Disciple

Beloved Osho, what is a disciple?

A disciple comes to a state where he feels that either he has to commit suicide or he has to change his whole life so that there is some significance, some fragrance, some beauty, some individuality, some decisiveness, something that you have done. Your birth you are not responsible for, your death you will not be responsible for -- two of the most important things in life are not in your hands -- but you can commit suicide; that is a decisive point. To commit suicide is to accept failure, is to accept that you are defeated. But it is only in such a situation of the mind that a man starts looking -- perhaps there are ways of living other than how he has lived up to now, perhaps there are alternative styles of life. This search for an alternative style of life.... Because he can see all around…

Osho, what is the first experience of samadhi like?

You will know only when it happens. It cannot be said; at most a few hints can be given. It is as if, in the dark, a lamp is suddenly lit. Or as if a dying patient, right at the edge of death, suddenly finds a medicine that works; life’s wave, life’s thrill spreads again—so it is. As if a corpse becomes alive—such is the first experience of samadhi. It is the taste of nectar. The experience of the ultimate music. But it will be only when it happens; and only then will you understand. You will not understand by my saying it. It is as with love. How can anyone explain it? To someone who has never loved, never known love, no matter how many explanations you offer—he will hear it all and still ask, “I haven’t understood; please explain a little more.” It is like explaining light to…

Question: BELOVED OSHO, HOW CAN I BECOME A DISCIPLE? What is the need to become a disciple? Why should you ask such a question? Do you feel your life is meaningless, that you need some meaning? Do you feel your life is empty and you would like fulfillment? Do you feel you are in darkness and you would like to be in the light? The whole thing depends on you. If you are contented as you are, if you are not missing anything as you are, there is no need to be a disciple. Why bother a master, and why go into an unnecessary search? But if you have emptiness, meaninglessness, anxiety, anguish, confusion, darkness; if you feel your whole life is nothing but misery, then to become a disciple is very simple.

Question: BELOVED MASTER, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DISCIPLE? The word 'disciple' is also beautiful -- it means one who is ready to learn. Hence the word 'discipline' -- discipline means creating a space for learning. And disciple means being ready to learn. Who can be ready to learn? Only one who is ready to drop all his prejudices. If you come as a Christian or a Hindu or a Mohammedan, you can't be a disciple. If you simply come as a human being, with no a priori prejudice, with no belief, then only you can become a disciple. A disciple is the rarest flowering of human consciousness, because beyond the disciple there is only one peak more -- the master. And one who has been totally a disciple one day becomes a master. Disciplehood is a process of becoming a master.