"To err is human and to forgive is also human."

Remember: Man is frail and weak, and to err is human.

And the people who invented the proverb, "To err is human," have also invented the proverb, "To forgive is divine."

I don't agree with the second part.

I say, "To err is human and to forgive is also human."

And to forgive oneself is one of the greatest virtues, because if you cannot forgive yourself, you cannot forgive anybody else in the world --

It is impossible.

You are so full of wounds, of guilt -- how can you forgive anybody?

Your so-called saints go on saying that you will be thrown into hell.

The reality is, they are living in hell! They cannot allow even God to forgive you.

One great Sufi poet, Omar Khayyam, has written in his RUBAIYAT, his world-famous collection of poetry:

"I am going to drink, to dance, to love. I am going to commit every kind of sin because
I trust God is compassionate --

He will forgive.

My sins are very small; His
forgiveness is immense."

When the priests came to know about his book -- because in those days books were written by hand, there were no printing presses...

When the priests discovered that he was writing such sacrilegious things, that he was saying, "Don't be worried, go on doing anything you want because God is nothing but pure compassion and love.

How much sin can you commit in seventy years of life? --

In comparison to his forgiveness, it is nothing."
He was a famous mathematician too, renowned in his country.

The priests approached him and
said, "What kind of things are you writing?

You will destroy people's
religiousness!

Create fear in people, tell people that God is very just: -- if you have committed a sin, you will be punished.

There will be no compassion."

Omar Khayyam's book was burned in his day.

Whenever a copy was found, it was burned by the priests, because this man was teaching such a dangerous idea.

If it spreads among human beings and everybody starts rejoicing in life, what will happen to the priests?

What happen to the saints?
What will happen to their mythologies of hell and heaven and god?
All will disappear in thin air.

At least with me, Omar Khayyam is one of the enlightened Sufi mystics, and what he is saying has immense truth in it.

He does not mean that you should commit sin. What he means simply is that you should not feel guilty.

Whatever you do -- if it is not right, don't do it again.

If you feel it hurts somebody, don't do it again.

But there is no need to feel guilty, there is no need to be repentant, there is no need to do penance and torture yourself.

OshO ❤
The Hidden Splendor
Chapter 11 - A noah's ark of consciousness