The Journey...

Even if you have broken your vow a thousand times...

Sorrow and suffering and misery--everything has to be taken nonseriously, because the more seriously you take them, the more difficult it is to get out of them. The more nonserious you are... you can pass through the suffering, through the dark night, singing a song. And if one can pass through the dark night singing a song and dancing, then why unnecessarily torture yourself? Make this whole journey from here to here just a beautiful laughing matter.

There is a beautiful statement of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest Sufi masters ever. He says: Come, come, whoever you are; Wanderer, worshipper, lover of learning... It does not matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vow A thousand times. Come, come, yet again come.

Remember this beautiful statement: "Ours is not a caravan of despair." I can also say this. Ours is not a caravan of despair, it is a celebration--it is the celebration of life.

People become religious out of misery, and the person who becomes religious out of misery becomes religious for the wrong reasons. And if the very beginning is wrong, the end cannot be right.

Become religious out of joy, out of the experience of beauty that surrounds you, out of the immense gift of life that God has given to you. Become religious out of gratitude, thankfulness.

Your temples, your churches, your mosques and gurudwaras are full of miserable people. They have turned your temples also into hells. They are there because they are in agony. They don't know God, they have no interest in God; they are not concerned with truth; there is no inquiry.

They are just there to be consoled, comforted. Hence they seek anybody who can give them cheap beliefs to patch up their lives, to hide their wounds, to cover up their misery.

They are there in search of some false satisfaction. Ours is not a caravan of despair. It is a temple of joy, of song, of dance, of music, of creativity, of love and life.

It does not matter. You may have broken all the rules--the rules of conduct, the rules of morality. In fact, anybody who has any guts is bound to break those rules. I agree with Jalaluddin Rumi: he says, Come, even if you have broken your vow a thousand times.

Intelligent people are bound to break all their vows many times, because life goes on changing, situations go on changing. And the vow is taken under pressure--maybe the fear of hell, the greed for heaven, respectability in society...

It is not coming from your innermost core. When something comes from your own inner being, it is never broken. But then it is never a vow, it is a simple phenomenon like breathing.

Come, come, yet again come! Everybody is welcome, without any conditions. You do not have to fulfill any requirements. The time has come when a great rebellion is needed against all established religions.

Religiousness is needed in the world but no more religions--no more Hindus, no more Christians, no more Mohammedans--just pure religious people, people who have great respect for themselves.

Copyright © 2009 Osho International Foundation