... disappeared or is disappearing. You interpret it as a desire to die. It is not a desire to die. This is how the mind goes on giving wrong interpretations. When life seems illusory, when nothing seems worthwhile - and nothing is - then suddenly the mind says, 'What is the point of living? Die!' - as if death is going to be more meaningful than life! When life is not meaningful how can death be meaningful...

...; impossible. But you hit! That comes very easy to the Westerner. You have to drop that, otherwise an Indian will simply feel puzzled at what is happening; what type of love this is. So just try for a few more days, mm? And then I will see. Don't be worried. [A sannyasin says: I'm finding myself in emptiness a lot. I feel like I just want to die... I've tried to enjoy it... I've tried to just give in to it...

... - and that doesn't work either.] Don't do anything - there is nothing to do. When one wants to die, one dies! What is the point of doing? If the desire is there, it is there; there is nothing wrong in it. When you start doing something you have already taken the standpoint that something is wrong in it. It may be simply that you have come to feel the illusoriness of life, and the desire for it has...

...? When even life is illusory, death is going to be more of an illusion. So what is the point in choosing? One simply understands that life is illusory. Finished! No enlightened person has ever committed suicide. They should all commit suicide because they say life is meaningless; it is an illusion; there is nothing in it. So why should they go on living? They go on living because they say in death also...

... there is nothing left to be chosen. The whole of life is meaningless - death included! So there is nothing to do. When death comes they will accept. If it is not coming they will not do anything to bring it about. That would show that they are now clinging to death. First they were clinging to life, now they are clinging to death - but the clinging continues. So drop that clinging. It is beautiful...

...... just say that life is finished. But when death comes, it will come. Of course you will not try to avoid it. You will say, 'Come in, no need to wall at the door... no need to even knock. No need to even ask permission: "May I come in, madam?" No need. Come in' - that's all. Then one becomes absolutely serene and tranquil. One lives, but as if in a drama. Nothing to choose, nowhere to go...

.... Whatsoever happens, happens. One simply floats with it. While it is life, one is alive. When it is death, one is dead. Somebody asked Lin-Chi, 'What did you used to do before you became enlightened?' He said, 'I used to chop wood and carry water.' And then the man asked, 'What have you been doing since enlightenment?' Lin-Chi said, 'I am doing the same - chopping wood, carrying water. But before I used to...

..., and your fist will open. You entry within begins as soon as your grip on life loosens. So this slogan that life is a deception should be kept in mind always. The second maxim to remember is that the body is sure to die. Norman Brown has written a book entitled LOVES BODY. I think I should write a book entitled DEATH'S BODY. This body is simply the preparation for death. Nothing but death is to be...

... body is to die and there is no difficulty in knowing this. The body is perishable, this is a living fact - the experience of the entire human race. It is not necessary to believe in somebody to accept this fact. This body was a child, it has become young, it is getting old, it is on the path of death. Every step it takes leads towards death. It lives in a gradual death-process. People are wrong when...

... swim to save himself, instead of directly going into the depths of the ocean. The third hurdle would be the experience of the depth which is like death. As he goes down he will start losing himself. And there is only death when you reach the final depth. The world is all around us. And we have tied ourselves to many things in the world. This strong hold is the greatest hurdle on our way to the depths...

... of the self. Buddha used to tell his Bhikshus - Sannyasis - that life is a great deception and he who comprehends the meaning of this maxim, loses his grip of life. So try to understand this first maxim - life is a deception. Things are not that which they appear to be. Here what we hope for is never fulfilled. We try to find happiness and we get unhappiness. We try to find life and get death. We...

... not yet been answered, but I think Zoraster must have laughed at the people around him who were very happy and singing. Every birth is sure to be followed by death. Zoraster must have laughed at those people who have held a snake tightly thinking it to be a piece of rope. He must have laughed at those people who look at life superficially and did not go deep into the meaning of life. We also take...

... happen, that you a man eighty years old, have not died till now. Death is nothing to wonder about. You can wonder about everything else but death is the only certain thing in the world. Everything is happening, everything can happen, everything changes, but only death stands steady like the polar star. Life is insecure. The whole scheme of life is full of insecurity. There is insecurity throughout, but...

... we go on giving feeling fully secure. We believe that everything is all right. It is doubtful if anything is all right. But man's mind continues to deceive itself. He goes on saying everything is all right, where there is nothing right, where the ground under the feet is more slippery everyday. Where nothing but death seems to be approaching, man says everything is okay. Buddha used to advise his...

... bikshus - Sannyasis - to go to the cremation ground to see what life is But when we go to a cremation ground we only waste our time talking about the death of someone who had passed away. We return talking about his death how unexpected it was etc. We never worry or think that each death is a pre-warning to our own death. If we can see life in its true colours, our grip on life, infatuation for life...

... decreases automatically. We have purposely kept these cremation grounds on the boundaries of the towns so that they may not be seen by us. We beautify them so that we may hide death among the Rowers. We construct this entire structure of life as a great deception. That is the reason when I tell you, he who desirer, to go within unconsciousness, who desires to touch those depths within, shall have to...

... inner journey never begins. So the first thing to remember is that life is a deception. But this deception is broken at the last moment when there is nothing left to do. Is it broken at the last moment. Generally it so happens that we repeat those old desires, make future hopes. stronger within, continue to hope for future happiness, and so death becomes the cause for a new birth and the same old...

... circle which was completed by the death, begins again. When a Sadhak approached Mahavira or Buddha they used to ask him to enter into remembering of his past births. Mahavira called this remembering jate smarana - self remembering. New Sadhaks used to say that past births have no meaning for us, we want to be calm - devoid of cares and anxieties, we wish to know the Atma, we wish to be liberated. Then...

... had from this body. When we consider the world a deception, our grip on the world outside will be loosened. We have such a tight grip on our body that it seems to be everything to us. He who thinks the body is everything cannot go within. He has caught the chain on the shore of the body very tightly. He shall have to give it up and let loose the boat. Don't think that this body will die and I am...

... immortal. Don't entertain the desire to be immortal, you should know this much that when the body dies you are nowhere. If you say I am immortal, the Atma is immortal, the body will die, then you cannot go within. These are superficial words picked up by you. You have heard these words from the Gita and the Upanishad. These words are from the Koran and the Bible, not yours. These words will stop you at...

