Rules

What is the reason that I find it difficult to enforce rules? Part of me gets angry and insists that sannyasins follow simple rules like no smoking or eating in the gardens. Teertha has called me "the commandant of the garden," but deep down I hate the whole authority trip; it is the only part of my work that is not enjoyable. How can one be a nobody when put in a position of having to enforce rules? Could chuang tzu lay down his fishing pole and come to poona to play laxmi's role?

A man should be so free that if the situation demands him to be in a power role, he can be in a power role -- without being powerful. If the situation demands it of him, he can easily accommodate himself to the new situation without any trouble. A man should not have a fixed role in life. He should be fluid. And the question is not of roles; the question is of consciousness. So Nirgun, be more conscious, be more loving. Don't allow that urge to dominate to become an unconscious trip, that's all. Become conscious of it. Through consciousness, it will be dropped. Because of this fear, millions of people down the ages became monks and nuns. What was their fear? Why were they afraid of the world? They were afraid not of the world, they were afraid of their unconscious desires. They knew well that if opportunity…

[A sannyasin who is leaving for the west says: My heart tells me to stay and my head says I have to go back and attend to my business, to work and make money. And it's not even that it's a conflict.] Mm mm, it is not a conflict, that I can see. Just a friendly quarrel between the head and the heart; just two friends fighting, almost a loving nagging. That's very good, because any conflict is destructive. So don't make it a conflict. My suggestion is that you go. This is one of the very intricate secrets co be understood. I can say to you to stay, but if you stay, your mind will think of going, and that can be a burden. Then the whole beauty of staying is lost. So I would like you to go so that the hankering of the mind is finished.

Osho, the scientific relationship of yoga, meditation, and spirituality—hearing your sweet words and beholding your presence, I consider myself truly blessed. Still, why do some religious and political people oppose such a beloved Master? I don’t like this opposition; what should I do?

You know the story of the two cats who brought their food to a monkey to divide. The monkey took a scale and began to weigh. If one side was heavier, he would take a bite from it; then the other became lighter, so he added a bit—nibbling again and again until he had eaten the whole thing. The cats watched helplessly. If you keep fighting, someone will exploit you. An intelligent society will be free of politics, free of priests, free of politicians. The days of organized religion are over, and of politics too—and those were ill days. I also say: your body is as beautiful as your soul. I do not want to create a split, a duality between body and soul. All your so-called religions are body-negative, life-negative. Their rule has been: the more enmity you have with life, the closer you come to God. I counsel:…

Question: BELOVED OSHO, HOW CAN WE AVOID BEING AUTHORITATIVE? It is very simple. The people who are authoritarian are the people who are suffering from an inferiority complex. To hide their inferiority they impose their superiority. They want to prove that they are somebody, that their word is truth, that their word is law. But deep down they are very inferior beings. This is one of the reasons that all of the politicians suffer from an inferiority complex. Anybody who does not suffer from an inferiority complex will not go into politics at all. There are so many beautiful things in the world to do -- to paint, to sing, to dance, to create literature, to make beautiful statues, to create a Khajuraho. There is so much creativity available, but that is available only to a person who does not suffer from inferiority.