Words

If we sit empty, do words become useless?

Yes, that is exactly the likelihood—that they become too many. Because this is how it is… conversation does carry one away; conversation takes you far. So here, the ones farthest are Paage-ji and I. For these others here there is no reason to be far; they can come nearer. A word, the moment it is spoken, takes you away. The moment a word is uttered, it sets thinking in motion. The moment I say something, you begin to think. The moment you start thinking, you set out on a distant journey. Silence brings you close. That is why the deep meaning of satsang is simply to sit near. And many times what we cannot say through words descends into experience just by sitting close. And then the other is not other. Then the other is not other. In silence the other is not other. In silence the boundaries we have,…

Osho, are all words useless?

Not all. How can all words be useless? Words are useful as far as the world is concerned, the outer; words are useless as far as you are concerned, the inner. When you start moving inwards you have to drop words. They are not needed. They are an unnecessary load on you, a disturbance, a noise. But when you go outwards and you meet people, you need language. When you are talking about things, you need language. Language is perfectly adequate for the world -- otherwise there would be great difficulty. If you go to the market and you want to purchase something, you will be in difficulty without words. And it will be an unnecessary wastage of time. Words are tremendously useful instruments. If you want to see it, one day go into the market and try to purchase things without words. Each small thing will take so much…

Question: BELOVED MASTER, ARE ALL WORDS REALLY USELESS? Dharmendra, not all words. The words of the buddhas are immensely significant. They are the same words as your words, but they come from a deeper experience. Let your words come from deep experience; then they will have significance, then they will have some perfume of the unknown, of the beyond. But leaving the buddhas aside, then too all words are not useless. Otherwise, how are you going to communicate? You cannot communicate through silence, you cannot communicate without words. To communicate without words you will have to become a total meditator. And then, too, you can communicate only with another total meditator, not with everybody else. The whole of humanity is not going to be in meditation, not at least in your life, and you will have to talk to people who are not meditators.

Question: THE PURPOSE OF A FISH TRAP IS TO CATCH FISH, AND WHEN THE FISH ARE CAUGHT THE TRAP IS FORGOTTEN. THE PURPOSE OF WORDS IS TO CONVEY IDEAS. WHEN THE IDEAS ARE GRASPED THE WORDS ARE FORGOTTEN. WHERE CAN I FIND A MAN WHO HAS FORGOTTEN WORDS? HE IS THE ONE I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO. It is difficult to forget words. They cling to the mind. It is difficult to throw away the net because not only are fish caught in it, the fisher is also caught. This is one of the greatest problems. Working with words is playing with fire, because words become so important that the meaning loses meaning. The symbol becomes so heavy that the content is completely lost; the surface hypnotizes you and you forget the center. This has happened all over the world.