Question 6

OSHO, I AM SUSPICIOUS ABOUT MY FATHER. I DON'T THINK THAT HE IS MY FATHER. CAN YOU HELP ME GET RID OF THIS DOUBT?

Christopher,

THIS is a really difficult question! In the first place, it matters not. It is irrelevant whether A is your father or B is your father. How does it matter? Christopher is Christopher, you are that which you are. From where your first cell came, from where, from what source, makes no difference now.

Sooner or later it will be impossible to decide who is whose father, because there are going to be just semen banks, like there are blood banks. People will donate their semen to the banks, and the doctors will decide the right type for a particular woman.

Why are you so worried about it? But such things sometimes become obsessions. Even if you come to know, even if I say that "This man is your father" -- for example, if I say Paritosh, old Paritosh is your father, then what? Are you going to believe me? Then you will start doubting me, so it is better that you doubt your father! Or you may start doubting poor Paritosh, who has nothing to do with it!

Only your mother can answer. Even your father cannot answer, because even your father may not be right. Ask your mother.

A youngster went to his father and said, "Dad, I would like to marry Susy." "Don't marry her, son," said the old man. "When I was a kid I sowed my wild oats, and well, you know how it is."

About a week later the boy came to his father again and said, "Dad, I am in love with Mildred and I want to marry her."

The old salesman said, "She is your half-sister, son. You can't marry her."

"How about Mabel?" the kid asked a couple of weeks later.

"She is your half-sister too," said dad.

The youngster, who was anxious to get married, went to his mom and complained, "Pop says I should not marry Susy, Mildred or Mabel because they are my half-sisters. What do I do?"

Mom put her arms around her boy and consoled, "You can marry any one of them you like -- he is not your father!"

So it is a very difficult thing unless your mother is truthful about it; nobody can give you a guarantee.

But I have heard about one machine that IBM has produced. I don't know whether it is true or not, but you can enquire.

A woman, having heard how fantastic the IBM machines are, enters the IBM saleas room to look around.

"You can ask the machine any question you like and it will give you the correct answer," explains the salesman.

The woman writes the question, "Where is my father?" and puts it into the machine. The answer comes back, "Your father is fishing off the west coast of Florida."

"Ridiculous!" exclaims the woman. "My father has been dead twenty years."

"The machine never makes a mistake," the salesman proclaims. "There is simply a misunderstanding. Rephrase your question and ask it again."

The woman writes down for the machine, "Where is my mother's husband?"

The IBM machine answers, "He has been dead twenty years, but your father is fishing off the west coast of Florida."