According to Osho, occultism is a distraction and a waste of energy for inner exploration. Nothing about the divine is hidden; it is utterly present—singing in birds, breathing in you. Chasing secret planes and esoteric maps is religious fiction. Drop the fascination with the hidden, open your eyes, be silent, and enter awareness directly; there is only awareness—not hierarchies.
Don't chase spooky secrets; be quiet, look and listen now—life itself is the answer.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved master, am I wasting energy by looking to occultism as a way to explore inner space?
Mark, don't waste your time in occultism, unless you are interested in novels, fictions. Then it is okay, then there is no problem.... The lecturer on the occult was warming to his subject of supernatural manifestations. "Ah, my friends," he exclaimed, a look of dedicated zeal animating his face. "If you could but be made to believe! If only the world would cease its scoffing and come to realize that visitations from the Mystic Shore happen all the time." The lecturer searched the faces in his audience to find those sympathetic souls who agreed with his philosophy. "I have told you about my own experiences," he continued, "but surely one of you has also had direct communication with a departed spirit. If there is any such person here in this audience who has been in touch with a ghost, I would appreciate it if he or she would stand up."…
I love ordinary life. It is like daytime in which I feel more and more awake. But I often have the sense that there is a universe of mysteries that belongs in darkness and is unavailable to me. Esoteric teachings, symbols, 'higher knowledge', seem to point to these mysteries, but I can never get interested in the books. I would rather journey into the night. Can you talk about this please?
The question is from Anand Rajen. Rajen, there is no other life than this ordinary life. Because people are incapable of living this ordinary life, they invent esoteric things. These are the people who are incapable of living -- they distract their minds and beings. All esoteric teachings and all hidden teachings and all those so-called mysteries are just mumbo-jumbo. The mystery is here. The mystery is in the trees and in the rocks and in the birds. The mystery is in people -- in you, in me. The mystery is in relating, the mystery is in singing, the mystery is in dancing, the mystery is in love, the mystery is in prayer. Avoid all that nonsense literature which goes on in the name of esotericism. It is pathological. These are the people who are incapable of tasting this life. They have to find some excuses, alibis, to avoid this…
Osho, I keep meeting people who can see auras, and I feel I am missing. What can I do to share this sight?
Anand Buddha, God is not an experience. No experience as such is spiritual; all experiences are mind games. Beware of it. Whatsoever can be seen will be part of the illusory world. The seer is the truth, not the seen. You can see auras and you can see angels and you can see kundalini rising and you can see inner lights -- but they are all seen. They are not you. The seer is the witness, and only the witness is the truth. All else is a dream. And there are worldly dreams and there are other-worldly dreams; there are materialistic dreams and there are spiritualistic dreams. One thing has to be remembered always, that whatsoever is seen is worthless -- even if it is God. The God that is seen is worthless. When all experiences disappear and you are left utterly alone, nothing to see, only emptiness in the…
Is the earth hollow? Is there an advanced civilization living there? Is there a sun at the center? Do these beings make periodic journeys through tunnels to specific places and tell the secrets? Is that where ufo's come from?
Will Schutz, the mind lives out of fictions. The mind is nourished by fictions -- ordinary or occult. The mind always hankers for beautiful stories. The mind lives through lies. The mind is afraid of the truth but is a great lover of lies. To satisfy the mind, down through the ages, thousands of lies have been invented. When one lie becomes too old, rotten, it is dropped and a new lie is invented. Your so-called scriptures are full of such lies. Man is very inventive. But all inventions of this kind prevent you from seeing the truth, and your energy becomes engaged in a futile dimension. You ask me, "IS THE EARTH HOLLOW?" Even if it is it does not matter. Why be worried about it? Why waste your time for it? There are far more significant things waiting to be done. Put your priorities right. The better question,…
Osho: is all esotericism nonsense?
"Well, it's simple, sir," stated the operator. "The call to heaven was long distance, while the one to hell was only a local call!" Yes, Viramo, all esotericism is nonsense -- except Almasto's esoteric questions. She has again asked. She says, "Osho, can I ask a few more esoteric questions?" I love her esoteric questions -- they are REALLY esoteric! First: How many Gandhians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Almasto, five. First of all Urinjibhai Morarjibhai Desai to hold the lightbulb, and the other four to turn the table he is standing on. This is called non-violent Gandhian revolution! Second: How many communists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Almasto, two. One to screw in the lightbulb and one to pass out pamphlets. Third: How many Jews does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Almasto, three. One to call the cleaning woman and two…