Osho – You Can’t Hide

In this video from the masterful, often controversial spiritual teacher Osho, he explores the fact that death cannot be escaped.

In the attempts to escape death, to avoid confronting the reality of it, we are removed from the present moment. A large amount of activity and stress in life could be traced back to resistance of this inevitability.

The metaphor of sunrise and sunset is used to explore the duality and relationship between life and death. There cannot be one without the other.

In his retelling of a story from Sufi tradition, the concept of time, fate, and destiny come into play. When it is time, it is time, so to speak, and even the attempts to avoid it will lead you there.

Osho like many teachers seems to use this to point back to the importance of staying present, and being absorbed in each experience rather than having a goal that cannot be achieved.

Transcript

The moment. You are no more conditioned. You will not ask what is the goal of life.? Your whole question will go through a revolution.. You will ask How I can live more totally, How I can drown myself utterly into life, because life is the goal of everything.

Hence there can be no goal for life. And because you are starved and except death, there seems to be nothing. Life is slipping out of your hands and death is coming closer every moment.. You cannot dodge death.

. I am reminded of a story, a very famous Sufi story., A king dreamed that a black shadow appeared – even in his dream he freaked out. He said “Who. Are you and what is the purpose of your being in my dream? ” The shadow said: “I am your death and tomorrow by the sunset we have to meet.

. I just came to inform you because you are a busy man.. Ordinarily, I don’t. Go to inform people, but you are a king. You are very special, a V.V.I.P.. I have been afraid. Perhaps you may not meet me at the right place.

You may be engaged somewhere else, then. What am I to do? You have to meet me at the right place. Right time. Remember, ” And before he could ask “Where is the right place, ” out of fear. His sleep was broken.

The shadow disappeared.. The time was known the right time – sunset tomorrow. But where is the place? He tried many times to close his eyes and find the shadow to ask. “Where is the place where I am supposed to meet you ” Not that he wanted to meet death. He wanted to know the place, so he could avoid that place., But in this whole world, where that place is, But you cannot continue a dream – this is the difficulty.

Once it is broken. However hard you close your eyes, you cannot continue the same dream again.. He became so afraid that in the middle of the night he called all his wise men, his astrologers, his priests, palmists prophets, and he said, “You decide where the right place is so I can avoid it.

” And they all started looking into their ancient scriptures. Morning came And the sun started rising and once the sun started rising, the king became more and more afraid, because sunset is the end of sunrise.

Sunrise is the beginning of sunset.. When there is sunrise, sunset is not far away. The sun had started moving toward sunset already and those people had not reached any conclusion. On the contrary, they were so much quarreling arguing on each word about the scriptures.

. He said, “I am not interested in your scriptures. You simply tell me: where is that exact place, so I can avoid it.”, They said “Wait.. This is not a simple question and we have to consult ancient scriptures.

. We have to find some precedent and we have to come to an agreement.. The astrologer is saying something else: the priest is saying something else.. If we give you fifteen answers, what help are they going to be? So let us come to one conclusion.

The king’s old servant was standing by his side.. He whispered in his ear. “I am an old man and I am not supposed to interfere in this great conference of big shots. I am just a poor servant., But I am old.

I am just the same age as your father and I have brought you up from your very childhood. Just listen to me. These people will never come to any conclusion. These people have been arguing for centuries and they have never come to any conclusion.

Two philosophers never agree. Two prophets never agree, two astrologers, never agree. Disagreement is their business. They live on disagreement., So you don’t. Wait. Time is very short.. If you listen to me just take your best horse – and you have such beautiful horses – take the best and run away from this place.

At least one thing is certain: you should not be here in this palace in this city in this kingdom of yours.. You escape anywhere.”, The idea was striking.. The king said “You are right, because these people are not going to settle it before sunset.

”. He escaped.. He took his best horse and by the evening when the sun was just going to set, he had crossed the borders of his kingdom and entered another kingdom.. He was just so happy that he had escaped.

. Now it was not going to be possible for death to find him. To rest for the night. He went into a garden.. He was thanking his horse because the horse had done really a miraculous job.. The whole day he had been running so fast – even the king had never seen him run so fast.

He didn’t wait to drink water. He didn’t, wait even for a single moment’s, rest…, as if he understood the urgency.. He was thanking him that “You saved me.. I thank you and I love you and I will reward you.

Just tomorrow. When we go back to the kingdom, you will be received with just the same honor as me.”. At that very moment, the sun set and a hand…, the king felt it on his shoulder.. He looked back, it was the old dark shadow he had seen in the night.

The shadow laughed and said. “You should not thank the horse. I should thank the horse., Because this is the place where I was waiting and I was afraid whether your horse was going to make it or not.

But he did make it.. You have really a rare horse in the world. You have come to the right point. In the right time.”, Whatever you are doing, you will reach in the right time in the right place to meet death.