... they say so and so died at the age of seventy. The process of dying is completed in seventy years. Nobody dies at that moment. The process of dying is going from the moment of birth. Just as water is changed into vapour at 100 degrees though that change starts from the first degree, what we call life is only the commencement of death. It will be easy to loosen the grip on the body if this remembering...

... about the body deepens. When you get up in the morning, look at your body thoughtfully and know that the body is to perish. When you go to bed at night, then also look at it thoughtfully and know that the body is to die. While taking a bath or taking your food, look at the body thoughtfully and remember that the body is to die. Repeat this several times during your daily activities. If this...

... repeated. The intellect only reproduces, it docs not know anything. It has not known anything - neither religion, nor philosophy, nor science. While thinking about science, it seems that science has acquired much knowledge. This is a great illusion because what Newton knew is disproved by Einstein. And what Einstein knew is being disproved by the next generation. No scientist in this world can die with...

.... Having entered the unconscious an individual will have to remember that this subtle body of actions is not 'I', this will also perish. This body of mine which is made up of tangible objects, dies in every life-birth. But the body made up of actions dies only once at the time of liberation, it also his to die. We shall have to remember the same point about the inner body in the unconscious which we have...

..., look like has own, so Meher Baba can say, I have absorbed Gandhi in me after his death. When Nehru died he said the same thing. People will consider him a clever imposter. This will look like a deception from the stage where we live. But he experiences that because he experiences the unconscious mind of all people as his own. He feels whoever dies is absorbed in him. All bodies, the body of actions...

... it? There is no way beyond it, because there is no beyond. The jump from the cosmic unconscious is into the void, into the Supreme, into the Truth, into mahanirvana, into the moksha. You can call it whatever you will. The chief difficulties are three - hopes of happiness in the world outside, hope for death in the world of body, and hope for truth in the world of mind. These difficulties or hurdles...

... life, it is the search of all Atmas. That is the nectar. As long as there is shape, there is death, wh re there is shapelessness there is nectar, it is bliss. There is unhappiness as long as long as there is another, and where there is no other, there is bliss, it is absolute peace. As long as there is 'I' there is worry and when there is no 'I', there is peace. The sat (Truth), the chit (the mind...

... there is, whether it is misery, death, a meeting with a loved person or annuity etc. There is no rejection, there is tranquility. Tathata is the supreme belief in God. He is not a believer who says I believe in God. He is not a believer, who says I have trust in God. He is a believer who does not complain. He says, whatever is, is all right. Every breath is full of willingness. Total acceptability is...

.... Whatever the scheme of life holds, has to be accepted, this total acceptance brings rains of bliss. Anybody accepts flowers, but the real question is of accepting thorns. Everybody accepts life, embraces it, the question is of accepting death. Tathata means total acceptability. Such an acceptability can take place when one is totally aware. It is possible only after being a witness. When such an...

... be made aware: "Your death is going to come within one month. You don't have any more life, so this month do the best thing that can give you a taste of immortality." Then when you die there is no sadness, no misery - you simply move from this body into another body, or if you become enlightened... A sudden awareness of death can make you enlightened. I will tell you a story. Eknath, a...

... fragment is there." And because he was going to die, he started preparing for death. He wouldn't work. He lay down, and he became weak and pale. All his relatives came. Many royal families were connected so it was a big gathering. He was becoming weaker and weaker every day: his voice was sinking, his eyes were sinking. And Eknath had said, "On the seventh day as the sun sets - finished! That...

... opportunity." The servant could not understand. He said, "What opportunity is there? He will simply kill me! I don't know even how to hold the sword, and he is one of the champions. It will be just a game to him." The master said, "That is the point. He will think you are just a servant; what can you do? He will not be afraid of death; he will not be thinking that there is no tomorrow...

.... He will still have tomorrow and the future. He will be in the ordinary sleepiness. "You will not be. You don't have any tomorrow, you don't have any future: this is the moment. And you have nothing to lose. You are going to die, so why not be total and give him a good fight? And don't be worried about whether you know swordsmanship or not. Use this moment with total intensity." Meanwhile...

..., the whole neighborhood had gathered. The servant came. The warrior of course was totally on the ordinary level of sleepiness - it was just a joke for him to kill that man. But it was not a joke for the servant; it was a question of life and death. He fought so furiously, so totally, that the master started retreating. He had never seen... he had been fighting his whole life, but he had never seen...

... the warrior even more afraid. He knew how to fight with people who knew the art - but this man knew nothing. He was simply hitting him on this side, on that side, without understanding anything about what he was doing! He was total and intense, because this moment is the last moment and he does not want to hold on to anything. For what? - because the next moment is death. So he was fully awake - his...

... ask for whom the bell tolls. It always tolls for thee." When somebody dies, the church bell informs the whole village. But never send anybody to ask for whom the bell tolls; it always tolls for thee. Whoever may have died right now... each death is your death, because each death is a reminder that you are not going to be here forever. Each death is an opportunity to be awake. Before death comes...

... use the opportunity of life to attain something which is beyond death. It is pointless to be worried because you will be simply missing this moment and you won't help anybody. And it is not that only your parents and your friends, your beloved, are in danger: the whole world is in danger. It is only a question... Somebody is in danger today, somebody else will be in danger tomorrow - but the danger...

... is there. So learn the secret of how to transcend the danger. The secret is, start living more fully, more totally. Be more alert so that you can find within yourself something that is unreachable by death. That is the only shelter, the only security, the only safety. And if you want to help your friends and family, let them become aware of this secret. What has happened is going to happen again...

... finished everywhere in every country. People are dying to get the medicine, particularly in Europe, but there is no stock because nobody thought that suddenly there would be so much demand. And no other country is willing to give it because who knows? - the cloud may move towards them and they will be in the same position. The danger is more, but as life is itself always in the grip of death, it is a...

... good opportunity to be aware. Otherwise your death comes without any pre-information: suddenly it comes and you don't have even a single moment. And even in cases where death is certain - in cancer or in AIDS - the doctors, the family, the friends, everybody tries to hide the fact that it is so close... with good intentions, but good intentions won't do. They are harming the person. The person should...

... does not exist. But my people, friends, family, all believe in God and they wanted me to see you." Eknath said, "Just show me your hand." The king thought: This man seems to be really mad! - because what has my hand to do with God? Eknath looked at the hand and he said, "About God we can discuss later on... but within seven days you are going to die. I have to tell you that first...

