There are two ways to reach the destination. One way is that of meditation; the other, that of prayer. The path of meditation is for the pursuers of knowledge; the path of prayer is for the lovers, for the devotees.

 

On the path of meditation there is a danger that the ego, the "I," may not vanish, because the idea that "I am meditating" remains. In meditation there is no one else but "I"; there is neither God, nor anyone else. In meditation you are alone. Unless you remain tremendously alert in meditation, the ego, the "I," will thwart you. No matter what heights you reach in meditation, the stone of the ego will remain heavy on your chest and you will be unable to fly. So at the final moment the meditator has to give up the ego. This is his emptiness. This is what Buddha calls the void, when the ego vanishes completely.

 

To attain to meditation is not enough -- after that you will have to give up the ego. The ego will be purified, but it will still be there. That is the final veil. It is very fine, you can see through it. The veil will be transparent, but you will also have to remove it or it will simply remain there like a glass wall. You will be able to see what is beyond it, but you will be unable to meet Him, you will be unable to become one with God.

 

On the path of prayer, one has to give up the ego at the outset, at the initial stage. The devotee sets aside first what the yogi, the meditator, the sage, gives up at the end.

 

Prayer means surrender. Prayer means to absorb oneself, to lose oneself at the feet of another. If you are able to pray, in the real sense of the word, there is no need for meditation.

 

I lay stress on meditation because I know you are not able to pray. My emphasis on meditation will begin to diminish when I see you are becoming strong enough to pray. I stress meditation because meditation can be practiced in spite of the ego, but prayer cannot. And this century is an age of great ego. Never before in history has there been such an egoistic age. The stumbling block of this century is that every individual is filled with ego. Everyone has become a peak unto himself; everyone considers himself complete, without defect. "Why and for what should I surrender?" you ask.

 

To surrender has become very arduous; your spine has become paralyzed. This is why I talk so much about meditation. But I am really preparing you to enable you to pray. As you are able to go deeper and deeper into meditation I will begin to talk about prayer. There is a purpose in my beginning to speak about the saints to you. It is because I want to take you gradually from meditation into prayer. There is nothing else like prayer.

 

-Osho, “The Great Secret, #8”