According to Osho, he neither believes nor disbelieves in astronomy or astrology—or anything at all. Belief, positive or negative, only masks ignorance; real transformation comes through direct knowing, seeing, and experience. A true seeker remains agnostic and empty of doctrines, discovering truth firsthand rather than clinging to ideas, labels, or speculative systems.
Don’t believe or disbelieve—keep an open mind and find out for yourself through direct experience.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: A friend has asked: Osho, do you teach atheism? Would the man who wants to save people even from learning theism teach atheism? I teach neither theism nor atheism. I teach neither belief nor disbelief. I say: remain free of belief as well as disbelief, and search in freedom. Do not be bound by partisanship. Seek impartially—there are two sides. And remember, opposing sides are two faces of the same coin. There is not much difference between them. The theist and the atheist are two faces of the same coin. There isn’t much difference: one is the back of the same thing, the other its face. Reason is a very fragile realm. I am not saying, “Cling to belief.” The believer says, “We have reasons, arguments.” The disbeliever also says, “We have reasons, arguments. We say there is no God, no soul.” I am not speaking for either.
Osho, do you believe it is in everyone? I do not believe. There is no need to believe. It is in all; it needs to be seen—there is no need to believe.
One last thing. Let me give you a sutra: whoever accepts on belief that it is in everyone will never come to know. Belief will become a barrier; belief has no meaning. Why believe at all? If it is seen, fine; if it is not seen, fine. At least we should declare the truth: that I do not see it. There was a fakir, Sarmad. In Islam it is uttered like a sacred mantra: There is only one Allah, and there is no Allah other than Him. There is only one God, and there is no God other than Him. But Sarmad would say only half. He would not say the whole. He would say: There is no God. The first part is: There is only one God; other than Him there is no God. Sarmad would utter only the last fragment. He would say: There is no God. Aurangzeb…
Osho, is this also a science? Science—the supreme science! But ordinarily, in relation to religion, it is understood to be belief, faith. In my view, that is a misunderstanding. To me, religion too is another kind of knowing. And whatever principles religion has have issued from someone’s knowing, not from someone’s belief. Therefore my constant emphasis is: do not believe—try to know; and the day you know, believe that day. The acceptance that comes through knowing is called shraddha—trust; and the acceptance that comes without knowing is called belief. Shraddha is the ultimate state of knowi
Therefore, when I have said, “Do not believe in transmigration, do not believe in reincarnation,” it does not mean I am saying that transmigration does not exist. It also does not mean I am saying that reincarnation does not exist. I am saying only this: once you believe, the search stops. Try to know. And knowing happens only when right doubt is present. If you assume the opposite, even then doubt disappears. If I assume that there is no reincarnation, the search stops. If I assume that there is reincarnation, the search stops. Search is in suspension. I know neither that it is, nor that it is not. So I set out to find what is, so that I may know it. I take a religious person to be the deepest of inquirers; there is no search deeper than that. But those whom we ordinarily call religious, I do not…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, THERE IS A SUFI SAYING THAT "NO HUMAN BEING CAN AVOID HIS FATE. THIS IS A WORLD OF LIMITATIONS -- BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO GAIN A TASTE OF THE LIMITLESS, DESPITE THIS FACT." A FAMOUS ASTROLOGER AND COMPOSER, DANE RUDHYAR, WHO WAS A FRIEND OF GEORGE GURDJIEFF, SAID, "THE OLD IDEA OF ASTROLOGY -- THAT EXPERIENCE HAPPENS TO HUMAN BEINGS -- IS NOT TRUE. ON THE CONTRARY, HUMAN BEINGS HAPPEN TO THEIR EXPERIENCE." MY OBSERVATION IS THAT EVERY ASTROLOGER WHO IS COURAGEOUS ENOUGH WILL FIND OUT THAT GURDJIEFF IS TRUE WHEN HE SAYS, "MAN IS A MACHINE." ON THE OTHER HAND, MY EXPERIENCE WITH YOU, CHRIST, AND BUDDHIST TEACHERS HAS REVEALED THE EXISTENCE OF THE LIMITLESS IN THE MIDST OF LIMITATIONS. WHILE RELIGIOUSNESS OPENS THE DOORS TO THE LIMITLESS, ASTROLOGY STUDIES THE WORLD OF FORMS AND LIMITATIONS.
Osho, there is a saying, “If you believe, it is a god; otherwise, it’s a stone.” Is it all just a matter of believing?
I tell you: do not believe in God. There is no need to believe. If you believe in God, then what will you know? To believe in God means you have declared defeat in knowing—you are tired, you have thrown down your arms. You have said, “The search is over; there is nothing to know, so let us believe.” You don’t believe in the sun or the moon; you know them. You don’t believe in this world; you know it. And you believe in God? If your believed God is repeatedly defeated before your known world, it is no surprise. God should also be known. The day God is known, this world becomes insipid—maya, a dream. Experience is wealth; empty beliefs are not. So I make a small change in the saying: “Know, and it is God; otherwise, it’s a stone.” But to know, a great journey is required. To…