According to Osho, miracles don’t exist—existence is law-governed, impartial, and allows no exceptions. The craving for miracles comes from a sick, consoling mind; it undermines real religiousness and fairness of life. As science grows, miracle claims fade. Miracle stories were invented to manufacture superhuman authorities; awakening is for ordinary humans through awareness, not by breaking nature’s laws.
Miracles aren’t real; life follows fair laws, and real growth comes from clear awareness, not magic.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: OSHO, DO MIRACLES REALLY NOT EXIST? I am sorry to disappoint you, but I can't help it. I cannot give you the consolation that has been given by all the religions down the centuries. I cannot do it because that consolation has cost too much. It has not given anything; on the contrary, it has taken away your very religiousness. I cannot say anything that in the short-term may seem to help your growth towards religion, but in the long-term is simply poison. That's what the idea of a miracle is. The human mind is begging for it. It is the need of a sick mind -- but all minds are sick. Mind as such is the sickness of man. When the mind disappears you are, for the first time, really healthy and whole. Mind needs all kinds of poisons to continue to exist.
Osho, do you believe in miracles?
I AM A MIRACLE, you are a miracle, everything is a miracle. Only miracles exist, nothing else exists. Look again, afresh, and you will see the whole life consists only of miracles. Have you seen anything in life which is not a miracle? A seed sprouting -- what more of a miracle do you want? A bird on the wing and the stars in the night and the smile on a child's face, and the possibility of love and the possibility of ecstasy and the possibility of knowing God -- miracles and miracles. Miracles abound. But you must be thinking of some other foolish kind of things that you call miracles. I have heard: Once Jesus was going to give a sermon from a boat on Lake Galilee. The boat was stopped a little farther into the lake. Jesus entered the lake, walking on the water, and asked some of…
Beloved Osho, you really are too much! The other night you said that you don't do miracles, but this morning, in front of my own eyes, I saw old maitreya levitating when you danced with him. Isn't that a miracle?
Anando, I still say the same: I do not do miracles. But that does not mean that miracles don't happen. I was not doing anything, and Maitreya was levitating. I had to move quickly because if he levitates too much -- he is old and may get hit with the ceiling. A group of men gave a testimonial dinner to Goldberg, and after they had praised him for an hour, Goldberg finally got up to speak. "Gentlemen," he said, "when I came to this town forty-one years ago, I walked down a dirt road with one suit of clothes, one pair of shoes, carrying a dirty old suitcase. And to show you what hard work can do, along with the great opportunities this country can offer, today I own three banks, five apartment houses and ten oil wells!" Everybody applauded, and right after the dinner one salesman walked up to…
Beloved Osho, what is a miracle?
Sadhananda, it depends. To me, everything is a miracle. I never come across anything that is not a miracle; only miracles exist. Everything is such a surprise, it is so unbelievable! But if your eyes are closed, if your eyes are full of dust, if your mind is too knowledgeable, if you think you know all, then nothing is a miracle. To know "I don't know anything" makes everything a miracle. It depends on your inner state, it depends on you. And to live a life without miracles is not to live at all. You can have a million miracles every day, you are entitled to have them. But because you don't know how to connect yourself with the miraculous, you are being cheated by stupid people. Somebody produces a Swiss-made watch and you think this is a miracle. Then you become victims of ordinary magicians. Don't be befooled. The…
Osho, I understand you said the other day in the lecture that jesus did not walk on water and there are no miracles as such. But by practicing the samyama on patanjali's udana sutra, is not man able to do this? Please comment.
He says those who get lost in miracles are lost in a jungle. Certainly there are powers within you, hidden powers within you, which you are not aware of. And when you start going deeper into meditation those hidden powers start manifesting themselves, and there is every possibility you will be tempted by those powers. There is nothing miraculous about them; they are as natural as any other law. We just don't understand the law underlying them, hence we call them miracles. For example, if you meditate, soon you will realize the fact that you can read other people's thoughts. Now it will look like a miracle: before the person has asked the question you can answer him. And he will be surprised, and you will be worshipped as a great saint. But you are being very stupid, because somehow you have got rid of your own ideas, now you…