... because my memory is not very good, I may forget. Your lifeline is finished - just at the most seven days. Now we can discuss." But now the king was not ready to discuss; he was afraid of his death. He was already going down the steps of the temple. Eknath asked, "Where are you going?" The king said, "Now there is no need of any discussion; I don't have time. Just seven days! I...

... cannot waste them in discussion." Just a few moments before he had looked so strong, and now he was trembling as he was going down the steps - just seven days! He reached his home and he said, "I don't know what kind of man that is but he is a great palmist, that much is certain. He has declared that in seven days I will die. He has shown me that my lifeline is finishing - just a small...

... palmistry! Even the line that I showed you is not the lifeline. I enquired of palmists and they said, ?You should at least know the exact lines!' You are not going to die. Now wake up, sit with me, and we can discuss the question that you had come to see me about." The king said, "Now there is no need to discuss. God does not matter. But in these seven days I have realized that what matters...

... - death being so near I could not remain asleep - is that I had to be awake. I could not waste my time in unnecessary thoughts. I had to watch my thoughts so they could disappear, and they have disappeared. "You were right: with the sunset - the sun was just setting - the man who had come to ask you is really dead; I am a totally new man. God or no God... that is no longer my concern. Now I have a...

... house, but you die - the mind, the ego dies. This fear of death becomes the fear of love, and the fear of love becomes the fear of prayer, meditation. These three things are similar: death, love, meditation. And the route is the same but you have to move on it. And if you have never loved you cannot pray, you cannot do meditation. And if you have never loved and meditated, you will miss the beautiful...

... whole life you have been making effort to reach it. And what stupidity - when you reach to the peak you are so afraid, you feel so dizzy, you close your eyes, you become so scared that you become unconscious. People die, they die in an unconscious state. They miss the experience. So love can be helpful because love will prepare you for death, and love will prepare you for meditation also. In...

... scared. If I say to you that you are in search of the supreme death, you will be scared - but you are in search of it. The whole of religion is the art of learning how to die. Love means death, but attachment is not death. Love means the other has become so significant that you can dissolve yourself; you trust the other so much that you need not have your own mind - you can put it aside. This is why...

.... Possessiveness, attachment, is the false love. Hatred is better, because at least it is true, at least it is a fact. And hatred can become love any day, but possessiveness can never become love. You simply have to drop it to grow into love. Why does attachment appear like love? And what is the difference? The mechanism is subtle. Love means that you are ready to merge yourself into the other. It is a death...

..., the deepest death possible, the deepest abyss possible in which you can fall, and go on falling and falling. And there is no end to it, there is no bottom to it, it is an eternal falling into the other. It never ends. To love means the other has become so significant that you can lose yourself. Love is surrender - unconditional; because if there is even a single condition then you are important, not...

... the other; then you are the center, not the other. And if you are the center, the other is just a means. You are using the other, exploiting the other, finding satisfaction, gratification through the other - but you are the goal. And love says, make the end the other, and dissolve, and merge. It is a dying phenomenon, a death- process. That's why people are afraid of love. You may talk about it, you...

... yourself, but how long can one befool oneself...? Then again you have to change - the other. If you come to realize the other is not the problem, that your love is false... you have been talking about it, you have not been doing anything to enter into it - you are afraid and scared. Love is death-like, and if you are afraid of death you will also be afraid of love. In death only your body dies. The...

... essential, the ego that looks essential to you, remains safe. The mind, that appears significant to you, is carried on further into another life. Your inner identity remains the same; only the outer garb, the clothes, change in death. So death is never very deep, it is just superficial. And if you are afraid of death, how can you be ready to enter into love? Because in love not only the garb, not only the...

... experience of death completely. If you have loved, then death is such a beautiful and intense experience that you cannot compare it with anything in life. Life can never be so deep as death, because life is spread out over seventy, eighty years. Death is in a single moment - so intense; life can never be so intense. And death is the culmination, it is not the end. It is the culmination, the very peak; your...

... meditation you have to lose - the other is not there - you simply have to lose yourself. Love is deeper than death; meditation is even deeper than love, because the other is still there in love - you have something to cling to. And when you can cling, something of you survives. But in meditation there is no other. That is why Buddha, Mahavira and Lao Tzu, they deny the existence of God. Why? They know very...

... well God is, but they deny the existence so that you have no support left for meditation. If the other is there, your meditation can become at the most love, devotion, but the total death is still not experienced. Total death is possible only when there is no other and you simply dissolve, you simply evaporate; there is nobody to cling to - then the greatest ecstasy happens. The word ecstasy is very...

... meaningful. This English word ecstasy is so beautiful and so significant; no other language has such a word. Ecstasy means to stand outside. Ecstasy means you are completely dead, and you are standing outside yourself and looking at this death, as if your whole existence has become a corpse. You are out of it and looking at your own death; then the supreme bliss happens. If I say it to you, you will be...

... time. And then one woman would be found and one attribute would still be lacking - not exactly perfect. Really, you cannot find anyone perfect. It is impossible, because perfection always means death. If someone is alive, it means imperfect - that's why we say that whenever one is perfect, he is born no more. Because how can you be born if you are perfect? Then you have passed through this world, you...

... Buddha with gold, do you? The Buddha won't allow you, he will simply escape. He will say, "Wait! What are you doing? You will kill me." Gold kills. Life can never be covered with gold - only death. Only death will allow you to do something. Life won't allow you such nonsense. But she called her wooden Buddha, "Golden Buddha." THE NUN BURNED INCENSE BEFORE HER GOLDEN BUDDHA EACH DAY...

... beast within you. Perhaps it is better that this world does not survive. But I am saying "perhaps" - remember that. Again, perhaps. Each thing is born, grows, becomes young, old, dies. That's the way of nature. Planets are born, and one day die. Suns are born, live millions of years, but one day, sooner or later, death comes. Wherever there is birth, there is death. They are two poles of one...

... mere survival, not life - and mere survival is worse than death, because death at least opens up a new door, cleanses the old, rotten stuff. That's really the function of death: it is a cleansing process. Everything becomes old, rotten, dirty, and a time comes when to go on - continuing is not a joy; it is pure anguish, agony, for you and for all those who are related to you. You cannot be in any way...

