Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 16. ATHEISM, THEISM AND REALITY
There have been people who use both positive and negative together when they explain reality. The
seers of the UPANISHADS have their own special term: neti-neti, which means it is neither this nor
that, and that which is cannot be said. According to them both the theist and atheist say half-truths;
they want to say the whole, which cannot be said. In fact, truth is inexpressible. And therefore they
remain silent after saying neti-neti.
Krishna need not pass through any kind of atheism, because he is not interested in superficial
theism. Krishna knows and accepts reality at a depth where names don’t matter. Call it God, call
it prakriti, or nature, call it non-God, or whatever you like, it makes no difference. What is, is. The
trees will continue to grow as ever, the flowers will continue to blossom. The stars will continue to
move, life will continue to appear and disappear, waves will continue to rise and fall. Whether God
is or not is a debate only fools participate in. That which is, is utterly unconcerned about it all.
I was camping in a village where two old men came to visit me. One of them was a Jaina, the other
a Hindu brahmin. They were old friends and neighbors, and their debate was just as old. In fact,
all debates are old because there is no end to them. Men come and go, but debates go on. Both
friends had passed their sixties. The Jaina said to me, ”We come to you with a question which has
been troubling us for the last fifty years. I don’t believe in God, whereas this gentleman believes in
God. What do you say?”
I said to them, ”You two have monopolized the whole debate between you. What is there for a third
person like me to say? Since you have divided the thing between you on a fifty-fifty basis, where do
I come in?” Then I asked them, ”You have argued for the last half century; why couldn’t you come to
a decision?”
The brahmin friend said, ”I hold on to my arguments because I like them, and my friend holds on to
his because he likes them. And neither of us has been able to convince the other.”
I said, ”You have carried on this debate for fifty years, but do you know how long mankind has been
debating over it? From time immemorial man has been arguing over it. Up to now, however, no
theist has been able to convert an atheist to his point of view. Similarly no atheist has convinced a
theist. And the dispute goes on unabated. It shows that each side has a half truth with it; that is they
cling to it so tenaciously. If you have one end of reality in your hands, how can you believe there is
another end to it?”
I told them, ”I can be of help to you only if I completely keep out of the dispute. If I get involved, all I
can do is to take up one of the two positions that you hold, but it will make no difference whatsoever
So I say to you, give up arguing and try to see the other side of the coin, if there is some truth in
what the other person says. You don’t insist on your own truth. I concede that there is some truth in
what you say. From now on try to see the other side of reality. Give up believing that what the other
says is all wrong; try to find out if there is some truth with him. That will be much more helpful.”
Then I asked the Hindu gentleman, ”What will you do if it is proved with certainty that God is?”
He answered, ”There is nothing to be done.” His Jaina friend said the same thing when I con, fronted
him with the question; What will you do if it is proved that God is not?
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 320 Osho