King Midas--People in Osho's Talks

That’s why in the East we know only one sin, and that is
ignorance. All else is just a by-product. When I speak
about love, I speak about that love where the lover is not.
And if your love is bringing you misery, know well it is not
love. It is your ego that brings the misery. Ego poisons
everything, whatsoever you touch. It is just like King
Midas: whatsoever he touches becomes gold. Ego is just
like King Midas – whatsoever it touches becomes poison.
And you know in what difficulties and trouble Midas fell!
Things were turning into gold, and even then he became
miserable, as miserable as any man has ever been on
this earth. He touched his daughter whom he loved, and
she became gold. He touched his wife and she became
gold. He would touch the food and the food would become
gold. He couldn’t drink, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep,
he couldn’t love, he couldn’t move. His own relatives
escaped. Servants would stand far away, because if they
came near and by chance he touched, they would be
gold. King Midas must have gone absolutely crazy...

--Osho
Yoga: The Mystery Beyond Mind, ch. 2

oshobob The Living Workshop

People in Osho's Talks