Clarity

A friend has asked: Osho, confusion and clarity—what is that mind filled with delusion, so tangled, the confused mind? And what is clarity of mind? And what does it mean for the mind to be cleansed, fresh, and pure?

This needs a little understanding, because it will be useful for meditation and also for the art of dying. His question is precious. He asks, “What is this tangled mind?” But a mistake creeps in here. We say, “tangled mind, restless mind, confused mind.” That is where the mistake happens. What mistake? We are using two words: “tangled” and “mind.” The truth is, there is no such thing as a “tangled mind.” The state of tangling itself is what is called mind. There isn’t a confused mind; mind is confusion. It is not that there is an unquiet mind; the very name of unquietness is mind. And when unquietness is gone, it is not that the mind becomes quiet—rather, the mind is no more. Understand it this way: a storm has arisen on the ocean, the sea is turbulent, and you say “a restless storm.” Someone will say, “Restless storm?…

What is a mind filled with illusions? What is a very confused mind? What is clarity of mind?

This needs to be understood, because it will be useful for meditation as well as in learning the art of dying. He has asked a very significant question. He asks, "What is a confused mind?" But here we make a mistake. We say, "disturbed mind," "confused mind." This is where the mistake is. What is the mistake? The mistake is we are using two words -- confused and mind -- and the truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a confused mind. Rather, the very state of confusion itself is mind. There is nothing like a confused mind. Mind is confusion. Mind is another name for confusion. And when there is no confusion does not mean that the mind has become peaceful; then there is no more mind at all. For example, there is a storm at sea, the sea is restless. Would you call…

You said last night that the more the mind grows, the more we know that the nature of the mind is confusion. But isn't it true that this growth of the mind also leads to clarity?

Whatsoever I was just saying is related to this. Yes, it leads to clarity, because only when you have a very mature mind do you become aware that you are confused. Even to become aware that mind is confusion, a very developed mind is needed. Those who are not aware that their mind is confusion are really not mature minds. They are childish, juvenile, still developing. Only a very mature mind can become aware of the quality of the mind, that it is confusion. And when you have developed the mind, only then is meditation possible, because meditation is the opposite goal. Meditation means no-mind. But how can you achieve a no-mind if you have not achieved a mind? So achieve a mind just to lose it. And don't think that if ultimately one has to reach the state of no-mind, then what is the use of achieving a mind?…

Though your lecture was quite serious and deep yesterday, there were strange tickles and laughter arising in me. Somewhere deep within, there was a sense of humour as a subtle undercurrent. Tears often rolled down! Do the moments of clarity and insight give birth to sense of humour? And what are the tears?

Now, Lao Tzu is not going to convince people. If you hesitate, nobody is going to follow you. People ARE in deep confusion. People need somebody to shout loudly in their ears -- so loudly that they are convinced: "This man must be true, this man must be in the know about things. How can he shout so loudly? how can he argue so loudly? Only truth can be so loud." They are mistaken. And these dogmatic people go on repeating. Adolf Hitler continued to repeat the same theme. Slowly slowly, when all untruth is repeated again and again it starts appearing like a truth. And people need somebody to lean to. They are uncertain, they need somebody who is absolutely certain. Politics is dominated by schizophrenics. Religion is also dominated by schizophrenics. Because these people are very very articulate, convincing, they lead masses, religions are founded, churches are founded,…