Osho's perspective on Life
When Osho Spoke About Life
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Osho, what is the meaning of life? Life has no meaning by itself; we have to pour meaning into it. Life is an opportunity; if you infuse it, it becomes meaningful.
Life is like a blank canvas; paint upon it and meaning will appear. The meaning will depend on your skill. If a Picasso paints, it will be worth millions; if you paint, perhaps it won’t fetch millions. There is as much meaning in life as we put into it. Life in itself is empty; life is a bare opportunity. Possibility is all; actuality is nothing. That’s why people so often think: life is futile! What meaning? People come to me asking, “What is the meaning of life?” They are imagining that meaning is some ready‑made thing—lying around somewhere to be handed to you, like predigested food. No; meaning is born of creativity. Compose a few songs; make a sculpture; dance a little. Love a little; meditate a little. Explore; dive into inquiry. And you will find that meaning begins to arrive. And the more multidimensional your being, the more unending…
Osho, it feels as if life is passing moment by moment. I have even found a true master; still, why is the next step unclear?
There is no next step. Why are you thinking about a next step? To think of a next step means this step is not blissful; you want another. This moment is not enough; you want the next. Today is not sufficient; you want tomorrow. Somewhere there is pain in the present; you long for the future. The “next step” is the contemplation of a troubled mind. For the happy person, this very step is the last step. For the happy person, the path itself is the goal. If you are delighted with me, drop talking about the next step. There is no next step. The next step arises from a diseased, restless mind. When you are not happy today, you begin to think of tomorrow. To forget today’s misery you think of tomorrow, you spin hopes of tomorrow, you weave dreams of tomorrow, you become absorbed in tomorrow so that…
दूसरा प्रश्न: ओशो, जीवन प्रतिपल बीत रहा है, ऐसा लगता है। सदगुरु भी मिल गए, फिर भी अगला कदम अस्पष्ट क्यों है?
अगले कदम की सोचने का अर्थ है कि यह कदम आनंदपूर्ण नहीं है, अगला चाहिए। यह क्षण काफी नहीं है, अगला चाहिए। आज पर्याप्त नहीं है, कल चाहिए। वर्तमान में कहीं पीड़ा है, भविष्य चाहिए। अगला कदम दुखी आदमी के मन की चिंतना है। सुखी आदमी के लिए यही कदम आखिरी कदम है। सुखी आदमी के लिए मार्ग ही मंजिल है। अगर तुम प्रसन्न हो मेरे साथ, बात बंद कर दो अगले कदम की। अगला कदम होता ही नहीं। अगला कदम तो रुग्ण चित्त की दशा से पैदा होता है। जब तुम आज सुखी नहीं हो, तब तुम कल का विचार करते हो। आज के दुख को भुलाने के लिए कल का विचार करते हो, कल की आशा बांधते हो, कल का सपना संजोते हो, कल में तल्लीन हो जाते हो, ताकि आज का दुख भूल जाए।
Question: Third question: Osho, is life true or false? Krishnatirtha! Life in itself is neither true nor false. In itself life is only an opportunity, a bare opportunity; it can become truth, it can become untruth. Life is a blank canvas; how you lay your colors upon it, what you bring forth with your brush, depends on you. You are the master. Life is not some ready‑made thing handed to you at birth. Birth is not life; birth is merely an opportunity. Now you must make your life. Life is a creation. Life is neither true nor false. Buddha created a life—Kabir did, Nanak did, Mohammed did, Dariya did. A life was created by Tamerlane too—by Nadir Shah, by Hitler. There is one kind of life where there is only dust and dust; and there is a life where there are only flowers.
जीवन तो एक कोरा कैनवास है; उस पर तुम कैसे रंग डालोगे, उस पर तुम अपनी तूलिका लेकर क्या उभारोगे, तुम पर निर्भर है। तुम मालिक हो। जीवन अपने आप में बनी-बनाई कोई चीज नहीं है, कोई रेडीमेड जन्म के साथ तुम्हारे हाथ में जीवन नहीं दे दिया गया है। जन्म जीवन नहीं है, जन्म तो केवल सिर्फ तुम्हें एक अवसर है। अब तुम जीवन को बनाओ।
Osho, I find no relish in the world, nor is life itself full of savor. Yet the fear of death persists. What kind of paradox is this?
Don’t turn back half-finished on the hearsay of saints. Otherwise, religion will never become the truth of your life, because you’ll have missed the very first truth. Without a foundation, how will the temple be built? Don’t return from the middle on the saints’ word. Don’t return until you have your own experience, until your heart is torn and tattered from all sides. Otherwise, what happens is you become a hypocrite—you turn back midway; you start putting on a show of one thing while inside you are in a different state. You sit like a monk, but your mind is in the world—in the shop, in the market. You close your eyes to remember Ram, but Ram doesn’t come; something else, ever and again, only the nets of the world appear. We are estranged from ourselves, we are broken and battered. Truth averts its eyes from us— so false are…
तीसरा प्रश्न: ओशो, न तो संसार में ही रस आता है और न जीवन ही रसपूर्ण है। फिर भी मृत्यु का भय बना ही रहता है। यह कैसी विडंबना है?
मैं तुमसे कहूंगा कि महात्माओं की सुन कर ऐसे अधूरे पीछे मत लौट आना। अन्यथा, धर्म तो तुम्हारे जीवन का सत्य कभी बन ही न सकेगा, क्योंकि पहला ही सत्य चूक गया। बुनियाद ही नहीं तो मंदिर कैसा बनेगा! तुम महात्माओं की बात सुन कर बीच से मत लौट आना। तुम तो जब तक तुम्हें अनुभव न आ जाए, जब तक तुम्हारा हृदय सब तरफ से ़जार-़जार न हो जाए, तब तक लौटना मत। नहीं तो होता क्या है--आदमी पाखंडी हो जाता है, लौट आता है बीच से; दिखावा कुछ करने लगता है, भीतर कुछ हालत और होती है। बैठ जाए साधु बन कर, लेकिन मन संसार में होता है; मन दुकान में होता है, बाजार में होता है। आंखें बंद करे, राम को याद करना चाहता है, लेकिन राम याद नहीं आते; कुछ और, कुछ और, संसार के ही जाल दिखाई पड़ते हैं।
How should life be lived?
practiceIs life a question or a riddle?
definitionIs life all a joke?
definitionIs life nothing but misery?
definitionIs life really just a play?
definitionIs life really meaningless?
definitionIs life really so unserious and absurd?
definitionIs life true or false?
definitionIs the purpose of life limited to being born, earning a living, having children, and dying?
definitionIs there a gap between man and life?
definitionIs there any point in living?
definitionProfound Quotes on Life
Explore our structured collection of meaning-mapped quotes regarding Life.