Birth

Osho, Sri Krishna says that the wise, by renouncing the fruits of action, are freed from the bondage of birth and attain the supreme state. So does Krishna consider birth to be a bondage? You, however, say that birth and the world themselves are nirvana.

Let me tell a small incident from the life of Mohammed. He is one of those few sannyasins I would like to see in the world. People bring him offerings every day—sweets, coins, something or other. By evening those who have come eat and drink; at dusk Mohammed tells his wife, “Now distribute everything, because evening has come.” Whatever there is is given away. By evening Mohammed becomes a fakir again. His wife would ask, “This isn’t right; it is proper to keep something for tomorrow.” Mohammed would say, “We will wait again tomorrow for whoever brings it today. And when today passes, tomorrow will pass too.” Then he would say to his wife, “Do you consider me an atheist, that I should make arrangements for tomorrow? Making arrangements for tomorrow is atheism. It announces a lack of trust in the cosmic energy, in the world-soul: the one who gave…

Osho, when I went to Rajneeshpuram in July, in your discourses you said that in India no children should be born for many years. I repeated this to many people when I came back to Hindustan. Different people had different reactions, but most women said, “The maternal feeling in a woman—how is she to satisfy it?” Some said, “A woman does not attain fulfillment until she becomes a mother.” Please say something about this, Osho.

Second, it is true that a woman’s fulfillment is in her becoming a mother. That is why, when I began giving sannyas, the traditional name for a male renunciate was “Swami.” There was no name for a woman—because in India, for thousands of years, woman has been suppressed and erased so badly that she was never given the chance to be initiated into sannyas. There wasn’t even a name. After much search I accepted “Ma” as that name, because in “Ma” lies her fulfillment. But this fulfillment as mother is proof that your love has risen so high that the whole world becomes, for you, as if they are your children—even your husband. This is the blessing of the rishis of the Upanishads. Whenever a couple came to a rishi for a blessing, there was a very unique blessing, found in no other scripture in the world. The rishi would…

Questioner: krishna says a man of wisdom, who gives up attachment to the fruit of action, is released from the bondage of birth and death and becomes one with the ultimate. How is it that krishna believes that life is a bondage? You don't believe so, you say this very life is freedom, this very world the nirvana. Please explain.

Mohammed answers, "Looking at your face tonight I can see you are not calm and peaceful as you always are. For sure there is some money in the house. Those who are worried become acquisitive and acquisitive people become worried. It is a vicious circle, So take out what you have saved and distribute it so that I can die in peace. Remember, this is my last night. I don't want to spoil it and appear before God with a guilty conscience." His wife hurriedly takes out the five dinars from under her pillow, and says to Mohammed, "But there is no one out there to receive this money, it is midnight." Mohammed says, "Just call out and someone will come." And someone, a beggar really appears at the door. Mohammed says to his wife, "Just see, if someone comes to take in the dead of night, someone else can…

Osho, in ignorance I went on having children. I have ten children—what should I do now?

Now just see: the husband was blind, and the wife had her eyes bound—and still they found each other and managed to have a hundred children! They must have been groping around for where the other was. And in the jostling of a hundred children, searching must have been quite a task. You, with eyes, have given up so soon! This is not the Indian tradition. Will you destroy the tradition? Your forefathers didn’t do this; will you? “The Raghu lineage’s rule has always continued!” It just goes on. Look into the Puranas—how many sons people had! They were heroic men. And your name is Virchand, and you are stopping at just ten! Drop despair! Abandon dejection! Raise the flag high again. Keep our flag flying high! Is this any way to lower the flag! And if you don’t produce more children, think also of the harm you’ll do. If…