According to Osho, he isn’t against revolution; he rejects the illusion of “social revolution.” Real change is only individual—an inner, radical transformation of consciousness. Society is a dead arrangement with no soul; when many individuals light their inner lamp, its glow colors society. Waiting for society to change is escapism; become loving, aware, transformed, and society reflects it.
Don’t wait for society to change—change yourself inside, and together our inner light makes the world better.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: Second question: Osho, are you against social revolution? I, against revolution! But there is no such thing as social revolution. I am in favor of revolution—of radical revolution. Yet “social revolution” as such does not exist; all revolution is individual. Revolution is only individual. “Social revolution” is a trick played upon revolution. Those who want to escape real revolution take shelter behind the slogan of social revolution. The same old disease: “When society changes, then we will change. How can we change right now? The whole society is wrong—how can we change?” When will society change? It hasn’t till now. Revolutions upon revolutions have happened, and man remains the same. Not a flicker of transformation has occurred in consciousness. Whether a man is Russian or American, Indian or Chinese—there is no difference: the same greed, the same lust, the same anger, the same everything.
Osho, most of the youth of Italy’s New Left are beginning to relate to you. Would you call this an evolution of the Left, or a distortion of the right understanding of your experiment?
Therefore, Silvano, many young people of Italy’s New Left have taken sannyas. The very father of the Left’s revolution in Italy has also become a sannyasin. The air in Italy is very heated—because no one can quite believe what is happening! Those from whom bombs were expected are meditating! Those from whom killings were expected are singing songs of love! Those expected to become guerrillas have put on saffron robes! They are dancing, humming songs; they are losing themselves in the mystery of the starry sky! Therefore there is anger toward me as well. Their comrades simply cannot believe what has happened! But this fire will spread, because behind this fire there are historical grounds. All revolutions so far have failed; now only one hope remains: perhaps rebellion may succeed. Let each person make a revolution within his own life. Let each person begin to live in his own way;…
The whole credit goes to the revolutionaries. If the world is in such a mess it is because of so many revolutions. Utterly ignorant people, not knowing even the ABC of the inner world, are trying to change the world. With no light inside they are blind, and whatsoever they do is going to harem. Of course their intentions are good but just good intentions don't help. Somebody's intention may be good and he may operate on your appendix knowing nothing of surgery. He may not even be able to recognise the appendix. His intention is good: you are in pain, he opens your stomach to remove the appendix. But he will do harm, he will kill you. And that's what has been happening in the world. Only buddhas can bring revolution because they have gone through inner transformation themselves.
Osho, in the Gita Krishna forbids conduct that goes against society and scripture. But by that rule society will become a mere line-follower. Perhaps that is why Hindu society has been stuck in the status quo and rotting for centuries. This tendency will only increase obscurantism, making reform, change, and revolution impossible! Please shed light on this.
What thousands of revolutionaries cannot effect in society, a single self-realized person can. But it is not his wish; he is not trying for it. His very presence, the light of his life, transforms many. But that transformation is very gentle. It is not a “revolution.” It is a very gentle evolution. There is no noise. It happens quietly. It happens in silence. Buddha does not make a social revolution, yet after Buddha the world becomes different. The presence of Buddhas, the happening of their knowing, transforms human consciousness somewhere deep within; no one even notices. It is like a flower opening silently and its fragrance spreading in the air. No band plays, no drums beat; there is no hullabaloo; silently the fragrance fills the breeze. The flower may wither, but the fragrance continues to drift. For centuries people are bathed in that perfume and transformed by it. But these…
Osho, what do you mean by total revolution? And won’t you say something more about Jayaprakash Narayan’s “total revolution”?
And this is why people obstruct birth control. They put small children to work. They won’t send them to school. If you insist on sending to school, their “freedom” is curtailed! They don’t send to school; they put the little ones to work—grazing cows, cutting grass, digging pits, chopping wood. The more children, the more hands to earn a little money. To such a person this looks beneficial, but the life of the whole community becomes diseased. Whoever tries to touch these practices becomes the enemy. Indira fell for this reason: she was trying to bring a little revolution, and if she had to be excessive, the reason was not Indira. The reason was the people who created the obstacles. You yourselves will create obstacles—against your own interests! Those who have come to power—I welcomed them too, hoping that Jayaprakash is a man of integrity. But he deceived us just…