Conflict

Osho, why does there seem to be so much conflict between the world and God?

It is as if someone were sleeping deeply in this garden. The cuckoo comes and sings, birds are chattering, the sun rises, breezes dance through the trees; but someone is fast asleep. The breezes touch him, the birds’ songs echo at his ears, the sun’s rays play on his face, but he knows nothing. Then someone comes and shakes him awake. His eyes open—the glory of the sun is revealed, the song of the passing breeze is heard, suddenly the cuckoo’s call, the fragrance of flowers. Do you think something new has happened? Everything was already there, just as it is. Only this man has become new—nothing else has changed. The same garden, the same sun, the same flowers, the same birds—everything the same; only a small difference: he was asleep; he is awake. The meaning of “world” is: you are asleep in God. The meaning of “God” is: you…

Osho, what is the relationship between meditation and patience?

If you sit to meditate to remove mental restlessness, you will keep looking back again and again: “Has it gone yet?” And the irony is that when you begin to meditate, restlessness will increase. Because what has been repressed will start surfacing; catharsis will begin. The rubbish you have kept hidden within and never allowed to express—meditation will break open those doors too. It will clean the house. Dust piled up for years, for births, will rise again; there will be gusts and storms. For a while even the little peace you had will be lost. Then you will panic: “I came for peace, and even what I had is gone.” Without patience, you could even become unhinged, because meditation brings such a great storm. The disease is not from a day or two; it’s from lifetimes. Meditation will break through all the layers to reach your innermost core. In…

Osho, these days in the country, what do you have to say about the communal conflicts taking place in the name of religion?

So, Bansal, don’t bring up the word “these days.” This has always been so. Quarrels in the name of religion have been continuous. Quarrels have been only in the name of religion. The reason is clear: we harbor a fundamental misconception about religion. As with a lamp—when it burns there is light; when it goes out, the light ends—so when a Buddha, a Mahavira, a Lao Tzu, a Jesus-like person ignites, there is light; and when that person departs, the light departs. But the lamp goes out and we get busy worshiping the darkness. Once the lamp is extinguished, only darkness remains. Granted there was a lamp there once and there once was light—but now there is only darkness. When the lamp burns, there is religion; when the worship of darkness begins, there is a sect. And what will sects do if not fight? What will the blind do if…

One of the sannyasins has asked a question: WHAT IS MISSING IN COMMUNISM?

If you really want celibate people, then they need a brain operation. The center of sex should be removed. But then you will be simply impotent -- not celibate. Karl Marx was right, that such religions should be finished. They are against humanity. They protect poverty and they protect the rich. They are against revolution, they are against any change -- obviously, he was right to call them the opium of the people, the hope of the hopeless. If Christianity and Judaism were the only religions, then the Soviet Union would not have any need, any urge to find the inner world! But just think about it. You cannot have the outside world without having the inside world; they exist together like two sides of the coin. And there are scientific methods available. Zen is the most scientific method to inquire into your consciousness. It takes you beyond mind into…