Ayn Rand
Question – AYN RAND, THE ORIGINATOR OF OBJECTIVISM PHILOSOPHY, WENT MAD AND COMMITTED SUICIDE. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO SUCH A RARE, LOGICAL MIND?
Osho – Precisely! It happened because of such a logical, rational mind. The rational mind cannot go beyond suicide and madness. That is the ultimate that has to happen. If some logical person is not mad it simply means that he is not logical enough. If some logical person has not committed suicide yet, it simply means that he is mediocre. He has not touched the pinnacle of logicality. If you reach to the pinnacle of logicality, life loses all meaning – because logic cannot give any meaning.
Logic takes away all meaning. Logic is destructive, poisonous. It is love that gives meaning to life, it is love that blooms and flowers, it is love that sings and dances, it is love that becomes celebration. A logical mind by and by loses all possibility of loving – because love is so illogical it cannot exist with logic. They prohibit each other, they exclude each other.
If you love, you become illogical; if you are very logical, you become unloving. and without love, what is there to live by, to live with, to live for? What is there? Ayn Rand was a very egoistic, rationalistic, realistic woman. Her philosophy is that of absolute selfishness. If you are absolutely selfish, how can you be loving? It is impossible. Her philosophy is absolutely realistic, materialistic. When there is only matter, what is there to bloom into?
There is no soul. All search disappears. Life is flat and dull. There is no mystery. With the soul enter mystery and life. With mystery there is joy, because there is a possibility to enquire, to explore, to expand. There is a possibility that something may happen, can happen.
Man is more than he knows. You are more than you know. Not only that, you are more than you can ever know, because your intrinsic reality remains mysterious, always remains unknown, unknowable. You can go on knowing more and more and more but that does not reduce your mystery. That’s what we mean by soul – utterly mysterious.
For Ayn Rand there was no mystery. When there is no mystery, how can there be life? Then what is there to live for? Suicide seems to be the logical conclusion. And if you don’t commit suicide, then madness is the conclusion. Those seem to be the two alternatives. Either go mad – mad means go illogical, drop your rational mind – or commit suicide, drop this useless life. Jean Paul Sartre has said: ’Man is a useless passion.’
Now my feeling is that Sartre is not very, very logical, otherwise he would have committed suicide. If man is a useless passion, if there is no meaning in it, if life is meaninglessness, then why go on living? Why think of tomorrow – that you would like to exist tomorrow? That is very irrational. If nothing is going to happen, if nothing has ever happened, if nothing happens in the very reality, then why go on living? Why go on eating and why go on sleeping and getting up again and again? It is nauseating.
Another book of Sartre’s is NAUSEA. But it seems it is still philosophical, he has not taken it existentially – otherwise suicide would be the logical conclusion to the philosophy. Beware. These possibilities are in you too. If you become too logical, madness or suicide or both will be the conclusion.
That’s why I teach you love not logic, feeling not reasoning, heart not mind. Then life has such beauty, such beatitude, such joy, that one cannot contain it. It is so much, it is so over-flowing, so overwhelming.
You ask me: AYN RAND, THE ORIGINATOR OF OBJECTIVISM PHILOSOPHY, WENT MAD AND COMMITTED SUICIDE. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO SUCH A RARE LOGICAL MIND? The question is from Sudheer Saraswati. I say ’Precisely.
Ayn Rand DID NOT commit suicide. She had lung cancer and died of heart failure.
Ayn Rand didn’t commit suicide. Is this a real Osho quote?!?!!?
Regardless of the way of death its immaterial… Osho always said i respond to questions— if the questioners data is wrong that is the questioners problem, but my answer is the content that comes from the Truth of the No mind– and if that rings a bell in your heart then go with the content if you feel it is right! He was never a great fan of dates and history but rather a finger pointing to the moon!…
As far as Ayn Rand was concerned— This question was asked immediately during the period of her death and it was common talk in press and media how she died. It’s common sense — millions would have immediately caught hold of Osho and the questioner for falsely stating suicide idea if it was not felt as true by the media and general public at that time period. There was considerable chaos confusion and scandal abt her death for many years. Over the years history has a way with being changed by vested interests and strong legal threats. Another reason Osho was not such a great fan of History. Nobody is denying she could have died of heart failure— but from what— not natural sleep but attempted suicide… a suicide is not always with a noose or a gun! And wisely its not about the nitty gritty details but the wisdom and music of Osho’s insights and vision that matters… ! ♪♥ ☼ ♥♥
Its the extreme imbalance of logic and total selfishness as the endpoint advocated by of Ayn Rand that Osho is concerned abt not about selfishness per se.. To a certain balance he too advocates to start with being selfish but as long as you start moving and dont forget that we all are interdependant on a million things to be alive every minute- So selfishness turns from loving the small me to the LOve of the Big Me- My planet my stars, my River and all life as My life!..Tht is the Selfishness that Krishna and Osho and Buddha and today Quantum adn environmentalists too share!- I am the world– not just the teeny weeny 5 or 6 feet body. And Finally when selfishness turns Full circle- ripe and mature to the wisdom of the Rishis– I am God– Aham Brahmasmi!
Walt Whitman nails it perfectly— ” I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
That is the love and selfishness that the Buddhas, Jesus’, Krishnas and Osho’s Talk about. It is Poetry, Philosophy, ecstasy, orgasmic silence – music and dance- all weaved into One Symphony!! What is now increasingly the viewpoint in Quantum Physics
To Exist is to Be all the world. Grace and Blessing♪♥ ☼ ♥♥
Well said Premo.
Forget about cause of death & other non-essential stuff. Osho has really beautifully explained in a way only he can.
I am sure this is a fake answer supposed to be 4m osho.
Osho would rather like to give some merit .., a great deal of merit to this popular philosopher..-ayn rand- I hate to thnk he condemned her – I am sure the question must be about some other stupid logician.., it’s not about our dear ayn rand – she is over class +
–pradeep-
Osho would never start over an answer by saying.., PRECISELY – it shows that this wed site is sort of fake –