According to Osho, the UN cannot save humanity from war: it is an undemocratic debating club crippled by great-power vetoes, consoling people while the very members amass weapons. Politicians need war to stay powerful, so prevention must begin now: halt all war preparations, end nuclear build-ups, and awaken public intelligence to reject the cunning of power politics and demand equal rights for all nations.
No—the UN is too weak and controlled by big powers; peace needs us to stop making weapons and stop believing politicians who profit from fear.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, on the fortieth anniversary of the un, the one-cent american postal stamp has the message, "we the peoples of the united nations determine to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" can the un save humanity from war?
I say there is one way only, and that is to spread to people more meditativeness, more love, more friendliness, more rejoicing. If we can make the earth sing songs and dance in joy, in gratitude because existence has given so much -- otherwise, it would have been impossible even to purchase one sunrise. The whole wealth of the earth would not be able to purchase one sunrise. And a sunrise is a big thing -- the whole wealth of the earth would not be able to produce a single roseflower. And all this is given to man without his asking. You don't deserve it, you are not worthy of it! It is out of the compassion of existence, the overflowing joy of existence, the continuous creativity of existence that you are so rich. Millions of stars in the night.... Make people aware of their gratitude towards life, and make…
Question: OSHO, IS THE WORLD GOING TO SURVIVE THE THIRD WORLD WAR? I told Indira, "India is in such a condition, you can make it a historical moment, an unprecedented thing, that no country has ever dared.... And you are not going to lose anything because what have you got to lose? You are not going to be attacked by those who want to attack; they can attack right now. "And once you do this, invite the U.N.O.; say that the U.N.O. can only be in India, nowhere else, because this is the only neutral country, the only country which has dropped all its claims of nationality, of being a different nation. This is the only country which belongs to the whole humanity. Let the U.N.O. be here. Surrender all your arms and all your forces to the U.N.O. and tell them to use them for world peace, world friendship.
Osho, you know that right now the world is abuzz with talk of war. What can each of us do to avert this danger?
In one sense this is good, because we will have to decide. Only in moments of such danger do people decide; otherwise they don’t. When life itself is at stake, then decisions are made. Now life is at stake. Before this century ends, the world will have to decide: if you want war, let nations continue; if you do not, bid nations farewell. Once nations are gone, India need not keep an army—against whom would it keep one? Pakistan need not keep an army—against whom? And right now armies are devouring everything. Seventy percent of the world’s wealth is eaten up by armies. This world could become a paradise. Just imagine if that seventy percent were invested in productive work, and these idle people who do nothing all day but drill—foolishness! Left turn! Right turn! What is the point of left turn and right turn? Why on earth are you…
A:* They are all trembling inside, all those big powers. Things have changed totally. In the old days war was one thing. Somebody was going to be victorious, somebody was going to be defeated, and there was some joy in it. But now nobody is going to be victorious. All are going to be dead. So war has lost all meaning. War losing all meaning is a very great phenomenon. We have to change our whole structure, because our whole structure was geared around war. Q:* SO DO YOU FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE CHANCES OF THE WORLD FOR SURVIVAL AND...? A:* Certainly, because I can see that nobody is ready to die, neither America nor Soviet Union nor anybody else. If they don't want to die, they will have to come to some negotiation that makes war impossible.
Beloved Osho, what do you say about the third world war? Is it going to happen or not? What should we do to prevent it?
Don't do anything to prevent it, because this humanity that you see around the earth is not worth anything. A good third world war will at least clean this planet of human garbage: cathedrals, temples, mosques, White Houses where only lies are manufactured. Perhaps that's why it is called the White House -- because we know the phrase "white lie." Lies are always white; they have to be painted white. All these politicians, with no awareness, no love, and with all the nuclear weapons in their hands.... The world right now contains so many nuclear and atomic weapons that this poor humanity can be killed seven times -- although that is not needed, once is more than enough. And they go on piling them up. But I am not a pessimist. I am saying it to you just to emphasize the fact that it is not a question of the…