Is there any value in japa and chanting mantras?

Many friends have asked: Osho, is there no place at all for japa? We chant Om, the Gayatri; some chant Ram-Ram, some the Namokar—this or that. Is there no use in these? You never speak in favor of chanting!

Even human names are fictitious. You were born, and then a name was given to you. You came without a name—nameless. For convenience, parents stick on a label: this one is Ram, this one Vishnu, this one Krishna. These names are makeshift, false, pasted on from outside. No person truly has a name. That tree standing there—does it have a name? A tree has no name. All names are human givings. If humans were to vanish from the earth, would anything have a name? Nothing would. The trees would still be there, the mango would still be there; the moon and stars would still be there—but there would be no names. Even now, they have no names of their own. Names do not exist in existence; they are a human invention. And we are so clever we have not only named things—we have named God as well. Names are a…

Osho, you told the story about the parrot-like rote chanting of the Gayatri Mantra and the Namokar Mantra. You want to stop this parrot-chanting. Is that what the Gayatri Mantra is? Is that what the Namokar Mantra is?

Achyut! Exactly so. Where all mantras fall silent, there the real mantra is born. The mantra you repeat has no value. If it is repeated by your tongue, it cannot be worth more than the tongue that repeats it. The Om you hum will be smaller than you. There is another Om that does not arise from your humming—the humming from which you arose. There is another Om whose resonance envelops the whole universe, from which the world is fashioned. To hear that Om, you don’t need to hum. To hear that Om, all humming must cease; speech must fall utterly silent; thoughts dissolve; no ripple remains in the mind—then suddenly, in amazement, you will hear: a music is playing within! It has been playing forever. But you were filled with your own noise and could not hear it. And sometimes, when you slip out of worldly noise, you fill…

Osho, can we not attain liberation by repeating a mantra given by a saint—whether or not that saint is alive? If not liberation, will there at least be some greater spiritual growth? And is it true that one should never try to know the meaning of the words of a mantra, because knowing the meaning will only make the mind start taking part in thinking and imagination? I am asking this because I have heard that you are very much against mantras and that you say chanting mantras is only for idiots and fools.

And a saint will serve? Who would make a saint serve? Why make him commit sin with his own hands? Imagine meeting Mahavira, and he starts pressing your feet! Would you let him? You would jump up and run: “Lord, save me! What are you doing? You—and pressing my feet? Will you consign me to hell forever?” Or imagine Buddha starts massaging you! Even if he offered to do it free, you would say, “No, brother, not at all. We will massage your feet! You massage ours? Lord Buddha and a massage? Never. We will not allow it.” But the Christian definition of a saint is one who presses your feet, who serves you. According to Christians, Jesus is a saint because he gave his life for the salvation of man. What kind of saint is Mahavira—by Christian standards! What did he do for mankind? Yes, he meditated. That’s selfish—his…

The song continues:

THE PRACTICE OF MANTRA AND PARAMITA, INSTRUCTION IN THE SUTRAS AND PRECEPTS, AND TEACHING FROM THE SCHOOLS AND SCRIPTURES, WILL NOT BRING REALIZATION OF THE INNATE TRUTH. FOR IF THE MIND WHEN FILLED WITH SOME DESIRE SHOULD SEEK A GOAL, IT ONLY HIDES THE LIGHT. HE WHO KEEPS TANTRIC PRECEPTS, YET DISCRIMINATES, BETRAYS THE SPIRIT OF SAMAYA. CEASE ALL ACTIVITY, ABANDON ALL DESIRE, LET THOUGHTS RISE AND FALL AS THEY WILL LIKE OCEAN WAVES. HE WHO NEVER HARMS THE NON-ABIDING, NOR THE PRINCIPLE OF NON-DISTINCTION, UPHOLDS THE TANTRIC PRECEPTS. HE WHO ABANDONS CRAVING AND CLINGS NOT TO THIS AND THAT, PERCEIVES THE REAL MEANING GIVEN IN THE SCRIPTURES. Mantra says: don't bother about the causes; you simply repeat a mantra and fall asleep. This is so superficial. Don't bother about the causes, just repeat a mantra -- fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen in the evening -- and you…

Beloved Osho, different religions have different mantras, such as: om namo shivaya namo, arihanta nam, allahu akbar, om mani padme hum. In what state of being were such great mantras born? How and in what way are they related to our various inner centers? How should a seeker select a mahamantra most appropriate to him?

The search for power brings religion into the confines of the world. And it makes no difference whether it is Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism or Mohammedanism. As long as your interest is in the miracles, understand well that the quest for religion has not arisen in you yet. You are in awe when some sadhu, some baba, some holy man, creates ashes in the palm of his hand. What are you going to do with the ashes? There are plenty of ashes lying on the roads, or you can make ashes at home for little cost by burning coal. But if someone creates ashes in his palms, and this so impresses and delights you that you are moved to become his follower, then you are mad! It is worth understanding the nature of this fascination. That nothing is going to change from this creation of ashes is something that you also…