According to Osho, inner voices from society and teachings must first be countered with a conscious 'thorn'—a master's words—to uproot old conditioning, then even that aid must be dropped. Respect the guide, but don't carry the raft. Ultimately, free yourself from all borrowed voices so a wordless, unclinging awareness—no-mind—remains. This 'kill the Buddha' courage is the highest respect.
Like using one thorn to pull out another, use guidance to quiet noisy thoughts—then throw away both thorns and rest in simple inner silence.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
I am always listening to inner voices. But one voice says one thing and another says just the opposite. What should I do?
There are many people here who go on listening to inner voices. These inner voices are just crap. These are just fragments of your mind; they have no value at all. And sometimes you may think that you are listening to some inner guide or you are listening to some master from the beyond -- Master K H, or some spirit, some Tibetan spirit -- and you can go on imagining these things. And you will be simply be fooling yourself. These are all your fragments. And if you go on following them you will go crazy -- because one part will pull you to the north, another part to the south. You will start falling apart. Remember, this is neurosis -- you have to learn to watch all these voices. Don't trust any. Only trust silence. Don't trust any voice, because all voices are from the mind. And you…
Beloved Osho, how far can one rely on one's 'inner voice'?
The thief said, "But one thing let me say first: don't tell me to stop stealing. Because whenever I go -- and I go to mystics and saints and I am a famous thief around here, so they all know -- they immediately say, 'First you stop stealing,' and that I cannot do. I have tried but that I cannot do, so please don't make that condition. Whatsoever else you say I will do." Nagarjuna said, "Then you could not have yet met a mystic or a saint. You must have been meeting ex-thieves; otherwise, why should one bother about your being a thief? Be a thief! -- that is your business, that is not my worry. Just one thing I would like to tell you, and that is: Go, do whatsoever you feel, but be aware, alert. Don't do anything unconsciously, mechanically, robot-like." The thief said, "This is perfectly…
After bankei had passed away, a blind man who lived near the master's temple said to a friend: 'since I am blind I cannot watch a person's face, so I must judge his character by the sound of his voice.
ORDINARILY WHEN I HEAR SOMEONE CONGRATULATE ANOTHER UPON HIS HAPPINESS OR SUCCESS, I ALSO HEAR A SECRET TONE OF ENVY. WHEN CONDOLENCE IS EXPRESSED FOR THE MISFORTUNE OF ANOTHER, I HEAR PLEASURE AND SATISFACTION, AS IF THE ONE CONDOLING WAS REALLY GLAD THERE WAS SOMETHING LEFT TO GAIN IN HIS OWN WORLD. 'IN ALL MY EXPERIENCE HOWEVER, BANKEI'S VOICE WAS ALWAYS SINCERE. WHENEVER HE EXPRESSED HAPPINESS, I HEARD NOTHING BUT HAPPINESS, AND WHENEVER HE EXPRESSED SORROW, SORROW WAS ALL I HEARD.' MAN IS SPLIT. Schizophrenia is a normal condition of man -- at least now. It may not have been so in the primitive world, but centuries of conditioning, civilization, culture and religion have made man a crowd -- divided, split, contradictory. One part goes one way, the other part goes in just the diametrically opposite way and it is almost impossible to keep oneself together. It is a miracle…
It is asked: Osho, a person is born in society; it is society that educates him, it is society that raises, nourishes and makes him grow. Then how can a person be independent of society?
You will say: this is very difficult, very hard. Because the mind does not become quiet even for a moment; it does not fall silent. Something or other is going on there — some thought, some matter, some memory is at work. Either the future or the past is holding you. There is work there twenty-four hours a day. The body may rest at times; there is no rest there. At night you sleep and dreams keep running; by day you wake and who knows what worries and thoughts keep running. So how will this happen? Many of you will have sat with a rosary and it did not happen. Many will have done name-repetition and it did not happen. Many will have prayed and recited mantras and it did not happen — and so the idea will have arisen that this is very difficult. It is not difficult; it…
Mistaking the false for the true and the true for the false, you overlook the heart and fill yourself with desire.
SEE THE FALSE AS FALSE, THE TRUE AS TRUE. LOOK INTO YOUR HEART. FOLLOW YOUR NATURE. AN UNREFLECTING MIND IS A POOR ROOF. PASSION, LIKE THE RAIN, FLOODS THE HOUSE. BUT IF THE ROOF IS STRONG, THERE IS SHELTER. WHOEVER FOLLOWS IMPURE THOUGHTS SUFFERS IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT. IN BOTH WORLDS HE SUFFERS, AND HOW GREATLY, WHEN HE SEES THE WRONG HE HAS DONE. BUT WHOEVER FOLLOWS THE LAW IS JOYFUL HERE AND JOYFUL THERE. IN BOTH WORLDS HE REJOICES, AND HOW GREATLY, WHEN HE SEES THE GOOD HE HAS DONE. FOR GREAT IS THE HARVEST IN THIS WORLD, AND GREATER STILL IN THE NEXT. HOWEVER MANY HOLY WORDS YOU READ, HOWEVER MANY YOU SPEAK, WHAT GOOD WILL THEY DO YOU IF YOU DO NOT ACT UPON THEM? ARE YOU A SHEPHERD WHO COUNTS ANOTHER MAN'S SHEEP, NEVER SHARING THE WAY? READ AS FEW WORDS AS YOU LIKE…