Purusharthas

Osho, yesterday you said that when anger is watched consciously, it dissolves. But why is it that when sexual desire arises, even in awareness its intensity persists? Why is it so?

There is no entanglement in the breath. If you try to practice on anger… Anger is not happening every moment; it happens sometimes. And when it happens, it happens with such intensity that you are already going deep into it; so much is at stake in those moments that you may think, “We will look into awareness later; first let’s settle this now.” Lust is very deep, because existence has made it so deep; life depends on it. If lust were so easy that you decided and were freed, perhaps you would not even have been born—because many before you would have become free, and the possibility of your being would have been almost nil. But your parents, and their parents, did not become free; therefore you are. You too will not get free so easily, because your children are also to be—they are waiting: “Do not run away midway.”…

The Hindus understood this; hence they divided life’s pattern into four purusharthas: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. We should understand this a little. Kama is the most gross; moksha the most subtle. Kama is the root; moksha is the perfume. Kama is understandable and visible; Rama is not. Sex is easily grasped; samadhi is not. But sex is the root; samadhi is the flower. The Hindu says: practice kama too, because it is the first step toward the divine. The Hindu says: enter into kama as his grace; whatever he has given is meaningful—use it. Do not see it as an obstacle on the path; make it a step. A stone lies in the road; you can turn back, “There’s a stone—how to go further?” The wise will step onto the stone and discover a new path begins, higher, with a changed ground. Some turn back at sex.

The meaning of Dharma is: to attain Moksha. The meaning of Dharma is: to do something to attain Moksha. This is the root cause of trouble. 'To do' for fulfillment—then from this arise Artha and Kama as well. The proclamation of Moksha is: nothing is to be done; you were born free. This very moment, here and now, Moksha is your swabhava. Only a proclamation of yours is needed. The moment you declare—showers of bliss begin. Try to understand. Ordinarily we divide into two—means and end. The end is in the future; the means is now. In relation to Moksha or the Divine, the matter is reversed. Moksha is now, here. No means is needed—only awakening is needed. Just open your eyes—the sun is up. There is no night anywhere; you have kept your eyelids closed and it seems dark.

Arjuna is no small fish. He is a truly precious being, with immense possibilities, a great future. One by one, each of Krishna’s answers brought forth many more questions within him. But this is dialogue; he is not arguing. He does not want to prove Krishna wrong. Deep down he wants Krishna to be right and himself to be wrong. But what to do—compulsion! Questions arise; there are doubts; there is skepticism—what else can he do besides speak! He is in great dilemma. The heart wants to love; the mind raises doubt. The heart wants to sweep aside all doubt and plunge into this deep friendship; but the mind keeps throwing up doubts. The mind’s doubts must be resolved. The mind must be silenced. The mind’s questions must be cut. But Arjuna’s heart is not standing with the mind—therefore a solution is possible.