Osho – Nobody can ever be contented in the world — that’s impossible. You can become more and more discontented, that’s all, because contentment happens only when you go inwards. Contentment is your innermost nature. Contentment does not belong to things. You can be comfortable with things — a beautiful house, a beautiful garden, no worries about money — yes, you can be comfortable, but you remain the same: comfortably discontented. In fact, when you have all the comforts and you have nothing to do to earn money, twenty-four hours a day you are aware of your discontent, because no other occupation is left.
That’s why rich people are more discontented than the poor people. It should not be so — logically it should not be so — but that’s how life is. Life does not follow Aristotle and his logic. Rich people coming from the West become very puzzled when they see poor Indian people with faces of contentment. They cannot believe their eyes. These people don’t have anything — why do they look contented? And the Indian so-called saints and mahatmas and political leaders, they go on bragging to the world that “Our country is spiritual — look! people are so contented even though they are poor, because they are inwardly rich.”
This is all nonsense. They are not inwardly rich. The contentment that you see on poor Indian faces is not that of inward realization. It is simply because they are so preoccupied with money, bread and butter, that they can’t afford any time to be discontented. They can’t afford to sit and brood about their miseries. They are so miserable that they have no time to feel miserable! They are so miserable and they have never known any pleasure, so they cannot have any comparison.
When a society becomes rich, it has time to think, “Now what next…?” And there seems to be nothing left. When all outward things are available you start thinking, “What am I doing here? All things are there, but I am as empty as ever.” One starts turning inwards.
Beggars look contented because they don’t have any taste of richness. But a rich person becomes very discontented. Because of his richness he becomes aware of the futility of all riches.