Discipleship

Does a disciple steal something from his master?

Everything! Because the truth cannot be taught, it has to be learned. The Master can only tempt you, make you more and more thirsty for it; but he cannot deliver it to you -- it is not a thing. He cannot simply transfer it in your name -- it is not a heritage. You will have to steal it. You will have to work hard in the dark night of the soul. You will have to find ways how to steal it. The Master only tempts you; he simply provokes you. He shows that something is there, a treasure, and now you have to work hard. In fact, he will create all sorts of obstacles so that you cannot reach to the treasure very easily. Because if you reach to the treasure very easily, you will not have grown; you will lose that treasure again. It will be a treasure…

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…

Question: BELOVED MASTER, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DISCIPLE? Prem Samadhi, it is one of the most delicate mysteries. No definition is possible of a disciple, but a few hints can be given, just fingers pointing to the moon. Don't cling to the fingers -- look at the moon and forget the fingers. A disciple is a rare phenomenon. It is very easy to be a student because the student is searching knowledge. The student can only meet the teacher, he can never meet the master. The reality of the master will remain hidden to the student. The student functions from the head. He functions logically, rationally. He gathers knowledge, he becomes more and more knowledgeable. Finally in his own turn he will become a teacher, but all that he knows is borrowed, nothing is really his own. His existence is pseudo; it is a carbon-copy existence.

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…