According to Osho, Hindu gods such as Shiva, Uma, and Indra are not historical persons or objective beings; they are potent symbols of inner, subjective realities. They have psychological existence that mirrors specific states of consciousness, appearing as visions much like mandalas. Used rightly, these archetypal forms help seekers interpret and navigate their inner world, integrating divided personality into wholeness.
They aren’t people in the sky; they’re inner pictures that help your mind understand itself and become whole.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, do hindu mythological gods, like shiva, uma and indra have a real existence on some plane, or are they just symbols as you implied in your talks the last two mornings? And if they are really only symbolic, why do people see visions of them in meditation and what do such visions of gods mean?
Human imagination is such a forcible thing, it has such a tremendous force within it, that if you imagine something continuously you will start feeling it around you. Then you can see it, then you can realize it. It will become an objective thing. It is not objective but you will feel it as existing outside you. So it is dangerous to play with imagination because then you can be hypnotized by your own imagination and you can come to see and feel things which are not. This is creating a private fantasy, a dreamworld; this is a sort of madness. You can see Krishna, you can see Christ, you can see Buddha, but this whole effort is wasted because you are moving in dreams and not in reality. Hence, my insistence to always remember that these mythological figures are symbolic. They are meaningful, they are poetic, they are a…
So in the science of religion these are the three fundamental atoms: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. These three are His names. And all other gods and goddesses formed in the world, all further names, will relate to one of these three. Hence Hindus say: such-and-such avatar is an avatar of Vishnu—meaning he belongs to the category of Vishnu. Another is an avatar of Shiva—he belongs to Shiva’s category. Another is an avatar of Brahma—of Brahma’s category. But you will see: all avatars are of Vishnu. Because Brahma’s work ends with creation—no need to descend. Shiva’s work pertains to destruction—no need to descend. Vishnu alone descends again and again as long as creation is. So whether Rama, whether Krishna, whoever—Vishnu keeps incarnating. This series of Vishnu’s avatars says: the sustainer must come again and again. The creator points once; creation happens. The destroyer acts once; it is over.
Verse (Sanskrit): आदित्यानामहं विष्णुर्ज्योतिषां रविरंशुमान्। मरीचिर्मरुतामस्मि नक्षत्राणामहं शशी।। 21।। वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि देवानामस्मि वासवः। इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मि भूतानामस्मि चेतना।। 22।। Transliteration: ādityānāmahaṃ viṣṇurjyotiṣāṃ raviraṃśumān| marīcirmarutāmasmi nakṣatrāṇāmahaṃ śaśī|| 21|| vedānāṃ sāmavedo'smi devānāmasmi vāsavaḥ| indriyāṇāṃ manaścāsmi bhūtānāmasmi cetanā|| 22|| Translation: Among the Adityas, I am Vishnu; among the luminaries, I am the radiant Sun. Among the Maruts, I am Marichi; among the constellations, I am the Moon. Among the Vedas, I am the Sama Veda; among the gods, I am Indra. Among the senses, I am the mind; among beings, I am consciousness. That which cannot be said is still hinted at through symbols. And the unknown, which cannot be directly told, can still be pointed to through what we do know. Before we approach this sutra, it is essential to grasp this point clearly. God is unknown. No—of him we have no definite knowledge.
Beloved master, seers have said -- guru rama, guru vishnu, guru deva maheshwar -- that the master is the generator, the operator and the destroyer. I cannot conceive how it can be true. Please enlighten me.
The Hindu mythology has something equal to the Christian trinity. It is called the trimurti, the three faces of god -- Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. These are not three persons, but only three faces of one person. Brahma creates the world; Vishnu maintains it, sustains it, nourishes it; and Shiva destroys it. This is one cycle. Then another cycle begins: Brahma creates again, and so on, so forth. It is just a mythology, but mythologies have been so heavy on man's mind that sometimes it is hilarious to see. Brahma is the creator of the world, but in India there is only one temple devoted to Brahma. Because who cares about Brahma? He has done his work, he is useless. He may be a god, a great god. He created the whole world, but he has no longer any worshippers. Just a single temple is devoted to him. You can see…
And yet the Hindu mind says no one is more compassionate than Shiva—he is very innocent; persuade him a little and he agrees to anything. A man may even ask for a boon that lands him in trouble—and Shiva grants it. This symbol is unique. We have never regarded evil and good as opposites, for to oppose them is to split existence in two and begin duality. And if evil and good are opposed, then the victory of good is not assured; evil could also win. If there is a conflict, who will decide that in the end God must win and Satan will not? In the day-to-day world Satan seems to win. Daily he seems to win. What certainty is there that ultimately he will not? If there are two powers in the world, the infinite history of man shows no moment when evil was not present.