... 417 creative - and without being creative you cannot feel any justification for your being a burden on so many people. Death will be a relief. Perhaps our world has come to the point where surviving will be dangerous; it is better that the chapter is closed. We have done enough stupidities. We have done enough harm to nature, to ourselves. We have been a nuisance on the earth. Our whole history is a...

..., that each day you will be deteriorating, each day you will become more rotten, each day will be more gloomy and dark. Still, there is a biological instinct to continue to live. People live in any kinds of circumstances: they are blind, they are crippled, they are paralyzed - still they are afraid of death. I have been puzzled: what can death take from them? Life has taken almost everything, nothing...

... is left except agony, suffering, pain. What are they going to lose? Death will be a friend, it will take away all this hell that they are living in. But no; blind, crippled, paralyzed, deaf, dumb... still somewhere some strange instinct goes on forcing them to long for life. This question also comes from the same instinct. It exists in everybody; there is a collective will to survive. But what have...

.... After all, a government has to take care of everybody; that seventy-five percent will ensure your death, the death of those who are going to escape from hunger, starvation, cold, disease. The government is for the people, by the people, of the people... it has to take care of you all, it has to finish you all. And America is the richest country. Even poor countries like India are doing the same...

... says they will inherit the kingdom of God after death. Perhaps Jesus is waiting for the third world war, because otherwise to manage to get all the poor in one place at one time will be very difficult. The third world war will make it very easy: people will be dying almost simultaneously. The greatest time distance will be ten minutes; around the world, within ten minutes everybody will be dead. It...

... is not much of a difference. And it is going to be rush hour anyway - so many souls rushing towards the kingdom of God. So whether you die ten minutes earlier or ten minutes later is not going to make much difference. Anyway, the crowd is going to be so big and huge - perhaps this is the time for which Jesus is waiting, for the poorest to take over the kingdom of God. Marx simply brought the idea...

... down to earth. He said, "Who knows what happens after death? Why not let the poor inherit the kingdom of God here and now?" I think he is a very pragmatic Christian. And both are Jews: Jesus was a Jew, Karl Marx was a Jew. It is the same mind. Jesus is the first communist because he was more against the rich people than Karl Marx himself. Karl Marx has not written, "A camel can pass...

... will be killed. Only the rich camel will be able to reach there. And the statement is absurd, because if a camel can pass, I don't see any trouble for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle. And when you die, then what difference is there between a poor man and a rich man? - because riches will be left behind just as poverty will be left behind. Or do you think the poor man will be carrying...

... his poverty after death and the rich man, his riches? Just put the rich man naked and the poor man naked; shave their head, beards, demolish all signs of differences between the two and you will be in a difficulty to decide who is the poor man and who is the rich. Most probably the poor one will be chosen by you as the rich man because he will have fewer lines of worry on his forehead. Naked, he...

... Jewish friends in the world than anybody else. Many times I have thought that these people don't seem to be the people who could have crucified Jesus. One third of my sannyasins are Jews. I have many rabbis initiated into sannyas. This Jewish friend was telling me that he survived because before the date fixed for his death, the war ended. Germany was defeated and all prisoners were released. Just two...

... days before - two days more and he would have been just a black smoke in the sky. But he had seen thousands disappearing through the chimney of the gas chamber. He was saying to me, "Many things became clear which were never clear and may have remained unclear for my whole life. That concentration camp made me aware of many things. The first thing was that as my death started coming closer and...

... personality to such an extent.... Even people who had gold in their teeth, the gold was taken out - because that makes a difference, you look richer. And before they went for their final meeting with death they were shaved and all their clothes were taken away. Everything - their shoes, their watches, clothes... everything was taken away. And then they had to pass along a corridor made of mirrors on both...

... this nonsense, "Blessed are the poor"? Marx seems to be bringing Jesus to his senses. He says, "If the poor are going to inherit the kingdom of God, then why not here? When they are the real inheritors then let us start it right now, in this life. Why wait for death?" The idea of communism is not bad - that everybody should have equal opportunity for growth, that everybody should...

... gives a certain relief; at least for a few moments you feel as if the burden is lifted. Again, after a few yards you start feeling the weight on the other shoulder; again you change. I used to go to people's funerals, anybody's, because at least in death one should not be so much concerned who has died. In life you can keep distinctions: this is your friend and this is your foe, and this is your...

... mother and this is your father. But in death at least you should drop all that nonsense. Now, just to say the last goodbye to whoever he was.... My family was opposed; they said, "This is not the way, not the custom. Unless you know the person, you are familiar with the person, unless you are invited...." I said, "You are talking nonsense! How can the dead person invite you?" And...

... exists anywhere, nor communism. Both pretend to exist, and for these two pretenders the whole world has to die. If people are so idiotic that they can't see the pretensions, then I think perhaps it is good they should die. Why should we be worried? We are not going to live forever. As far as any individual is concerned, he is going to die. And when you die, what does it matter whether the society goes...

... on living or not? For you, the moment you close your eyes everything is finished: the third world war has happened. I have been trying hard to figure out.... If I die, then how does it matter whether the world goes on living or not? And why should I be worried and waste my lifetime? I should enjoy it right now. One thing is certain, that I am not going to be here forever. After me if the deluge...

...; the only projects that are chosen are for war. Life seems to be nobody's interest. Death seems to be immensely attractive. I was talking to Indira Gandhi, and I told her, "India is so poor, you cannot hope to become a world power; there is no possibility. You cannot compete with Russia or America. It will take you at least three hundred years to come to where America is now. But in these three...

...? You cannot compete with the nuclear powers. If there was any hope I would have said, okay, go ahead; let people starve - they have been starving for millions of years, they can starve a few hundred years more. And anyway, starving or not starving, everybody is going to die; let them die, forget about them. You go ahead and compete. "But you have no power to compete. Then will it not be a wise...

... men? They could not save you from assassination. They prevented you from coming to me; they could not prevent you from going to death. Now what about position? In fact if I was in her place I would have taken the risk even of being called mad. It is worth taking. I would have taken the risk even to be thrown out of office. At least it would have been on record that one person had tried his best to...

... Jew is a Jew! Whether he is a rabbi or not does not make much difference: old habits die hard. But they can die. And you have to make all the efforts so that they die, because in their death is the beginning of your real life. The third question: Question 3: BELOVED MASTER, IS THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT REALLY SO LOUSY AS YOU WERE SAYING THE OTHER DAY? Pradipama, it is not really a question of the Indian...

