Out of Your Mind: Madness or Enlightenment

By: OSHO

Narrated by: OSHO

In the ordinary course, being “out of your mind” is not a positive statement being associated with a person who is out of control and not able to take care of himself, perhaps even harmful to others. Osho talks about two different ways to be out of your mind, one to fall below the mind, insanity, and the other to go above the mind, enlightenment, an eastern concept of realizing one’s full potential. At a time when we learn more and more about the function of our minds, this Osho talk is a fascinating lesson on the highest of human potential – self-realization beyond our wildest dreams.

©1985 OSHO International Foundation (P)2016 OSHO International Foundation

Insanity or enlightment: both are experiences out of your mind!

I will start by mentioning one of the most important topics Osho touches on in this speech was how an enlightened man will observe his mind and watch his anger or lust die. That when that energy of anger for example dies it can be converted into energy of compassion and that it is merely the ability to observe the lust for example and let it die without acting on it and then using that energy later for another purpose. I really like this idea and just wanted to mention this talk has Osho talking about this concept. Osho mentions the concept that being out of your mind or insane has a lot of similarities to being enlightened. The person that is crazy is going through the back door or getting out of their mind in an unwilling way and this comes with a loss of control whereas the person that has lost his mind through enlightenment still has access to his mind as a tool to be used but is no longer exposed to the negative emotions that normal sane people have. I do like the comparison that has been drawn here which is whether insane or enlightened the mind has been abandoned. I myself have personally seen quite a few angry crazy people here in the a United States but I do appreciate Osho's viewpoint on the similarities between crazy and enlightened. I wouldn't say this is one of his best speeches but it had lots of stories in it and if Osho is known for anything it's being a great storyteller and telling good jokes.