Question – Bhagwan, what purpose does your philosophy or religion give for life — for the existence of anything at all?
Osho – First it is not right to make religion and philosophy synonymous. They are two totally different things. Philosophy is thinking about life, its purpose, its goal, but it is only thinking. Religion is living it, not thinking.
The difference is as great as: you are thinking about food, delicious food, and that you are eating it. Thinking cannot quench your hunger — it is only eating that is going to help. Philosophy is a futile exercise of the mind — it leads nowhere.
Secondly, the moment you divide philosophy and religion the question takes a different shape. Now it becomes: what is the purpose of your religion? The very idea of purpose is valid in a philosophical investigation. That idea does not belong to religion at all.
Religion is living. Living totally, living intensely, without any purpose because purpose is always in the future and living is always in the present. If you have a purpose to live your life is divided between present and future — you cannot be total. And without being total you cannot experience what life is.
The only way to be total is to forget all about purpose. It is a meaningless question. It leads only to a logical regress. If it is said that `A’ is the purpose of life then the question will remain `what is the purpose of A?’ The question is not dissolved. If `B’ is the purpose of `A’ then the question will simply shift from A to B.
Finally and ultimately, one has to understand that there is no purpose to life or to existence… and there is no need either.
It is perfectly beautiful to have no purpose and live totally, enjoy totally, relax in the moment totally. It will take you to the peaks of ecstasy — but that is not the purpose of life, it is just a byproduct of total living. It is a little bit difficult. It will lead — I repeat again — to ultimate ecstasy. But that is not the goal. If you make it a goal you will never reach it. It is not a purpose. If you make it a purpose then you are cut off from it forever because purpose and goal all exist in future and you have to live in the present.
And present and future never meet. So you have divided yourself into two halves which are not going to meet. So I will not say that ecstasy is the purpose or the goal. I will say, `when you live intensely, totally in the present, without any purpose and without any goal, ecstasy happens as a byproduct of total living.’
Source – Osho Book “Last Testament Vol 6”