... eternal, not the longer. Even if you live to seventy, eighty, ninety, what does it matter? What will you do? If you live ninety or a hundred years you will do the same stupidities again and again. What have you been doing up to now for these sixty years? You will do the same things even if you are given sixty years more. Think of something new! And death is bound to come. When you die is not important...

...; death is absolutely certain, THAT is important. After birth only one thing is certain in life and that is death; everything else is uncertain. Don't try to escape death, don't try to avoid it. For centuries people have been trying all kinds of ways to avoid death, but death comes all the same. Whether married or unmarried it doesn't matter: you will die. You are dying! In fact, death does not come one...

... significance. Unless you have something for which you can live and for which you can die without any rational grounds, you will go on missing the very meaning of life and existence. You will remain superficial. Hence the absurd can release something tremendous in you; it can become an explosion. It can make you see the whole world anew, because it is a rebirth. You slip out of the mind. You are no longer...

...: Question 2: BELOVED MASTER, OLD HABITS DIE HARD! Prem Harideva, it is true... but why? Why do old habits die hard? - because you are nothing but your old habits. If they die, YOU will die. You don't have anything more, you don't have anything plus. You are just your old habits, old patterns. You are a mechanism, not yet a man; that's why old habits die hard. It is very rare that a man exists, very few...

... power in you, and you become capable of soaring high. Otherwise, Harideva, this old saying is right: Old habits die hard... because there is nobody who can kill those old habits. At breakfast, Feinberg's wife said to him, "We are having Sonia's boyfriend to dinner for the first time. We are gonna have a big meal with our best dishes. So please behave. Don't eat with your knife, or you will kill...

... idea behind Patanjali, Mahavira, Krishna, Buddha, and their message. Reincarnation simply means: be BORED with the whole idea of desiring this and that. Be finished with it. Jump out of this wheel of life and death. But what really happened was totally different, just the opposite. What happened was that India became very lousy, slow. The unconscious mind interpreted the whole message that there is...

... HEARD THAT MARRIED MEN LIVE LONGER THAN THE UNMARRIED. IS IT SO? Satyadeva, meditate over Murphy's maxim: Married men don't really live longer. It only seems that way. And, Satyadeva, why are YOU worried? I think you must be beyond sixty now. Are you thinking to get married so as to live longer? It is time to think of something else - time to think of death, not of marriage; time to think of the...

... must lend me your best horse immediately, so that I may flee to Damascus and thereby escape my fate." "Whatever is the matter?" asked the merchant. "I went to the marketplace and I saw Death standing there among the stallholders!" exclaimed the servant. "He made a hostile gesture at me and started walking towards me. I beg you, lend me your best horse so that I may flee...

... to Damascus and escape." The merchant was a kind man and he did as his servant asked. Then he himself walked down to the marketplace to see if the story was true. Sure enough, Death was standing in the crowd. "Why did you make a hostile gesture at my servant?" asked the merchant. "I made no gesture of hostility," replied Death. "I was simply very surprised to see him...

..., for I have an appointment with him tonight... in Damascus." You cannot escape. Wherever you go you will find your death waiting for you. Yes, it can be prolonged, postponed, but what is the point? Rather than postponing, why not use this opportunity of becoming aware of death - that it is approaching, that it is on the way, that any moment you will be in its grip. Don't ask for the horse and...

... me that death is not related to me, that I am not going to die. If you can convince me of that, I will stop going; otherwise let me explore." They could not say to me that I would not be dying, so I said, "then just keep quiet. I am not telling you to go. And I enjoy everything that happens there." The first thing I have observed is that nobody talks about death, even there. The...

..., the rupee devaluating - in front of death. And they are all sitting with their backs toward the funeral pyre. They had to come, so they have come, but they never wanted to come. So they want to be there almost absently present, just to fulfill a social conformity, just to show that they were present. And that too is to make sure that when they die they will not be taken by the municipal corporation...

...Death: The ultimate orgasm...

... Osho From Personality To Individuality: Death: The ultimate orgasm Main Books Headers Help Your browser does not support iframes. < Prev  Osho From Personality To Individuality   Next > Death: The ultimate orgasm From: Osho Date: Fri, 10 January 1985 00:00:00 GMT Book Title: From Personality to Individuality Chapter #: 12 Location: pm in Lao Tzu Grove Archive Code: N.A...

.... Short Title: N.A. Audio Available: N.A. Video Available: N.A. Length: N.A. Question 1: OSHO, IN OTHER RELIGIONS DEATH IS ALMOST NEVER SPOKEN OF AND WHEN IT IS MENTIONED THE TONES ARE GRAVE AND FEARFUL. IN YOUR RELIGION, DEATH IS TALKED ABOUT FREELY AND HAPPILY IS THIS SIGNIFICANT? IT is certainly one of the most significant things. It determines whether a religion is authentic or pseudo. The pseudo...

...-religion knows nothing about death. In fact it knows nothing about life either, hence the fear, fear of both. It is not possible to be afraid only of death, because death is not separate from life, death is part of life. It is not the termination of life, it is an incident in life; life continues. Death happens many times, millions of times; it is a mere incident. But the pseudo-religions are afraid of...

... both. The pseudo-religions are afraid of living too. You should understand that first; only then can you understand why they are afraid of death. They are all in favor of renouncing life. They are all based on an anti-life attitude: something is wrong in life, life is born out of the original sin, it is not right that you are living. Adam and Eve were punished because they wanted to live, they wanted...

... question - they are not only afraid of death. They don't talk about death; it is thought unmannerly to talk about death. It is not good etiquette if you are sitting at a dinner table and you start talking about death. What to say about a dinner table! - even at the grave when people are gathered together to pay their last homage they don't talk about death. It was one of my pastimes in my childhood to...

... of being related to somebody. I am certainly related with death, that you cannot deny. It does not matter who dies - it is symbolic to me. One day I will be dying. I have to know how people behave with the dead, how the dead behave with the living people; otherwise, how am I going to learn?" They said, "You bring strange arguments." "But," I said, "you have to convince...

... funeral pyre is burning somebody's father, somebody's brother, somebody's uncle, somebody's friend, somebody's enemy: he was related to many people in many ways. He is dead - and they are all engaged in trivia. They would be talking about the movies, they would be talking about the politics, they would be talking about the market; they would be talking about all kinds of things, except death. They would...

