When you come to me to be initiated, this is the whole meaning of initiation: that you tell me that “I am ready,” that “I will not hinder your efforts,” that “if you help me, I will welcome it,” that “if you knock at my door, you will find me ready to receive you,” that “I am ready to become a host to you,” that “I will cooperate,” that “my yes is total.” That is the meaning of sannyas, the meaning of surrender: that “I will not say no,” that “I will not resist,” that “I will not fight you.” It is not throwing away responsibility. It is simply dropping resistance. Not dropping responsibility, but only resistance – and once resistance is dropped, things start happening on their own accord. I am just an excuse.

Exactly, a master is what the scientists call a catalytic agent: it does not work; its presence is enough. It simply helps by being present. A master cannot do anything to you in reality, but his presence… You feel more trust. You cannot trust yourself, that’s why you need to trust me. If you can trust yourself, there is no need. If you feel enough unto yourself, there is no need. If you don’t feel enough, you don’t feel confident enough, you don’t feel that you will choose the right thing, you don’t feel that you will move in the right direction, then surrender is helpful. You trust somebody you feel has known, somebody you feel loves you, will not harm you, somebody you feel has more than you. You trust him. You hold his hand.

And all that happens always happens within you – and it happens without the doing of the master. Enlightenment is not something that can be done by anybody. Just relax in trust and it starts arising in you. It was waiting there for the moment when you can say yes. If you can say yes to the whole, good, there is no need for a master.

If you cannot say yes to the whole sky – it may seem too huge – then say yes to a window. The master is a window; it opens toward the sky, it brings you toward the sky. The master is just a passage. Pass through the master in trust, in love, in surrender, and things will start happening.

The second question:

Osho,
When I came here I was tense. People looked unfriendly, not open. Now all that has changed; everyone is beautiful. I have had similar experiences before, but they have always faded away. I hope it is now wisdom and will not fade, but I fear it may be knowledge and I will lose it.

Look at a roseflower. If it is real it will fade by the evening; if it is a plastic flower it will not fade. Knowledge is more permanent than wisdom, because wisdom is real and knowledge is just artificial. You are thinking in wrong terms.

You tell me that it has happened before, also – these moments, these openings – but then they fade, they disappear, they become part of your memories. Now you want something permanent. This very idea is full of greed. If you want something permanent, you will have to choose something false, because only the false is permanent. The real is momentary – the real is always momentary. It exists for a moment and then it is gone. It is strong, and fragile. It is tremendously strong: when it is there it is there in totality. When it is gone it is gone. Only the false is permanent, but out of greed we seek permanence.