You can only share with others that which you have got

Beloved master, can we help each other? Can I be helpful to someone, can someone help me?
Is becoming aflame the only way to be really helpful? Please, throw some light.

Sarjano, the blind cannot help the blind. Those who are groping in darkness cannot lead others to light. Those who don't know immortality cannot help others to drop the fear of death. Those who are not living totally and intensely, whose song is not yet of the heart, whose smile is only a painted smile on the lips, cannot help others to be authentic and sincere. Those who are hypocrites, pretenders, cannot help others to be honest.

Those who are not yet themselves, know nothing about themselves, have no idea of their individuality, who are still lost in their personality which is fake and created by the society, cannot help anybody else to attain individuality. Even with all good intentions, it is simply not possible.

If your flame of life is not burning, how can you make the unlit lamps of others aflame? You have to be aflame, Sarjano; only then can you put others on fire.

This is what I mean by being a rebel: you have to be rebellious, then you can spread rebellion all around you.  If you are on fire, aflame, you can create a wildfire which goes faraway beyond your vision. But first you have to be aflame.

The blind man leading another blind man... Kabir says both fall into the well. His original words are: Andha Andham Thelia Dono Koop Padant.  "The blind led the blind and both have fallen into the well."

You have to have eyes to lead the blind to a physician -- there is no other way. You can only share with others that which you have got: if you are miserable, you will share your misery. When two miserable persons are together the misery is not only doubled, it is multiplied. The same is true about your blissfulness, the same is true about your rebelliousness, the same is true about all experiences.

Whatever you want the world to be, you will have to be a model first. You have to pass through a fire test to prove your philosophy of life by your example. You cannot just go on arguing about it. Reasoning and argument will not help; only your experience can give to others the taste of love, of meditation, of silence, of rebelliousness, of religion.

Before you have experienced, never try to help anybody -- because you will simply mess up the other person more. They are messed up already. Centuries of heritage have been messing up everybody. It will be very kind of you not to help, because it is going to be dangerous; your help will be very risky for the other person.

First travel the path, know perfectly well where it leads -- only then can you hold the hands of others and take them on the path.

An American Jewish visitor in Russia says to his guide, "In America I can say that Ronald Reagan is an idiot and nothing would happen to me."

The guide says, "you can say that in Russia and they will give you a medal."

It is very difficult in this world to communicate. You have to learn how to communicate your experiences so that what reaches others is exactly what you want to say; otherwise you may be thinking of sharing nectar and it may turn into poison in their lives. They are poisoned enough already!

It is better to first cleanse yourself, make your eyes more transparent so that you can see better. Perhaps -- then too, perhaps -- you may be able to help others. The desire is good, but good does not happen just from good desires.

The ancient saying is that the way to hell is paved with good intentions. There are millions of people who are helping with good intentions, advising others -- not even bothering about the simple fact that they don't follow their own advice. But just the joy of advising is so much... Who cares whether i follow my own advice or not?

The joy of advising others is a very subtle, egoistic joy. The person you are advising becomes ignorant; you become knowledgeable. Advice is the only thing in the world which everybody gives and nobody takes; and it is good that nobody takes it because it is given by people who know nothing -- although there is no bad intention behind it.

You are asking a very compassionate question -- but in the very nature of things, if you want to change the world, you have to change yourself first. The revolution must come to you first. Only then can you radiate it into others' hearts. First the dance must happen to you, and then you will see a miracle: that others have started dancing too.

The dance is catching; so is love, so is gratitude, so is religiousness, so is rebellion -- they are all contagious. But first you must have the flame that you want to see in others' eyes.

Osho

The rebel
Ch #5: renounce the past, not the world
Chuang tzu auditorium