From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 4. DANGER: TRUTH AT WORK
There have been, all around, dream merchants who have been selling dreams to people and
exploiting people – and in return they were not giving anything.
All the religions, up to now, have been dream sellers, exploiters of people’s weaknesses.
Yes, there are weaknesses. Every man who is born is going to die. You cannot hide the truth of
death.
How long can you make the cemeteries beautiful? Gardens, lawns, flowers, marble graves... but
you cannot hide the fact of death.
You can see that in every country the cemetery is outside the city. It should really be exactly in
the middle of the city, so everybody passing by comes to be reminded of death again and again –
because that is the only thing that is certain.
Everything else is just probable; may happen, may not happen. But death is not a probability.
Death is the only certainty in your whole life.
Whatsoever happens, death is going to be there. You cannot escape from it. You cannot go
anywhere away from it.
Death will meet you wherever you go.
I am reminded of an ancient parable. A very great king dreamed that death was standing before
him – a dark figure. He became frightened even in his dream. But he was a brave man: somehow
he gathered his courage together and asked this strange figure, ”Who are you? And what do you
want?”
The figure said, ”I am your death, and I have come to warn you: Don’t forget the right place, and
the right time to meet me.” Only this much he said, ”Don’t forget the right place and the right time
to meet me, tomorrow.” And the shock of his statement was such that the dream was shattered,
the king woke up. It was in the middle of the night but he immediately called his wise advisers,
astrologers, dream-interpreters, future-predictors, all sorts of people; and he told his dream.
They all started quarreling and discussing and arguing about what the dream meant. The old servant
of the king, who had been almost like a father to him – he had raised him from his very childhood....
The king’s mother died early, and his father was constantly going on faraway journeys, invading
countries, conquering, expanding the empire. So he was left with this trustworthy servant and he
treated him almost like a father.
The old man was standing by his side. He whispered into the king’s ear, ”Don’t waste time! These
people can quarrel for centuries; they have been quarreling for centuries. These philosophers, these
astrologers, these prophets – they have never agreed on anything. And it is going to be morning;
tomorrow is just going to begin and there is not much time. My suggestion is, you take your fastest
horse and escape from this place.” The advice appeared to be solid: ”And let these people argue.
They are not going to come to any conclusion at all. The evening will come soon – they will take
From Ignorance to Innocence 43 Osho