The following excerpts are from discourse No. 6, Vol #3 from the series of talks titled Discipline of Transcendence. Osho would pick a topic and do a series of discourses on it. These discourses are on the 42 sutras of Buddha. One day the discourse will be on some sutra and the next day he answers questions. Discourse no. 6 is a Q&A. Osho answers a question on why he doesn’t take a holiday and keeps talking everyday :):).
To read the entire transcript please click here.
Everyday is a Holiday
The question – “DO YOU NEVER GET TIRED OF TALKING? WHY DO YOU TALK REGULARLY EVERY MORNING? DON’T YOU FEEL LIKE GOING FOR A HOLIDAY SOMETIMES?”
Excerpts from Osho’s reply –
“I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN GOD. The Christian God created the world in six days and the seventh day He rested; hence, the Sunday is the holiday. ‘Holiday’ means the holy day, God’s day of rest.
In the East we have never known any God resting. The very idea is stupid: God and resting? Rest is needed if what you are doing is not of your heart; then you get tired. When it is out of your heart and out of your love, you don’t get tired; in fact, you get nourished by it.
Talking to you, I feel nourished. After talking to you I feel more energy than ever – because it is my love. I enjoy it! It is not work.
You can get tired if you are working. If you are playing, how can you get tired?
Nobody has ever heard that people get tired by playing. In fact, when people are tired by work, they go to play as a rest – they relax. Six days they have been working in the office, in the factory, in the market; the seventh day they go to fish, or they go for golf – they play. They invite friends for a picnic; they go trekking in the hills. That is rest.
To me, every day is a holiday. If you love whatsoever you are doing, you are never tired of it; it is nourishing, it is energy-giving, it is vitalizing.”
Work is Worship
“Work is worship. Work is prayer.”
“…While I am talking to you, it is a prayer to me, it is worship. You are my temples, my gods. Whatsoever I am saying, I am not saying just to teach something.
Teaching is a by-product, a consequence. Whatsoever I say to you is a prayer – it is love, it is care. I care about you; I care as much as a painter cares about his canvas.
Have you ever heard about Van Gogh being on a holiday? Have you ever heard about Picasso being on holiday? – yes, you must have heard. He used to go for many holidays, but always with his canvas and brush; on the holiday also he would be painting. It was not a holiday from painting.
When you love something, there is no holiday – and then all your days are holidays. Each day to me is a Sunday, full of light – that’s why I call it Sunday.
Each day to me is a Sunday because it is full of holiness.”
Now the question to all of us is – do we need a holiday ? and if we do, then maybe the work we are doing is not what we love to do :).
In the book “Book Review – Ikigai” there is a concept called “flow”. The centenarians are mostly in a state of flow, which is to be doing things that make them happy every single day. The bad word in this century is “stress” which is a result of doing things we don’t like or our expectations not being met.
Today being a Saturday its a good day to mull over this question. While most of us are “busy” 24/7, are we truly enjoying the work ? If not, then we need to do something to make work a worship. Krishnan and I keep asking ourselves this question because its very important to love the work we do everyday.
So is today a holiday for you ? 😁
Thank You Master 🙏🏿
“Holiday” = “Holy Day” Osho makes lots of sense.