Thirst

Osho, will this thirst ever come to an end—the thirst that has driven me mad? That has pierced my very life like a thorn? That blazes each moment in my chest like a flame? Ah! To whom shall I confide the secret of my heart! In this crowded world I am utterly a stranger and completely alone. When will the veil be lifted from the doorway of that unknown mystery?

There is no veil on that door; the veil is on your eyes. The notion that there is a veil on that door is your mind’s delusion—and the mind’s trick. For then the matter slips out of your hands: “There is a veil on His door. When He lifts it, it will be lifted. Nothing can be done by me.” In this way you have protected yourself. I want to tell you: I do not want to leave you any place to escape, any device by which you can avoid. I tell you, the veil is on your eyes. The sun has risen, and you stand there with your eyes closed. Then you say, “O Lord, when will the veil be removed from the sun?” If there is no veil, how will it be lifted? And since there is no veil, it will not be lifted—you will sit waiting for…

The closer I come, the thirstier I get. When is the quenching going to start?

The very expectation will function as a barrier. You forget about the quenching; you simply be thirsty and enjoy it. When the thirst becomes total, it disappears. I would like to read a few lines from T. S. Eliot: We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time; when the tongues of flame are enfolded into the crowned knot of fire and the fire and the rose are one... ... and the thirst and the quenching are one; and the rose and the fire are one. When the fire is total, suddenly it is transformed and there is only a rose, not the fire. When the thirst is total, its very totality changes its quality -- it becomes quenching; infinite contentment. The quenching is not something separate from thirst, remember it.…

Osho, you make us drink so much every day, and yet instead of being satisfied the thirst keeps growing day by day. Why?

Dreams lie about us like the desolate shadows of night, Longings lie as though forever now estranged, Such darkness has spread that clouds of fear have gathered— We do not receive even two drops of someone’s tenderness when we ask. Neither does the song become complete, nor is the heart’s friend found; The one who would clasp life to life—that mind-conqueror—is not found; The Swati drops are restless, yet no oyster is found; We do not receive even two loving words when we ask. On every side draws near the half-extinguished thirst of an extinguished mind; Sobbing, echoing, the crushed thirst of life; Forever in each breath spreads the sound of separation— We do not receive even two drops of affection when we ask. By asking, nothing has ever been gained. Unasked, pearls are given; by asking, not even bran. If you ask, you will gain nothing; it is through…

And ps: just because we were urged to create questions, I have made this one. But today's lecture gave me the answer. Before I ask you for water, you quench my thirst. But now a real question arose. Why, drinking and eating so much from you, am I still hungry and thirsty? But please do not answer it I will just go on drinking and eating.

If the question is really sincere, it will be answered even before you have asked it. Because then it is simply transferred to me; it is simply communicated non-verbally. When I come here, those who are really in tune with me immediately communicate whatsoever is their real question. They need not even ask, but the answer will be there. Because I am not speaking here in a vacuum, I am speaking to you. That's why I don't like people who are not in deep communion with me to be here -- because they disturb; their vibrations create clouds around here: then those who are in tune with me cannot relate so easily. Even a single person who is antagonistic here will not allow me to flow, will not allow me to reach you. Those who are in tune with me need not ask. Their very tuning... they may not even…