The seventh question:

Question 7

OSHO, I SIMPLY CAN'T BELIEVE IN GOD. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Krishna Kant,

I HAVE not been telling you to believe in God. Why should you be worried about it? If you can't believe, you can't believe -- forget all about it! Now it is God's problem that Krishna Kant does not believe in Him; if He is anxious, worried, He will take care. But why are you worried? Deep down somewhere you must be wanting to believe, otherwise why the question at all? I am not telling you to believe in God; there is no need.

Buddha attained to the ultimate without believing in God, why can't you? Mahavir attained to truth, to enlightenment, without believing in any God, why can't you?

In that sense Eastern religions are far more rich than the Western religions. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, all the three religions that were born outside of India, are in that way a little poor, unsophisticated, crude. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, the three religions that were born in India, have a tremendous sophistication about them. They don't make such unnecessary demands on you.

Buddhism is the ultimate in sophistication. Buddha says there is no need to believe in God, there is no need even to believe in the soul. There is no need to believe at all. Belief is not a necessity in being religious. Then what is necessary? Meditation is necessary, not belief. And one can meditate without belief because meditation is a scientific method.

It happens many times: an atheist comes to me and he asks, "Can I also meditate?" -- because the idea has become prevalent that unless you believe in God you cannot meditate. Now that is a very foolish notion. Meditation has nothing to do with God. In fact the truth is that if you believe in God, it will be difficult to meditate. Your very belief will become a disturbance.

The person who does not believe in anything can simply move beyond thoughts; the person who believes clings to thinking, because his belief is a thought. Belief is part of the mind! If you believe too much in God you cannot leave the mind, because leaving the mind will mean, obviously, leaving your belief The man who cannot believe is in a better situation.

Krishna Kant, you should be happy that you cannot believe in God. So far, so good! Now meditate.

And remember, the English word 'meditate' gives a wrong connotation. In English there is no word really which can translate the word DHYANA. From DHYANA the word arose in China, CH'AN, and that CH'AN moved to Japan and became Zen, but the root is DHYANA.

When we use the word 'meditation' it gives a feeling that you are meditating UPON something. To meditate means... on what? You have to have some object. And that is the problem. DHYANA simply means it is not a question of focusing, concentrating on something; rather, it is dropping all contents of the mind and just being. Meditation in the sense of DHYANA needs no object; it is an objectless, contentless state of consciousness. You go on dropping -- NETI, NETI, neither this nor that -- you go on rejecting all thoughts, good and bad. When all thoughts are eliminated what is left? -- that is you, and that is God.

But what you call it does not matter. You can call it God if the word appeals to you; if it doesn't appeal to you you can call it NIRVANA, YOU can call it Tao, or whatever. But don't be worried about it, that you can't believe in God. It is good. This is my approach: if somebody says, "I believe in God," I say, "It is good. Now let us start from there, that will do." If somebody says, "I don't believe in God," I say, "It is good. Now let us start from there."

You have to start from the point where you are. And all points are good, because all points are on the circumference and from every point on the circumference the center is available. So move towards the center, don't be worried about where you are.

One afternoon Mulla Nasrudin was getting a haircut in a barber's shop. He noticed a price list on the wall of the shop and on the list was, "SINGE -- Rs 5". He asked the barber why it cost so much.

"Every hair on your head," said the barber, "is a little hollow tube, open at the ends, so the body's energy sort of bleeds out of it. After you get a haircut it is a good idea to get a singe because it closes up the hole at the end of each hair and seals in the energy. Otherwise the hair and your whole body just keep getting weaker and weaker every time you get it cut."

"Now, wait a minute," said the Mulla, "what about the hair on my chin? I shave it every day and cut off the ends and it just keeps getting thicker and stronger. How do you explain that?"

"Easy!" said the barber. "You just ain't the kind of a fella this story was made up to tell to!"

These are all just stories. If it appeals, good, if it doesn't appeal, very good!

Krishna Kant, forget about God. There is no need to believe; you need not do anything about it. Don't waste your time with God. Just because of this word so many people go on wasting time. Somebody is trying to prove, somebody is trying to disprove, great treatises are being written. As many books are written about God as about anything else -- millions of books, libraries are full. Don't be wasting your time. If you can't believe then that story is not for you. But we have other stories too, so why be worried? For Godless people too there is a way.

And my way is for all. Whosoever comes is accepted. The Hindu, the Mohammedan, the Christian, the Jain, the Sikh, the Buddhist, the Parsee -- whosoever comes is accepted. I love all kinds of stories!