... make small cliques and sit all around the funeral pyre. I would go from one clique to another: nobody was talking about death. And I know for certain that they were talking about other things to keep them occupied so that they didn't see the burning body - because it was their body too. They could see, if they had a little insight into things, that they are burning there on the funeral pyre - nobody...

... truck. Because they have participated in so many people's death, naturally it becomes obligatory for other people to give them a send-off They know why they are there - they are there because they want people to be there when they are on the funeral pyre. But what are these people doing? I asked people whom I knew. Sometimes one of my teachers was there, talking about stupid things - that somebody is...

... flirting with somebody's wife.... I said, "Is this the time to talk about somebody's wife and what she is doing? Think about the wife of this man who has died. Nobody is worried about that, nobody is talking about that. "Think of your wife when you will be dead. With whom will she be flirting? What will she do? Have you made any arrangements for that? And can't you see the stupidity? Death is...

... as possible, and the very taste of life will give you the clue why death is not to be feared. Once you have known your life, its fire, you will know that there is no death. This life that one comes to know by intense living is eternal. The feeling of its eternity arises simultaneously as you live. The deeper, the more intensely you live, the quicker you feel there is no death. In my religion death...

... is celebrated because there is no death. It is only an entry into another life. We celebrate birth - people think we are celebrating death - because there is no death as such because nothing dies, only forms change. Life transmigrates from one form into another; and it should be a moment of rejoicing for all concerned when a person dies, because he is dying only apparently. From our side it feels...

... he is dying; from the other side he is being born. Yes, he goes out of one house - and we live in this house so we think he is finished - but he enters another house immediately. Or he may stay a little longer without a house, but there is no death. Ninety-nine percent of people are instantly born into another form of life. The higher their consciousness, the higher will be the form; the lower...

... can watch your mind, your emotions, thoughts, body, pain, pleasure - everything. But you are simply a watcher, unidentified with anything else that you are watching. Now this watcher remains watching even in your sleep. The day you can feel your watcher even in your sleep, that day you know: now death is nothing but a longer sleep. For the body it is eternal sleep, but the watcher simply moves...

... one house to another was moving from one class to another. But one day you graduate - you become part of existence. That's why we celebrate, because there is no death. Either the man is going into a new house - a good time to celebrate - or the man is going into the eternal existence. That is the best time to celebrate, and the last time to celebrate. And celebrating death will help you to...

... understand that there is nothing in life to be afraid of If death is a celebration, then what else can be a cause of fear? And if you can celebrate death, you have attained a maturity. It is possible only to those who live life as a rejoicing, a constant celebration. Then death is not the termination, but only a small incident of changing your clothes, your house, your body. But you remain exactly the same...

... and wrong when you are going to die? And within seconds the master is pushed against the wall - there is no further to go back. And the master says, 'Wait. Don't kill me right now. You can kill me after a few days, but first teach me your art. I have been fighting my whole life - I have never seen such a great warrior!' And the servant laughed. He said, 'There is nothing, no art. But when death is...

... things which are not there. That's what Buddha says - because how can there be beauty in the body? And how can there be beauty in bones, flesh, blood? All kinds of diseases are hiding there. Death is growing there... but you see beauty. You believe. When you believe, it is there; when the belief disappears, all beauty disappears. Watch it. You are constantly creating your own world. We live in...

... it, a few things have to be understood. Master Takan was dying - a great Zen master, very much loved by his disciples. His disciples asked that he should write a death poem. In Zen it is traditional, whenever a master dies, as his last utterance he writes a death poem. It is beautiful, very indicative. Death should be a poetry, death should be a celebration, a song. And when a master is departing...

..., when he is saying goodbye to all those who have been with him and who have been working with him and who have been growing through him - to all his children - he leaves his last legacy in a song. Maybe two lines, four lines - a small haiku. But that is his gift. So they write death poems. And disciples ask - when they see that the master is on the verge to leave them, they say, 'The last thing is...

..., give us a song.' Death should happen with a song - that is the meaning. Death should not be a sad affair, it should be a joy. And masters have sung beautiful songs. They have to be spontaneous because the master may not be a poet at all, he may not have composed a poem ever. But when such a great phenomenon as death is there everybody becomes a poet, if you are alert. It is such a beautiful...

... experience. To pass through death is to pass through utter relaxation, to enter into death is to enter into a non-tense rest. Everything starts becoming lax, everything starts dropping. And one is ready for the journey, and the boat has come to the shore... and the unknown surrounds... and the mysterious is all around. Even one who has never been a poet and has never written a poem, will utter something...

.... So they asked Master Takan to write a death poem. He refused. But when they insisted, he wrote the character YUME - it means 'dream' - and died. Many death poems have been written, but nothing to compare with Master Takan: YUME - dream. Life and death both are dreams: that is his last verdict. It is very definitive. That's what Hindu mystics have always said - MAYA. It is not THERE; it is there...

... because you want it there. The mind is tremendously creative, the mind is the real creator. It goes on creating - it goes on creating anything that you want to create, it makes everything available to you. You have just to be dreaming, and reality starts changing around you. But it is all dream. Life is dream, death is dream, God is dream. ALL is dream. Just one thing is not a dream - that is the...

... see Hindus are right when they say the world is maya - illusion. Takan is right when he says it is all a dream - life and death. His last statement should be the first too - this is the whole story. But we have put much investment in our belief-systems. You must be aware of it - if you are not involved, you become aware. Somebody has fallen in love with somebody - you laugh. All lovers look...

... like safety, security, a home. For a woman marriage means home, and for a man marriage means slavery. Total different beliefs, so they act differently. Conflicting beliefs. For a young man the world is different, for an old man it is different. For the young, death does not exist. Death has not yet shadowed his belief-system at all; he lives as if he is going to live for ever. He is ambitious, he...

... see much change since you came into the world. Five years is not a long time. And how do you KNOW? You have not yet lived long enough to say such a thing.' And the child said, 'Yes, the world has changed a lot. Now I am in it.' The world is no more the same, certainly. And everybody wants, when he is young, to show his mettle. Death does not matter yet, life is all. When a man becomes old, life is...

