Should one accept anything without questioning?

Osho, that is what is being taught. Yes, that is being taught. That very thing is being taught, and it is precisely because of that teaching that such a corrupted world has come into being, and such corrupted human beings have been produced—because of that teaching.

What is the fruit of these five thousand years of such teaching? The people we see all around us—this very world of ours. This world has been born of that “education,” hasn’t it? So where has five thousand years of all this teaching brought you? Day by day you fall lower, and you will go on falling. The mistake is at the very foundation. The mistake is at the very foundation. There is no need for reverence, no need for belief. What is needed is inquiry, what is needed is courage. One must search, one must dare. All that—reverence, belief—are symptoms of weakness. That is why the more a community leans on faith, the more it falls behind. Look. Any community that has relied on belief has lagged. Because the very question of taking the next step does not arise. If you are sitting in a bullock cart and you…

They will not ask—because the one who thinks is the one who asks. The believer does not question; he takes commands as commands. He accepts. That is why, to this day, who knows what foolishness has been fed to man; he has been made to fight and kill for it. A basic trick has been used: do not let thought be born. Because thought will question, hesitate, doubt, reason; it will inquire. And only when it feels it is right will it take a step forward. Therefore those who wish to keep disturbance alive in the world, to keep exploitation and war going, do not wish thought to arise. They want belief. Hitler wanted the same, Stalin wanted the same; other leaders want the same; religious leaders too want the same.

Question: First question: Osho, can doubt arise even in faith? Another’s truth can never become your truth—never has, never will. Truth is always one’s own—intimate, self-realized. And when truth is of one’s own experience, what doubt? Santosh, in faith no doubt can arise. Faith comes after killing, crossing, and drinking down all doubts—assimilating them—nothing is left to arise again. But in doubt, faith certainly arises. If you doubt, one day you will reach faith. Do not be in a hurry to believe. Do not be hasty. Do not settle for cheap faith. Do not accept because your father believes. Though a father dearly wishes to have you believe what he believes—for his ego’s satisfaction—do not accept it. Do not accept what your teachers believe—again, for their ego’s satisfaction. Do not accept what your priests, pundits, and politicians believe. All of them want quick assent.

Osho, why is it that the moment we cling to some belief—whether theism or atheism—the mind feels so reassured? Why does it seem almost impossible for it to stand in the middle, dropping both?

There is no greater courage than to stand in existence without conclusions. By “without conclusions” I mean: no belief, no superstition. It means: we will see existence as it is, without bringing our notions in between. We will neither say “God is” nor “God is not.” We will neither say “the soul is” nor “the soul is not.” We will inquire. But inquiry is hard. Inquiry means you must pay a price. Who wants that bother? So we borrow beliefs on credit. We say, Mahavira knew, Buddha knew, Krishna knew—why should we get into the mess? We’ll cling to them, hold their feet, and pass through. That is not faith; it is only weakness. And the weak do not move. It is not trust to think we can walk to freedom by holding Buddha’s feet. If you have no trust in yourself, how will you trust Buddha? No real trust…

Some friends, in different questions, have asked: Osho, a doubt has arisen—should we have faith in all of your words as well?

So please—let no one believe. But keep one more thing in mind: one should avoid believing, and one should also avoid disbelieving. For belief is one kind of mistake, disbelief is another kind of mistake. I have not said: disbelieve in Krishna, Mahavira, Buddha. I have said: do not believe. But we have become habituated to think in this language: “Do not believe” means “disbelieve.” No. Disbelief too is a kind of belief; disbelief is also a form of belief, the negative form. One man believes that God exists; another believes that God does not exist—this too is belief, though we call him a disbeliever. One man says, “What Rama says is true”; another says, “Whatever Rama says is false.” Both have believed; both are blind. The one who seeks truth says, “I do not know—so how can I believe, and how can I disbelieve? The knower can believe; the…