The second question:

Question 2

I HAVE BEEN LONG IN SEARCH OF A FULLY ENLIGHTENED PERFECT MASTER, AND AT LAST I HAVE FOUND YOU. OSHO, WILL YOU ACCEPT ME AS YOUR HUMBLE DISCIPLE?

No. Because you are not humble and you are not a disciple. You are dangerous. What do you mean by 'fully enlightened'? Have you ever heard of somebody partially enlightened? What do you mean by 'a perfect master'? Have you ever come across an imperfect master?

These are your ego trips. You call yourself a humble disciple, but you are not humble. In fact that's why you have to say that you are a humble disciple. A humble man never knows that he is humble. It is out of your ego that the idea arises, the desire arises -- such a great man as you, how can he be a disciple of an ordinary master? A man like you, and a disciple of an ordinary master? You have to find the fully enlightened, the perfect master. I cannot accept you.

Meditate over this story.

A young man wished to find the Perfect Master. He travel led to India and visited a famous yogi. But when the young man tried to open a dialogue, the yogi would not speak. So he travelled on.

This was not his idea of a perfect master. A master is one who teaches. Now this man simply sits there, silent, like a stupid man. Maybe he is silent, but there is no message. He is not the messiah -- how can one be a messiah without a message?

Then he went to Japan and entered a monastery, but the venerable master seemed to him overly harsh and ruthless. The master used to beat people, throw them out of the windows, jump upon them even while they were asleep. Now, this was not his cup of tea.

Arriving in Iran, he met a Sufi who gave him meaningless answers to his very serious questions. He would ask about the East and the Sufi would talk about the West. He would ask about the earth and the Sufi would talk about the sky. Now this was ridiculous, this man was mad.

Finally the young man climbed the high mountains of Tibet and, in an ancient Lamasery on a windswept cliff, he was permitted an audience with the head Lama, a famous master of the region. To the young man, the Lama was not sufficiently austere, for he was surrounded by silks, gold and other riches. Yet the Lama's words seemed wise, and the young man believed that this was the closest he would come to finding the Perfect Master. So he begged permission to become a disciple of the Lama. The Lama replied 'No.'

When the young man asked why, the Lama said 'Because I will only accept the Perfect Disciple.'

So I say no, I accept only perfect disciples. Can't you see so many perfect fully unenlightened people here? I also believe in perfection if you believe in it. And I know that you must be finding many faults in me. Can't you see the Impala car? A perfect master moving in an Impala car -- have you ever heard of it? But this may be the closest that you can come. No, I don't accept neurotic people. All kinds of perfectionism create neurosis. Be a perfectionist and you will end up in a mad asylum.

Drop all that nonsense, don't ask for impossible. Be human. Nothing is perfect in the world, not even God. Because if something is perfect it is dead. And God is not dead yet -- notwithstanding what Nietzsche says, God is not dead yet. And God will never be dead, because God will never be perfect. He is always growing; out of imperfection there is growth. When you are perfect then what is left except suicide? What will you do when you are perfect?

All growth is possible because something always remains to be done. One goes on learning, one goes on growing. Yes, let me say to you: Even after enlightenment one goes on growing. From perfection to perfection one goes on growing. One is never absolutely perfect, because absolute perfection means death.

Life is imperfect. That's why life IS. Only death is perfect.

Now you are asking for a dead man. And what will a dead man teach YOU? He is bound to teach you suicide. I am not dead, and I would like people who are alive. Drop all kinds of perfectionistic attitudes and ideals. My approach is that of being total -- not being perfect but being total. Be total.

And, you will be surprised to know, if you can key total in anything you become perfectly imperfect. You are happy with your imperfection, you are in love with it, there is no desire to drop it -- then it has a very different flavor to it, the flavor of growth. Then you know more and more flowers will be opening. Remember, the first flower of the spring is not the whole spring, it is only indicative. And when one flower blooms, says Kabir, thousands bloom. They go on blooming, there is no end to it.

When we say Buddha became enlightened on a certain night on a certain day, what do we mean? We mean the first flower of the spring happened. Now there will be millions and millions of flowers opening, to eternity. The first has opened, the opening has started, now there is no end to it.

Your idea of an enlightened person is that that day everything ended. My idea of enlightenment is: that day everything started! Before that day there was nothing. That day, things for the first time became alive. Buddha is still blooming somewhere -- the spring continues. The first flower is only an indication of the coming spring.