Man ordinarily is a crowd; no man ordinarily is one, but many. And that's why there is so much noise within -- many voices, many faces -- and a constant quarrel. One part wants to do one thing; another part is simply against it, it wants to do something else. It is a miracle how we go on managing our selves together. Otherwise we are constantly falling apart; there is no centre.

 

The master is missing, there are only servants, and each servant is trying to claim masterhood. For a moment each servant sits on the throne, proclaims himself the master, and in that moment you think 'This is the master.' When there is anger, anger becomes the master, but soon it will be gone. It is a constantly changing scene. After anger comes regret. Then it is the master and you are feeling sorry. Sometimes it is love, sometimes it is hate, and the scenes change so fast, but still one never becomes aware that one cannot be so many things.

 

We become identified with anything that comes in front of us. When the cloud of anger is there we think we are anger; when the cloud of love is there we think we are love. When compassion is there we think we are compassion; when sadness is there we think we are sadness. We are none of these: we are the watcher. Anger will come and go and the watcher abides. Sadness comes and passes by and the witness remains. To remember that witness more and more will make you integrated, because that is the only centre which is everlasting, eternal; and only on the eternal rock of witnessing can a real life be built. Otherwise we are making our houses on sand, quicksilver. We cannot even complete it -- it always falls in the middle.

 

-Osho, “The Madman's Guide to Enlightenment, #30”