Does Satan exist?

[1]

Amrit Sadhana [1]

This question may sound irrelevant in today’s world dominated by science and technology, but believe it or not, there was a panel discussion on the ABC news channel of America on their night programme Face Off, and the subject was: Does Satan Exist? The anchor of the news channel said that 70 per cent of Americans believe that Satan exists.
The panelists were three men and one woman. Deepak Chopra was one of the panelists. The woman was as glamorous as any filmstar could be and one wouldn’t expect her to be discussing myths like Satan and God. But she sincerely believes in both the guys. Not only that, she has conversations with them.
Other two were clergymen so it was necessary for them to believe in Satan and God. For business purposes, you know. The assorted people gathered in the studio as audience were deeply involved in the discussion and cheered at the right time.
Mr Chopra was the only one who spoke against the fictitious existence of Satan. He said, “Belief is a cover for insecurity. If something is real you don’t believe in it, you experience it”.
The fact that people of developed countries cling to these old-age myths reflects on the sorry state of humanity. In today’s world everybody is terrorised, plagued by insecurity and fear. It doesn’t matter whether they belong to the developed country or the developing country — their emotions are equally primitive. Their material growth has not helped them grow spiritually. When it comes to the belief system, it shows that everybody is undeveloped.
For Osho there is no difference between the Satan and the God. Shocked? Quite naturally. But the root meaning of the word “divine” and the word “devil” come from the same Sanskrit root, div. They are not separate; devil and d­ivine are two sides of the same co­in. Just as da­r­kness and light are two aspects of the sun. But you have been told that they are polar opposites and that there is a universal fight going on between God and Satan, good and evil. If that is true then it seems that God is losing continually.
Osho explains it with an original insight: “The devil is winning because everywhere you can see an increase in crime and people becoming more and more inhuman. It does not seem that God is winning. God cannot win because he is the other side of the devil. They are together, they are partners in the business”.
“If you try to understand the complexity of your misery you will see that all that is good is connected with all that has been condemned as bad. And you have been told to drop the bad and save the good. This is the dilemma you have been put into by your priests, by all your religions, by all do-gooders. They have put you in such a schizophrenic state... Once you see that good and bad are together you will be immensely relieved, you will feel such a relief because the whole conflict was baseless. You were fighting against shadows, you were fighting against yourself. It is as if my left hand is fighting with my right hand. Do you think there is any possibility of coming to a conclusion? There is no possibility. Both are my hands; there is no need for them to fight, they can be to­gether and friendly. They can be helpful to each other, they can be a tremendous support to ea­ch other. And that’s the whole difference bet­w­een me and all the religions of the world. Th­ey have been trying to create a conflict in you, between good and bad, and I am trying to bri­ng your good and bad closer and closer so that you can start using them in a harmonious unity.”

— Amrit Sadhana is in the management
team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune. She facilitates meditation workshops around the country and abroad.