From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 22. THE COMMUNE: THE DISTILLATION OF REBELLIOUS SPIRITS
only three students. And girls join it for a different purpose. Because in the philosophy department
the professors are continuously in need of students, they are afraid to fail anybody. If people don’t
come then their department is closed, and they will be unemployed; so they persuade students to
come.... And for girls, a degree in India is only for marriage. A postgraduate girl will get a rich
husband, a cultured family. She will move in the highest circles immediately. She has nothing to do
with philosophy.
One of my professors was a Bengali, and he believed in celibacy – fanatically. In departments of
philosophy you will find all kinds of strange creatures. Whether it was raining or not, whether it
was hot or not, sun or not, he would walk with his umbrella just covering almost his face so he did
not have to see any woman. The university was full of girls, and in his class there were two girls.
Because of those two girls, he used to teach with closed eyes.
For me that was a great opportunity; I used to sleep. For six months it went perfectly well. One day
the girls didn’t turn up, but that was my time to sleep, so I went to sleep. That day he was teaching
with open eyes – I did not think that he would teach with his eyes open. So he said, ”You can open
your eyes. I know you also believe in celibacy.”
I said, ”For six months you were thinking this? I was simply sleeping. I believe in sleeping, not in
celibacy.”
He said, ”This is strange; I was thinking you are just like me, and I was feeling great respect for you.
You deceived me for six months.”
I said, ”I will deceive you in future too. It is not a deception, this is just my time to sleep. And it was
good that you were teaching with your eyes closed, so there was no trouble, no conflict – because
nobody was listening.
”Those girls are not interested in philosophy in any way, and what you are teaching is so much crap
that once in a while in my sleep when I hear it, I just throw it out. And those two girls have nothing
to do.... You can teach, you are paid for it. But those girls are just earning a degree so that they can
get a good marriage partner.
”I come here just to sleep, and you come here to teach; our ideas are different. I don’t say to
you,’Don’t disturb me,’ and I don’t disturb you either. I am sound asleep and I don’t snore. Have I
ever snored?”
He said, ”You are strange, you drive me nuts! You take the question in such a direction where I have
nothing.... Now you are asking about snoring. Come to the point.”
I said, ”I am exactly on the point. I am saying, have I ever disturbed you? If I have not disturbed you
then what is the complaint against me? I could have not listened to you with open eyes. That’s what
those two girls are doing, but they are not interested in philosophy at all. While you are teaching
with your closed eyes, they are talking about clothes, about their saris, and enquiring where to get
this from, and how much...? That’s what they are doing.
”Am I such a fool that I should listen to those two girls and you? Only I am caught in between. So
I simply sleep; that’s the only way to escape from all this. And you know perfectly well from now
From Ignorance to Innocence 314 Osho