Future

What kind of future do you wish for the most?

A future where every individual is absolutely free from religion, from nation, from race, from color, where every individual is given equal opportunity to grow into whatsoever he wants. A future where no marriage exists, where love is the only law, children are taken care of by the community, and people can be together as long as they love. The moment they feel the breeze of love has passed, they can depart in friendship, in gratitude. A future where people will not be exploited by religion, by politics, where people will be allowed to be happy and rejoicing. Misery should be thought to be unnatural, and blissfulness should be thought natural -- where people will be singing and laughing and dancing. I don't want anybody to hope for a paradise beyond death. I want us to create paradise herenow, on this beautiful earth. This is the only place in this…

Beloved Osho, I love your vision, but whenever I listen to you speaking about the future of the world, I feel like politicians and priests are too powerful and too deeply asleep for our songs and our laughter to turn the world around. Is this skepticism?

You can ride upon your ecstasy to other planets; rockets are not needed. And remember, only bodies die, the soul within you is immortal. No nuclear weapons can destroy it. You have something indestructible in you; you just have to become aware of it, and you have to make others aware of it. I am not concerned about the future. I am concerned with you, with people who have been given a chance of drinking the wine of life, squeezing the whole juice of it every moment. The future makes no sense to me, but it is going to come whether it makes sense to me or not. And I am not worried about myself. I died thirty-two years ago, and the one who is speaking to you is beyond any nuclear weapon. I would like you also to be beyond nuclear weapons. And these are the methods: the laughter,…

Do you teach then that one should not plan for the future at all?

Psychologically one should not plan for the future at all, but that does not mean that practically you should not plan. The difference is great, and has to be understood. If you are going to travel, if you are going to the Himalayas, you will have to go to the railway station and book your ticket a few days ahead. That's simply practical. You cannot say 'When the idea arises to go to the Himalayas I will simply go.' It will be difficult: you may not get a ticket on the train or on the plane. Don't be foolish. But psychologically, yes, don't plan for the future. What is the meaning of psychological? You are here, and in your mind's eye you start trekking in the Himalayas, and you start enjoying -- just in fantasy. You are already there where you are not. This is psychological. This has to be…

Is it easy not to have future plans? I mean, every single person in the world worries about tomorrow. You don't, because you are being taken care of.

I was not worrying even when I was not being taken care of. It has not been always so. I left my family when I was seventeen because I was not ready to go to a science college as my family wanted. They were not willing to support me financially to study philosophy. And they were right, because what are going to do when you become a philosopher? -- you can only be a beggar. In this world philosophy has no value. So I told them, "You don't worry; you just leave me alone -- I don't think of tomorrow." And since that day I have never thought about tomorrow.