... receding. Death becomes a big shadow - it overshadows everything. Now he is no more ambitious, now he does not want to prove anything. Now he knows he is going to disappear within days or months or years - the day of departure is coming closer. Now there is not time enough to prove anything. And now he knows that whatsoever you do, nothing can be proved, nobody bothers. He has lived his life, and now the...

... frustration has settled. He is no more ambitious. His eyes are no more full of dreams - the eyes are full of fear, the eyes are full of death. He can hear the footsteps of death all around. Now he cannot run. No - when he goes upstairs he becomes tired, he cannot breathe rightly. He cannot enjoy the food that he always liked, he cannot love the woman. Things are disappearing... part by part, he is dying...

.... Death is coming, and death has to be reckoned with. Now he thinks of God. Now temples for the first time start becoming significant. He had passed those temples before, but they were not there. What I am saying is, we are moving in different tracks. He had passed many times through the street, and the temple was there - but it was never before him. For him it was not there, it was not part of his...

... does not matter. He is no more moving towards power, prestige. Suddenly the temple stands there, out of all proportion. The movie-house disappears, the woman disappears, the money disappears, the friends, the club - they all disappear. Suddenly the temple is there, very real. Death has become part of his belief-system, and his-reality has changed. Now, Zen says, this is how we go on changing from one...

... factual, more close to the reality the logician lives in. As a great Zen master, Roshi Taji, approached death, his senior disciples assembled at his bedside. One of them, remember ing the roshi was fond of a certain kind of cake, had spent half a day searching the pastry shops of Tokyo for this confection, which he now presented to Roshi Taji. With a wan smile the dying roshi accepted a piece of the...

... cake and slowly began munching it. As the roshi grew weaker, his disciples leaned close and inquired whether he had any final words for them. 'Yes,' the roshi replied. The disciples leaned forward eagerly. 'Please tell us!' 'My, but this cake is delicious!' And with that he died. A Zen master does not talk about God, does not talk about death, does not talk about the beyond. He talks about the...

... down upon myriads of birds all flying in one direction; every kind of bird was there, all the birds in the world. It was a noble sight, this vast aerial river of birds. 'But now in some mysterious fashion the gear was changed, and time speeded up, so that I saw generations of birds, watched them break their shells, flutter into life, weaken, falter and die. Wings grew only to crumble; bodies were...

... sleek and then, in a flash, bled and shrivelled; and death struck everywhere and at every second. What was the use of all this blind struggle towards life, this eager trying of wings, all this gigantic meaningless biological effort? As I stared down, seeming to see every creature's ignoble little history almost at a glance, I felt sick at heart. It would be better if not one of them, not one of us at...

... of millions of names, a dream of millions of identities. We become this, we become that. We are born, we live, we love, we do a thousand and one things, and we die. And in fact, all was just forms. Empty forms, empty shadows. The real is the flame of life, the white flame of life. To know that white flame of life one has to drop all forms from the eyes. The eyes have to become utterly empty. Hence...

... want to kill me, kill me - but what is the point of me fighting with you?' But the samurai said, 'That is how it has to be. I cannot kill you, that is against my honour. You will have to fight. Accept the challenge and come into the ground.' Now the servant - seeing no way possible, no way of getting out of it, knowing perfectly well that death has come - in a moment changed. When death is so certain...

... he has nothing to lose. Death is absolute, so what is there to lose? He takes the sword and jumps on the master. And the master has never seen such a furious man in his life, and he has been fighting his whole life. And he starts backing away. And the servant is just mad energy. He does not know how to hold the sword, and he sees that he is not holding it rightly - but what is the point of right...

... certain, why not try? You are just playing. It is a question of life and death to me. To you it is just a game, you cannot put that much belief into it. That's why you have been defeated.' And that's true, sometimes it happens. If the other has no way to get out of it, then he becomes immensely strong. Then an ordinary servant can defeat a warrior. But a warrior means one who has been trained - who has...

.... The master being defeated by the servant. In India it has happened, down the ages, for two thousand years. Poor societies came and conquered India very easily. India was rich. Those poor societies had nothing to lose, they had everything to gain. If they are killed and defeated there is nothing to lose, because they were going to die anyway - they were hungry, starving. But India had much to lose...

... death. This is not even called for - 'We can wait, we can prepare.' This Nobunaga IS mad - but they have to follow their general. They must have been waiting with palpitating hearts, with trembling, with great anguish. And Nobunaga comes and tosses the coin, and heads comes. Now he has changed, in a single moment, the whole gear. Now they know they are going to win. And in an Eastern country, and...

... black lacquer, the dusty wind importunately pulling at his hair and beard, and the jagged rocks rising to wound his stumbling feet. The pilgrim had hoped to reach a great spiritual teacher beyond the wilderness, but now that hope was gone. He might well die of thirst before morning. Fervently, the pilgrim prayed to Amida Buddha - the Lord of Light - for help. Immediately, his foot struck something...

... story is of tremendous importance. What happened? How did the SATORI happen? In the night he believed in his thirst that Buddha has given him this silver bowl. It was a dark night, starless - it was just his belief; created by his thirst. He was dying, he was on the verge of death - his mind must have dreamed, must have projected. In a human skull he saw a silver bowl - he projected. And he thought...

... second birth you become an individual. The first birth is bound to lead you one day to death. The second birth only begins, and never ends. It leads you to immortality. But whatever is needed at a certain time will be provided to you. That's why I don't give you a discipline. All the religions are doing that stupidity -- they are giving disciplines, commandments, without even bothering about whom they...

..., A YEAR AGO, ON MARCH 15TH, I WAS VISITING FRIENDS IN SANTA FE. EARLY THAT MORNING, MAHAMATI AND I WERE LYING IN THE BACK OF MY VAN WHEN IT WAS STRUCK FROM BEHIND. FOLLOWING THE IMPACT I COULDN'T BREATHE. MY NECK AND BACK WERE AFLAME WITH PAIN, AND I PANICKED. MY HAND DISCOVERED MY MALA AND THE STRUGGLE DROPPED WITH THE DEEP REMEMBRANCE OF SANNYAS, AND I RELAXED TO BE AWARE FOR DEATH. IRONICALLY, I...

