Humour expels all Fundamentalism — Osho

It is easy to have knowledge, it is very cheap, it costs nothing. It is very difficult to attain "knowing". That's why very few, and only very rare people try to meditate, and only very rare people ever make any effort towards knowing the truth. Whatsoever you have not known "on your own" is just meaningless. Doubt never disappears around "knowledge" And you end up shouting loudly that you believe in God, but your shouting proves nothing. What your shouting proves is one thing: that there is doubt. ONLY doubt shouts loudly. You can become a fundamendalist, a fanatic believer but your fanaticism simply shows one thing — that there is doubt.

When you really "know" something for yourself, you are not a fanatic at all. A man who has come to know even glimpses of God, becomes very, very soft, sensitive, fragile. He becomes feminine, he is not aggressive. He becomes deeply compassionate. And by "knowing" he becomes very understanding of others. He can understand even the diametrically opposite standpoint.

I have heard about a Hasid Rabbi.
He was saying "Life is like a river" A disciple asked, "Why?" The Rabbi said "How can I know? Am I a philosopher?" Another day the Rabbi was saying "Life is like a river" Another disciple asked, "Why?" And the Rabbi said, "Right you are. Why should it be?"

This is tremendous understanding - no fanaticism. A man of knowing attains a sense of humour. LET THIS ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. If you see someone who has no sense of humour, know well that man has not "known" at all. If you come across a serious man, then you can be certain he is a pretender. Knowing brings sincerity, but all seriousness disappears. Knowing brings playfulness; knowing brings a sense of humour. The sense of homour is a must. If you find a Saint who has no sense of humour, then he is no Saint at all! Impossible! His very seriousness says that he has not achieved. Once you have some inner experiences of your own you become very playful, you become very innocent, childlike.

The man of "knowledge" is very serious. He always carries a serious, gloomy atmosphere around him. Not only does he carry a serious atmosphere, he makes anybody he comes into contact with serious! He forces seriousness on them. In fact, deep down he is worried that he does not know anything. He cannot relax; his seriousness is a tension. He is anguished, He knows that his knowledge is only in name's sake, he knows that his knowledge is all fake - so he cannot laugh at it...

Taken from Osho's book "The Art of Dying".

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