From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 5. ECSTASY IS NOW – WHY WAIT?
dump on each other. Nobody has deceived, both have been deceived by biology. But biology is not
somebody outside you, it is intrinsic to your body. You are a projection of two other biologies, those
of your father, your mother; and they were a projection of two other biologies – it is a continuum, a
river-like flow.
The religions tried to exploit this fundamental truth. It is true that romance and poetry... and the
so-called love affair is just a shadow of biology. So it is not very difficult: a certain injection with
certain hormones can create all the poetry right now, all the romance.... Another injection – and you
fall into the Pacific! Now we know a man can become a woman, a woman can become a man; just
a little change of hormones, just a little change of chemistry.
Religions exploited this simple truth. It is true, but rather than explaining it to you, they exploited it.
They said, ”This is the momentary happiness. Don’t run after it; you are wasting your time. The real
world is beyond death.” Why beyond death? Because death will destroy all your biology, physiology,
chemistry; everything that is material, death will take away. Only the spiritual will be left behind and
the spiritual knows the eternal. The material, the physical knows only the momentary.
It appeared very logical; the first part is true, but the second part is fictitious. Yes, it is true that
moments of happiness in this life are very fleeting, but that does not mean that there is another
life beyond death where these moments become eternal. There is no evidence for it. At least these
moments are there, are experienced by everyone. Howsoever small and fleeting, they exist. Nobody
can deny their existence. You can say they are made of the same stuff as dreams are made of –
but still they are there. Even dreams have a reality of their own. They are there, they affect you; and
when something affects you it becomes real.
For example, you are hungry. The whole day you have not been able to eat anything; you are tired,
you fall asleep. Now, the body is hungry and wants food. The mind creates a beautiful dream that
you are a guest in a great feast. The mind is serving you because if the mind is not going to create
the dream, your sleep will be disturbed – the hunger is there. Somehow you have to be convinced
that you are eating, that you are not hungry. Your sleep remains undisturbed. The dream is doing
something real. How can something unreal do something real? It is not possible – but a dream has
its own existence. Yes, it is different from a rock, but so is a rose flower different from a rock. The
dream is even more different; but it affects you, it affects your life, it affects your lifestyle – and those
changes are real.
So, one thing to be remembered: in this life there are momentary pleasures, fleeting experiences of
happiness, sudden explosions of joy – but you cannot catch hold of them.
You cannot keep them in your safe deposit. You cannot make them permanent. Just because you
cannot make them permanent, religions exploited you. It was a very cunning strategy. You want to
make them permanent; your deepest desire is to remain happy for ever, not to know pain, sadness,
anguish – ever. Just always to be in paradise – that is your desire.
The religions exploited this. They said, ”There is such a place, but you cannot get anything without
paying for it.” It looks perfectly mathematical, economical. The religions started teaching that you
sacrifice this life if you want to attain the permanent world of paradise that is beyond death. And it is
very cheap, because what you are sacrificing are just momentary fleeting experiences that happen
once in a while.
From Ignorance to Innocence 57 Osho