Now

Osho, when does the pivot point of “athato”—the “now”—arrive in the lives of us ordinary worldly people? Please explain.

One halts when one sees the futility of life—the lack of essence, the failure—nothing in the hand but pain, nothing in the heart but tears, life utterly dark, the boat on the verge of sinking. In such a moment, when one stops, love arises; desire drops. You no longer ask; you become eager to give. Love gives; desire asks. As long as there is asking, know it is desire. When giving begins… You used to ask hoping asking would increase your wealth and bring happiness. The one who halts begins to give: “I tried asking; it brought pain. Let’s try the opposite.” He starts giving—and finds faint breezes of happiness begin to blow; a veena begins to sound somewhere distant; very distant—but the notes appear; a new realm begins. That is the beginning for the one who has halted. He begins to give, to share—and as he shares, the notes…

Osho, seekers have always observed that God-realization is an extremely arduous event. But enlightened ones like you have always emphasized that the divine can happen here and now. Is saying this again and again a challenge and a way to make people try—a method, a device?

He began to beg. Twenty years passed. He forgot. If someone begs for twenty years, to keep remembering “I am a prince” would be impossible, painful; it would make begging difficult. So it is only fitting that he forgot. He had to forget, otherwise how could he beg? A prince—and he begs? Door to door, standing with a begging bowl at thresholds! Begging outside hotels and restaurants, asking for leftovers! A prince! He had to forget the prince entirely, had to consign it to oblivion. That chapter was closed. As if it had been some dream, some story read, a film seen—what did it have to do with him? After twenty years, when the emperor—his father—grew old, he became anxious: there was only one son! He alone was the heir. He told his ministers: Go find him, and wherever he is, bring him back. Tell him his father has forgiven…

Question: First question: Osho, I want to take sannyas; when should I take it? If you ask “when,” you will never be able to take it. Hidden inside “when” is “never.” “When” means you want to postpone, to defer. There is no tomorrow; there is only today. Whatever is to be done, do it now. And if you must postpone, postpone the bad—don’t postpone the good. If you want to be angry, then ask, “When?” If you want to love, don’t ask. If you want to be greedy, then ask, “When?” If you want to give, don’t ask. Do the auspicious instantly. About the auspicious, remember this: if even a moment passes, you may no longer be on that height of awareness where the auspicious could have happened. You are not always in the state where you can love—only sometimes. Sometimes a window opens, and then you wander off again.

Osho, the journey so far has been hard, but with your hint and support I have passed through it. I feel blessed to have received what I had never even imagined! Whatever I experienced, I kept explaining to others as well. But the journey ahead seems not only difficult, it feels absolutely impossible. You say, “You are at the destination; drop the very idea of journey.” It seems somewhat understandable, yet the resolution doesn’t stay. Osho, why does this complaint arise? Am I expecting the impossible before its time? Is waiting an even harder practice than practice itself? Osho, what is this r

You get a glimpse that the teaching is right; but the ancient mind won’t let the glimpse stay. It protests, “How can this be right? What will happen to me? Where will I go? If you are already God, then what is the point of religion? What meaning has practice? If you are God, then who is saint and who sinner? Who is Ravana and who Rama?” The mind creates a thousand disturbances. “Then what difference between a drunkard and a devotee—if all are God?” It becomes hard to answer such questions. And the truth is: between saint and sinner there is no difference—only on the surface, in the mind; within, the same One resides. Between Rama and Ravana there is no difference. Have you ever gone behind the stage of a Ramlila? There the reality is revealed. The curtain lifts: Rama and Ravana stand with bows and arrows aimed,…