, singing and dancing, she would fall unconscious. And what she uttered in that…

Osho, I am amazed to see how people are coming to your place of pilgrimage from countries far and wide, undertaking long journeys. And you, it seems, never even step out of your room! What is this miracle? Please explain.

So from the outside it seems that people are coming to this pilgrimage place from distant lands. They are coming because something within their hearts has begun to happen—and the heart recognizes no distances. The heart has never acknowledged distance. Distance is a measuring of the mind. But the heart can cross seven seas, for the heart knows how to dare. The intellect is a coward; it fears, it hesitates; it ties the boat with a strong chain to the shore, lest the boat slip away unknowingly. There are storms on the ocean—and there are always storms on the ocean, sometimes less, sometimes more. And the boat is small, the ocean vast; and the other shore is not visible. But at times the voice of that unseen shore can be heard. At times a glimpse of that unseen shore begins to descend within. At times the beauty of that unseen…

Beloved master, what is it in a person that draws them to you and to what you represent? On the one hand, it seems that anyone with any intelligence and openness should be here. On the other hand, I can't claim to have found you through being either particularly intelligent or open. It seems I came to you in spite of myself, rather than because of myself.

That's the right thing to do -- coming to me in spite of yourself. Yes, there are people who come because of their openness, receptivity. There are people who come with their intelligence, with their rationality. But these are not going to be closest to me. You are fortunate that you are here in spite of yourself. That means neither a conviction of the head has brought you here, nor an openness of the heart has brought you here, but something which can only be called a magnetic pull between two beings. That's why you are puzzled: it is unexplainable. It is one of the greatest mysteries. Two beings can find each other -- pulled against their minds, against their logic, against everything -- nothing can prevent them. Something far more powerful than openness, than intelligence has made them aflame. Yes, there are a few people who are here just…