Does Satan Exist?

Sadhana

This question may may sound irrelevant in today's world dominated by science and technology, but belive it or not, there was a panel discussion on the abc news channel of America in their night program Face Off , and the subject was : Does satan exist. The anchor person said that 70% percent 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 film star and one wouldn't expect her to be discussing myths like satan and god. But she sincerely believes in both the guys.
Other two were clergymen so it was necessary for them to belive in satan and god. Business, you know. The assorted audience gathered in the studio were deeply involved in the discussion and cheered at the right time.
Deepak Chopra was the only one who spoke against the fictitious existence of satan. He said, "belief s a cover for insecurity. If something is real you don't believe in it, you experience it."
Watching this program I missed Osho a lot.
Now just see what Osho says: "You will be surprised to know that the word "divine" and the word "devil" come from the same Sanskrit root, deva. They are not separate; devil and divine mean the same. But you have been told that they are just polar opposites and that there is a universal fight going on between God and Satan, God and evil. If that is true then it seems God is losing continually.
The devil is winning because everywhere you can see crime increasing, 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. "
Excerpted from: From Darkness to Light/courtesy Osho International Foundation