Social Scheme

Osho, then in a social scheme, when a practical, constructive program is framed—and some leader lays down a program saying, “This must be done, that must be done,” as you spoke yesterday about the Kotichandra Yajna—won’t there inevitably be something wrong in the program, practically speaking?

That is precisely why I say society needs continuous revolution. If I say something, that does not mean the revolution is finished; tomorrow I too can become an established vested interest. The need for revolution will remain. Someone else will have to revolt. My point is that revolution is a constant element of life. A day will never come when revolution is not needed. Because whatever revolution comes will very quickly—as soon as it succeeds—turn into an established vested interest. Until a revolution succeeds, it is a revolution; and the moment it succeeds, its own vested interest begins, its system takes shape. So my point is: the revolution must go on. And one who is truly revolutionary, truly revolutionary, will even turn against his own revolution the moment its vested interest becomes fixed.

Do you feel, Osho, that all leaders—whether political or religious—are caught in the same dilemma?

If someone were to ask Buddha, “Is there God?” Buddha would say, “There may be.” And if someone were to ask, “Is there no God?” he would say, “There may not be.” How can such a person assume leadership? Buddha is so perfectly in the middle. It is like this: in a room a glass is kept half-filled with water. One man comes out and says the glass is half empty; another says it is half full. These two can argue; two parties can form. A third man, utterly in the middle, having seen the whole, returns and says, “The glass is both half empty and half full.” He will say, “You are right, and you are right—and you are wrong, and you are wrong. It both is and is not half. It is half empty and also not; half full and also not.” Such a man makes such a…

Osho, from your talks we get a fairly clear sense of what ought to be done. But how should it be done? And not so much on an individual basis—please tell us, in more detail, what should be done as a community and as a society.

That would be easier if I came again and stayed a day or two. But for now, there is only one thing before the country: do not be in a hurry to do anything, and spread a climate of thought. Do not rush into action right now. Until the country has a right clarity, any attempt at doing will more likely lead to mistakes and upheaval. The country does not yet have a clear mind; haste for action will drop us into a ditch and take us nowhere. So I say: for the next five to ten years, the nation should strive to create a mind. Then action follows that mind the way a shadow follows you. Action in itself is not the main issue. Once the country’s mind is clear, what to do and how to do it both become easy. The real difficulty is: who is the doer,…

Why do revolutions fail?

Buddha is still meaningful and will remain meaningful, forever and forever, because enlightenment will always be a need. Politicians don't make the real history of humanity; they only create noise. The real history is something else that runs like an undercurrent. The real history has not yet been written, because we become too engrossed in the temporal things. We become too obsessed with the newspaper which is only relevant today and tomorrow will be meaningless. If you have eyes to see, see the point: become interested in the eternal. Old, ancient societies were not interested in the day-to-day too much. Their interest was deeper. They were not brought up on the newspaper, radio and television. They recited the Koran, they meditated on the Gita, they chanted the Vedas, they contemplated the statues of Buddha and Mahavir. These are eternal phenomena. That's why I say the events that happen every day…