According to Osho, human effort is necessary but not sufficient: effort prepares, purifies, and opens you—turns the pot upright—while realization itself descends as grace. By effort you invite and become receptive to grace; by grace you attain God. Half the journey is disciplined readiness; the completion is effortless surrender when the ego drops and the divine rains into an open heart.
Clean your room and open the window (your effort); the cool breeze (grace) comes by itself and refreshes you.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, it is said that one attains God only by God’s grace. Then is human effort useless for the attainment of God?
The Jain scriptures do not instruct the monk to fold hands in greeting. He can only bless you—not greet you. But a blessing from one who cannot bow is worth two pennies. Without that much humility, his blessing will not work; it will go in vain. His blessing is barren; no flowers can bloom from it. The Jain monk is a monk—but with great pride in being a monk. The Hindu monk is not a monk—but there is one advantage there: no ego. Choose half, and there is both benefit and danger. The Jain monk grows more and more stiff. The more he fasts, the more vows he takes, the more austerities he performs, the deeper the rigidity; the thicker the sense of “I.” This “I” has to be dropped one day. If you fatten it too much, how will you drop it? It is not a friend; it is…
Osho, you say that truth is attained by the Master’s grace. Then why do you also encourage the ego’s effort?
Truth is attained by the Master’s grace, but the Master’s grace will not come without effort. Where will you find the Master’s grace? The Divine is received as grace; but the Master has to be sought, and you must gather the fitness to be near the Master. Effort must be made—and yet remember, what is ultimate is received without effort. This may sound contradictory, but these are the two wings, the two oars—effort and grace. Only with both is the journey completed. There are two kinds of delusions in the world. Some people think, “By effort alone it will be attained.” Such people never meet the Divine, because their ego never falls; effort only strengthens it. The doors close even tighter instead of opening. And some believe, “It does not come by effort; only grace gives it.” They just sit; they never rise, they never walk. They waste it in…
Question: First question: Osho, God-realization through grace—how does it happen? Effort is the shadow of man’s ego. Grace is the fragrance that arises in a state of egolessness. By effort you get the small. Man’s fist is very small. You can hold pebbles in your fist; try to hold the Himalayas and you’ll be in trouble. By effort you get the petty—because man’s power is limited. By grace you receive the vast. Effort is a clenched fist; grace is an open hand. “I will get it”—the untruth is already there in this. Because the “I” itself is the untruth. The day you know “I am not,” that day it is found. In truth it was always found—only the stiffness of “I” did not let it be seen. What comes by grace is not that it comes today—it is already here, always here.
Beloved Osho, you say that one attains truth with the grace of the master. Then why do you also encourage the effort of ego?
Truth is attained by the grace of the master. But you cannot get the grace of the master without effort. The divine is attained through grace, but one has to seek the master; one has to have the ability to be near the master. Effort has to be made, but always remember that the ultimate is attained without effort. This will seem contradictory to you but these are the two wings, the two oars -- effort and grace. The journey is completed with these two. In this world there are two types of illusion. Some people think that they will attain the divine by their effort. They never attain because their ego never disappears; the effort makes it even stronger -- the doors remain closed instead of opening. There is also the other type of people who believe that the divine cannot be attained through effort, but only through grace.…
A friend has asked: Osho, is meditation attained by the grace of God?
So the temple was washed and cleaned; flowers were placed, lamps were lit; fragrance was sprinkled, incense and lights; offerings were prepared, meals cooked. By evening the priests were tired. Many times they looked toward the road, but no one appeared. And each time they looked they returned saying, “A dream is a dream—who comes! We went mad needlessly. Good we didn’t tell the village, or people would laugh.” Evening fell. Then they said, “Now let us take the offering ourselves. As always, the offering kept for God came to us; this too we will have to take.” Does anyone ever come! We got caught in a dream and made fools of ourselves—knowingly fools. Others become fools unknowingly; we—we know very well: God never comes. Where is God? This is just the idol in the temple, we are the priests, this is our worship; this is a business. So in…