* Harikant. (Hari is a name of god, kant means beloved… beloved of god.
The full name means beloved of god. And everyone is beloved of god. We are here because god loved us. Just our existence is enough proof that this cosmos needed us. We are not accidental, we are essential. It is not just a coincidence that you are. You are a must. Without you the universe will be very much less. And it is not a question of becoming egoistic, because this is true for all, not only true for you.
A small pebble on the shore or a grass leaf – they are needed in existence as much as the greatest emperor, the president of a country or the richest man. All are needed equally. Existence is immense equality. There is no higher and no lower; there is no hierarchy at all. The smallest grass flower and the biggest one-thousand-petaled lotus are the same. God showers on both equally. For god, the sinner and the saint are not separate; there is no distinction. When the sun shines, it shines on both, and when the moon is there in its utter beauty, it is for both.
Once this idea sinks deep into the heart – that one is not unessential – a great respect for oneself arises, and not only for oneself: a great respect for all, too. That’s what Albert Schweitzer used to call ‘reverence for life’. And reverence for life is real religion – when you respect all and everything, with no idea about who is lower, who is higher, who is great, who is small, with no idea about who is needed, who is not needed. When you respect all with any conditions, that’s what love is, what religion is, what prayer is.
From “Don’t Look before you Leap” a talk by Osho – 2nd July, 1978
Note: Osho does not capitalize the word “God”
