Evolution

Is not man the purpose of all evolution?

Evolution has no purpose. The very idea of purpose is mediocre; it comes from the marketplace. Existence is playful, not purposive. It is leela; it is not work. But we think in terms of economics, business; we think in terms of the marketplace. Everything has to be with purpose. People come to me and they ask, "What is the purpose of meditation?" They take it for granted that there must be a purpose behind it. There is none. Meditation is its own end; there is no end beyond it. What is the purpose of love? Is love a means to something else, or is love an end unto itself? Purpose means division, division between the means and the end. What is the purpose of these green trees, and what is the purpose of the bird singing, and what is the purpose of the sunrise, and what is the purpose of…

Osho, it is said that the human being is the highest point of evolution, and that by evolving the human becomes God. Then is entering Tao a further evolution or a return?

Both. Returning is the further evolution. Going back is going forward—because behind you lies the original source. The very place from which you have come is the ultimate goal. The original origin is the final destination. You become a circle; only then are you complete. When you draw a circle, the point from which you begin is the very point to which you return. And the circle is the symbol of completeness in this world. That is why we have also taken the circle as the symbol of zero. Zero and the whole are two ways of saying the same thing. You have to return to where you came from. And remember: when you return, you will not be the same as when you came. This whole journey—this path—will ripen you, awaken you, fill you with awareness. One must pass through the world and return to the original source. Hence…

Beloved master, could there be an ultimate goal of the physical evolutionary process? If so, what is it?

Children playing, you cannot say that they are evolving; children playing, you cannot say they are achieving something. They are not achieving anything. That's exactly the concept of LEELA in the East. Leela means play -- the world is God's play, and in play there is no question of evolution. The idea of evolution is really Western; the East has never believed in evolution. The East believes in playfulness. In playfulness there is no evolution at all. Nothing is means and nothing is taken as ends. It is a dance of energies, not moving into any particular direction, not meant to achieve something; the joy is in the play itself, the value is intrinsic, not extrinsic. When you start thinking of evolution, the value is extrinsic; the value depends on what you are going to achieve, what you are going to become. If a man becomes a great scientist, a…

On man's path of evolution is it possible that at some time in the future humanity as a whole can attain enlightenment? At what point of evolution is man today?

The conscious choice to evolve is a great adventure, the only adventure there is for a human being. The path is arduous; it is bound to be so. Errors are bound to be there, failures, because nothing is certain. This situation creates tension in the mind. You do not know where you are, you do not know where you are going. Your identity is lost. The situation may even reach such a point that you become suicidal. Suicide is a human phenomenon; it comes with human choice. Animals cannot commit suicide, because to choose death consciously is impossible for them. Birth is unconscious, death is unconscious. But with man -- ignorant man, unevolved man -- one thing becomes possible: the ability to choose death. Your birth is not your choice. As far as your birth is concerned, you are in the hands of unconscious evolution. In fact, your birth is…