The Meaning Crisis — When Beliefs Disappear, Emptiness Settles In

Osho,
Why do so many people today feel that their life has no meaning, what is being called the “meaning crisis”?

“The modern mind is feeling more meaningless than has ever been the case because the past centuries lived in a kind of stupor, sleep. There was much orthodoxy. Convention was heavy and strong. The citadel of religion was very, very great, powerful, dictatorial. People lived for centuries in belief.

“This century has dared to drop beliefs. Those beliefs used to give people a feeling that there is meaning in life. Now those beliefs have disappeared.

“This is good. As far as it goes, it is good that beliefs have disappeared. This is the first age of agnosticism. For the first time man has become mature, mature in the sense that he does not rely on beliefs, on superstitions. We have dropped all superstitious beliefs.

“So a kind of vacuum has come into existence. The beliefs have disappeared — and with the beliefs the false sense of meaning has disappeared. An emptiness has settled in.

“We have done the negative part, we have demolished the old building. Now the positive part has to be done — we have to erect a new building. The old temple is no more, but where is the new temple? Belief has been…