According to Osho, one should not believe in ‘the good’ or virtues; one should know. Belief manufactured beforehand breeds hypocrisy—the mind says stealing is bad while behavior still steals—because borrowed ideals don’t fit living reality. When belief is dropped and understanding arises through direct awareness, authentic goodness emerges spontaneously, and conduct aligns naturally, without coercion or self-mutilating conformity.
Don’t copy rules; see for yourself what’s true, and real goodness will happen by itself.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, one should believe in the good and in virtues, shouldn’t one?
If, in this direction, we can drop belief, then that which we call good, that which we call significant, will arise within you. But if you cling to belief, it will never arise. Virtue cannot be born in you without knowing. And that is why your belief is one thing and your conduct another. You say that stealing is bad—and you steal. Why is there a gap between belief and conduct? Because the belief is false, and it has been fabricated first, without knowing and understanding conduct. Therefore conduct never fits it. It is like a tailor who makes your clothes without taking your measurements, and then tries to fit those clothes onto you. Then the cutting and trimming will have to be done on you, not on the clothes—your hands and feet would have to be cut.
In the same context I ask, Osho, what is sin and what is virtue?
If the inner lamp of awareness is lit, then whatever actions happen are virtue. If the inner lamp is extinguished, then whatever actions happen are sin. Understand this! No act in itself is sin or virtue. Sin and virtue depend on the doer. No act is intrinsically sin or virtue. Generally we believe that acts are good or bad—this act is bad, that act is good. That is not the case. A person whose inner lamp is out cannot truly do a good act—it is impossible. It may look as if he is doing good. He can imitate the actions of those whose lamps are lit. But even in imitation his motive will be contrary. If he builds a temple, it won’t be for the Divine; it will be for his own name or his father’s—he will get the name inscribed. If he gives charity, he will be anxious whether…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT VIRTUE? Out of awareness whatever you do is virtue according to me. And out of unawareness whatever you do is sin according to me. And according to me, your sins are not going to take you to hell. Your sins immediately give you hell -- here, just now. And your virtues are not going to give you an eternity of paradise. Your virtues give you joy, blissfulness, the moment you act with full awareness. The punishment and the reward is immediate: the reward follows your action. But it depends where your action will lead you. It can be unconscious action, then hell herenow. It has nothing to do with geography; it is something to do with your psychology. Acting consciously, you are in paradise wherever you are. Once you have learned, you will not ask, "What is virtue?
Moses has said that something is right and something else is wrong and so has Manu and so has Mohammed, but it is not your heart. And the ultimate decision has to be yours. How can Manu, Moses or Mohammed decide for you? -- everything has changed. So much water has gone down the Ganges since Manu. Manu existed five thousand years ago and Hindus are still following his dictates; he has decided what is moral and what is immoral. No, this is sheer nonsense. Life has completely changed. If Manu comes back he will not be able to recognise anything he will be simply bewildered. He will only be able to understand his own book, MANUSMRATI, the book that he wrote five thousand years ago; everything else has changed. But he will certainly laugh at the foolishness of the Hindus -- that they are still following him.
The real virtue has nothing to do with so-called morality. There is one very profound and pregnant statement of Socrates: he says 'Knowledge is virtue.' By knowledge he means wisdom, knowing, because his whole emphasis was 'Know thyself.' That's what I mean by being conscious, because it is only consciousness that makes you capable of knowing yourself. And the moment you have known yourself you cannot do anything harmful to anybody. It is simply impossible. You cannot be destructive. It is like a man who has eyes, how can you think that he will try to pass through the wall? He as eyes so he knows where the door is -- he will pass through the door. But the blind man can try. He will knock all around, and he can even try to get out through the wall or from the window.