... BEEN LAZY -- DOING ART, PORTRAITS OF YOU, AND A NOVEL DEPICTING MY EXPERIENCES WITH YOU. BELOVED MASTER, I AM SO GRATEFUL TO FIND I CAN LET GO WHEN DEATH KNOCKS ON MY DOOR, AND I FEEL SO FORTUNATE TO LOOK INTO YOUR EYES ONCE MORE. THANK YOU. WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMENT ON MY EXPERIENCE? WAS IT REALLY YOU WHO CAME TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM, OR JUST OUR LET-GO TO EXISTENCE AND LIFE? Atmo Shahid, my whole...

... of great value; this is the preparation every sannyasin is going through. Life has to be a joy, a dance, a celebration. And when death comes, it has to be welcomed with silence, with serenity -- wholeheartedly, not holding anything back. This is a way to kill death itself. If you have lived joyously, you will be ready to welcome death too -- invite her for a dance! Death is powerful only over...

... people who have never lived, who don't have the courage to relax peacefully in moments of death without any fear -- because no accident, no disease, nothing can make even a dent in your consciousness; you are always intact. But the problem with people is, they live their whole lives unconsciously -- in such misery, anguish, anxiety, that it is almost necessary for them to remain unconscious. They find...

... new ways to be unconscious: drugs... anything that makes them unconscious. But then when death comes, they fall into a deep coma. The very fear of death, the very presence of death makes them absolutely unconscious, without any anesthesia. Only for these people does death happen. Otherwise, death is a fiction. It is just moving the house; your old house has become such that renovating it is more...

... now -- in the reports of the scientists, they say that they can read the program of the first cells that begin your life. At least they will be able to know the great events in your life: when you will become sexually mature, at what age; when you will become old, when death will strike your body just to make you free. Death is in the service of life. Life never dies. But in unconsciousness you go...

... little consciousness of what you are doing: This is not life. This is only a slow death which will be completed in seventy or seventy-five years' time. You are dying every day, every moment. The great masses of the world only know slow death. Only very few people who have become awakened have known the tremendous tidal wave of life. Just as the unconscious goes on dying, the conscious goes on becoming...

... remained aware in the moment of death. Now don't take it for granted. You have to be aware each moment in life. Sometimes, particularly in accidents, people become aware because the accident is such a shock that the unconsciousness disappears. But if they survive, the unconsciousness again starts gathering around them like a dark cloud and they start living a life which is meaningless, imitative, not...

... aware. You are just a sleepwalker, a somnambulist. Anybody can cheat you -- the politicians are doing it, the priests are doing it, but in your unconsciousness it is absolutely natural. Only a conscious man cannot be exploited. Only a conscious man really lives. And those who really live, die peacefully, silently, with a smile on their face. For these people who die with a smile on their face, there...

... is no death -- because deep down in their consciousness there is an absolute certainty that it is only the body that is being dropped. Life has continued always, and will continue always. Question 4: BELOVED OSHO, AT THE MOMENT, MY LIFE SEEMS TO BE AN ENDLESS DIVE INTO DEEP, DARK VALLEYS OF GREED, JEALOUSY, SELF-CONDEMNATION; DEEP PAIN, AND FEELING VERY LOST. COMING OUT OF THESE VALLEYS, I FEEL...

.... Each moment is so full of blessings, each moment is such an eternity of joy, each moment is such a dance of beauty. Greed arises, Vanshi, only because you don't know how to live herenow. Greed is a postponement of life. It is one of the most stupid things one can do, because it will land you in death and nowhere else. And a man who lives totally in the moment -- his heart full of songs, his presence...

... happens afterwards?" Confucius said to him, "Do you want to die? Are you preparing for death?" The man said, "No, I am not preparing for death, I am very much afraid of death. I want to be certain that there is nothing to be afraid of." Confucius said, "Don't be stupid. While you are alive, be alive! And be totally alive, and enjoy life in all its dimensions; and when you...

... have been able to live. Why are you in so much of a hurry to die?" Socrates said, "Life I have lived. And I have lived so totally, I have squeezed all the juice out of it. Now there is no more to explore. Death opens a new door, a new mystery. Don't delay, I am feeling so excited. I am feeling young again." If you live fearlessly, you will die fearlessly. And the man who has no fear...

...Live fearlessly, die fearlessly...

... Osho The Razors Edge: Live fearlessly, die fearlessly Main Books Headers Help Your browser does not support iframes. < Prev  Osho The Razors Edge   Next > Live fearlessly, die fearlessly From: Osho Date: Fri, 10 March 1987 00:00:00 GMT Book Title: The Razor's Edge Chapter #: 26 Location: am in Chuang Tzu Auditorium Archive Code: N.A. Short Title: N.A. Audio Available: N.A...

...: you cannot live fully, because there is death. My logic is totally different: because there is death, live as totally as possible. Because you cannot be certain about tomorrow, you have got only this moment, you cannot afford to postpone living - because there may not be any more time left. One of the disciples of Confucius asked him, "Master, can you tell me something about death, and what...

... are dead, be totally dead. And if you want to think about death, in your grave you will have enough time; lying down, go on thinking about death. But don't waste your life thinking about death." But man has been made so afraid - about his actions, about his living, about his respectability - that there is no time left for living. Fear takes all the time. Rain is pouring over Warsaw. Mr. Cohen...

... is: Go on dropping your fear, don't waste time. Enjoy life so totally that there is no space left for fear. And I give you the guarantee that even when death comes, you will not be afraid; your whole life-long training in fearlessness will not allow you to be afraid of death. On the contrary, you will feel excited because you are moving into an unknown space. An exploration - that's how Socrates...

... took his death. He was condemned to death by poison by the court of Athens. Exactly as the sun was setting, his disciples gathered around him. They were crying, and Socrates told them, "I have always been teaching you to enjoy every moment. I am not crying, and I am dying; you are alive, and you are crying - this is very strange. I am feeling very excited, after a long time, because life I have...

... lived, I am well acquainted with it but death is a new experience, so new that it is a challenge for me to explore it." The man who was preparing the poison outside the room had killed many people in the past by preparing this poison. He was the expert. But he was delaying the preparation of the poison because, listening to Socrates in the court, he had fallen in love with the man. The court had...

... no argument against him; they were all pygmies, and he was a genius. And finally, seeing that by arguing with this man you cannot win, they decided that it was taking too long, it was better to take a vote. This was a cunning strategy. And a vote was taken to decide whether Socrates should be sentenced to death or not. They had not proved any crime. He had argued so well, and destroyed all the...