Menstruation

Question: THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF NONATTACHMENT: THE ORDINARY AND THE SUBLIME. THAT ATTITUDE OF NONATTACHMENT TO THE OBJECTS OF DESIRE IN WHICH THE SEEKER KNOWS THAT HE IS NEITHER THE DOER NOR THE ENJOYER, NEITHER THE RESTRAINED NOR THE RESTRAINER, IS CALLED ORDINARY NONATTACHMENT. HE KNOWS THAT WHATEVER FACES HIM IN THIS LIFE IS THE RESULT OF THE DEEDS OF HIS PAST LIFE. WHETHER IN PLEASURE OR IN PAIN, HE CAN DO NOTHING. INDULGENCE IS BUT A DISEASE AND AFFLUENCE OF ALL KINDS A STOREHOUSE OF ADVERSITY. EVERY UNION LEADS INEVITABLY TO SEPARATION. THE IGNORANT SUFFER THE MALADIES OF MENTAL ANXIETY. ALL MATERIAL THINGS ARE PERISHABLE, BECAUSE TIME IS CONSTANTLY DEVOURING THEM. THROUGH THE UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURAL PRECEPTS, ONE'S FAITH IN MATERIAL THINGS IS UPROOTED AND ONE'S MIND FREED OF THEM. THIS IS CALLED ORDINARY NONATTACHMENT.

Beloved Osho, it seems so unfortunate that existence had to give women this thing called menstruation every month. It's one of those things you know is coming, and you know all the emotions and crazy things that follow with it. And yet it is the most difficult thing to be able to watch and not be identified with -- at least for me. Funnily enough, even the men seem to get involved and identified with it when we are in it. How can we watch something that is such an intrinsic part of our biology?

The art of watchfulness is the same whether you are watching something outside of you or you are watching something in your own biology -- it is also outside of you. I know it is difficult, because you are more identified with it; it is so close. But the problem is not watchfulness, the problem is identification. That identification should be broken. When you feel that your menstruation is coming, try to watch, try to see what it is bringing along with it -- anger, depression, hate, a tendency to fight, a desire to throw tantrums. Just watch -- and not only watch but say to the man you love, "This is going to come within me. I will try my best to be aware, but if I get identified you need not get involved in it, you can simply watch. You are far away and outside of it." And…

Beloved Osho, I don't know how you do it! One minute I think I am in the deepest depths of sadness, the blackest fog of despair, a total blot on the landscape, a complete mistake on the part of existence. The next minute you come dancing in my direction, a huge laugh bubbles up inside of me, and I am utterly in love with the world again -- at least until my next premenstrual crisis. What amazes me is that I am still amazed every time you do something like this, even after ten years. Will I ever learn?

Never! Anando, there are things you should never learn. Being amazed again and again, remaining available for wonder, is one of the most significant spiritual qualities. I know it is not only your question; perhaps it is the question of everyone who is here. One minute you are in "the deepest depths of sadness, the blackest fog of despair, a total blot on the landscape, a complete mistake on the part of existence. The next minute You come dancing in my direction, a huge laugh bubbles up inside of me, and I am utterly in love with the world again. I don't know how you do it." Neither do I know. I just see it happening. I know only one thing: that I am never sad, never in dark spaces, never miserable, never depressed. Whatever happens, I remain untouched by it. Perhaps that may be the reason that even when…

Osho, it is said that ninety percent of our women’s ailments are due to menstrual disturbances, and to be free of those ailments we use all kinds of medicines, yet still do not become healthy. You are the supreme physician; you know our pains and sorrows well. Kindly guide us; set us in motion on the path of dharma.

There are a few things to understand. First thing: it is true that because of menstruation women face many hindrances, many ailments. But keep the second thing in mind as well: because of menstruation women also have certain advantages that men do not have. In this world thorns do not come alone—they come with flowers; nor do flowers come alone—they come with thorns. In every bitterness some sweetness is hidden. So yes, menstruation brings many difficulties. Equally true—though it is not usually noticed—is that because of menstruation women have certain benefits men do not. For example, the four or five days of menstruation are very negative days for a woman. The whole mind fills with negation, becomes sickly, full of anger, melancholy; life feels heavy—as if a small death is beginning to happen. Men do not have this kind of trouble. But you do not realize that the negativity that…