According to Osho, yoga is neither theistic nor atheistic; it is a precise science of inner transformation. Patanjali treats 'God' (Ishvara pranidhana) as an optional method to cultivate surrender and prayer, not as the goal. Many routes reach truth; some with belief, some without. Yoga concerns effective laws and experiments; choose the path that works for you.
Yoga isn’t about God or no-God; it’s a set of practices, and belief is just one optional tool.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
It is said that yoga is an atheistic system. Do you agree with this?
Buddha is partial, Mahavira is partial, Jesus is partial, Mohammed is partial -- they have a certain path. And their partiality may be because of you -- because of a deep conception for you, a deep compassion for you. They insist on a certain path; they go on insisting their whole life. And they say, "Everything else is wrong; this is the right path," just to create faith in you. You are so faithless, you are so filled with doubt, that if they say that this path leads, others' paths also lead, you will not follow any. They insist that only "this" path leads. This is not true. This is just a device for you -- because if you feel any uncertainty in them, if they say, "This also leads, that also leads; this is also true, that is also true," you will become uncertain. You are already uncertain. You…
In India, all the religions that have developed have very different -- in fact, antagonistic -- philosophies, concepts, perceptions. They have nothing in common. Between Hinduism and Jainism there is nothing in common; between Hinduism and Buddhism there is nothing in common. There is only one common thing that none of these religions can deny: yoga. Buddha says, "There is no body, there is no soul," but he cannot say, "There is no yoga." Mahavira says, "There is no body, but there is a soul," but he cannot say, "There is no yoga." Hinduism says, "There is body, there is soul -- and there is yoga." Yoga remains constant. Even Christianity cannot deny it; even Mohammedanism cannot deny it. In fact, even someone who is totally atheistically oriented cannot deny yoga because yoga doesn't make it a precondition to believe in God. Yoga has no preconditions; yoga is absolutely experiential.
[Note: This is a translation from the Hindi Neo-Yoga Sutras, which is in the process of being edited. It is for research only.] Yoga has nothing to do with Islam, Hinduism, Jainism or any other religion. But Jesus or Mohammed or Zarathustra or Buddha or Mahavira or anyone who has realized the truth, has not realized it without passing through Yoga. Except for Yoga, there is no way for life to rise to the state of inner paradise. The so-called religions are nothing but belief systems. Yoga is a systematic methodology of scientific experiments done in the search for the truth of life, and not for belief systems. Hence, the first thing that I would like to say to you is that Yoga is a science, not a belief. For experiencing Yoga, one need not have faith of any kind.
Question: NOW THE DISCIPLINE OF YOGA. YOGA IS THE CESSATION OF MIND. THEN THE WITNESS IS ESTABLISHED IN ITSELF. IN THE OTHER STATES THERE IS IDENTIFICATION WITH THE MODIFICATIONS OF THE MIND. Beliefs are like clothes. Nothing substantial is transformed; you remain the same. Dissect a Hindu, dissect a Mohammedan, inside they are the same. He goes to a temple; the Mohammedan hates the temple. The Mohammedan goes to the mosque and the Hindu hates the mosque, but inside they are the same human beings. Belief is easy because you are not required really to do anything -- just a superficial dressing, a decoration, something which you can put aside any moment you like. Yoga is not belief. That's why it is difficult, arduous, and sometimes it seems impossible. It is an existential approach.
Yoga is a science, not a scripture. Yoga has nothing to do with Islam, Hindu, Jain or Christian. But whether it is Jesus, Mohammed, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira—any person who has attained truth has not attained it without passing through Yoga. Apart from Yoga there is no way to reach the ultimate truth of life. What we call religions are companions of beliefs. Yoga is not of beliefs; Yoga is a sutra-like system of scientific experiments directed toward the truth of life. Therefore, the first thing I would like to say to you is: Yoga is science, not belief. No kind of faith is necessary for the realization of Yoga. No kind of blindness is needed for the practice of Yoga. The atheist can enter the practice of Yoga just as the theist can. Yoga does not bother about atheist or theist.