Osho's Artwork



Osho's Artwork

Throughout his life, Osho has signed the books he collected in his extensive library. To many of these signatures, he adds beautiful designs in colour. Japanese sannyasins photograph, enlarge, and silkscreen many of these, and an exhibition of them in Japan has great success. A further exhibition is shown in Germany.

Beloved Osho, I cannot put it into words how much I am always touched by the beauty of Your expressions--in Your words, Your gestures and now especially in Your paintings.
What exactly happens, when You are sitting in front of an empty paper? Is there still an urge for artistic creativity when one is enlightened? Could You please tell us about Zen and art and creativity?
Zen prevents you from nothing. It opens everything that is potential in you. If you have a potentiality of being a painter, Zen will open it--you may not have been aware of it. If there is a potentiality for poetry, Zen will open that potentiality, and for the first time you will start thinking in poetry, not in prose.
The same is true about music or dance, or scientific exploration. Any kind of original experiences, Zen allows you. It is not preventive of anything. It is affirmative, the most affirmative experience in life. It simply makes you aware of all that is hidden in you, of all that you have never looked at. It not only makes you aware, it helps you to explore that potentiality.
Zen is not a dry, desertlike experience, it is very juicy, a beautiful garden--a spring in your life where flowers suddenly start opening up. One never knows what is going to happen to him when he becomes aware. It is not a decision on your part, it is not a choice. It is a choiceless, simple experience--you start moving into a certain direction. Suddenly that direction becomes so full of life, so attractive that you can devote everything to it.
Zen is a very creative experience; it is not like other religions. All the religions are non-creative. In fact, the so-called saints don't do anything. They are not great poets, they are not great dancers, they are not great musicians. But the real and authentic saints, who are very few among the so-called saints...
Zen is an authentic religious experience. Its authenticity is in its opening of creativeness in human beings. Zen masters have never killed anyone. They have not forced anyone to their path; on the contrary, you have to go to them. And it has been very difficult to be accepted; the masters have been very choosy. Unless you show an immense desire and longing, they will not initiate you; the question of conversion does not arise.
You have to go to the well, the well does not come to you. The well does not even invite you, it is simply there, available. zenman11

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