According to Osho, God cannot be defined; 'God' names the indefinable totality—the all-encompassing context in which outer sky and inner sky, matter and consciousness, life and death arise. Words shrink the vast; definitions entangle and bar real knowing. God is to be experienced in silence, tasted directly, not fixed in concepts.
God isn’t something you can pin down with words; it’s everything, and you meet it by quiet, direct experience, not ideas.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Sahaj Yog · Discourse 5
1978-11-25 · Pune · Hindi · English translation
Osho, what is the definition of God?
Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…Read the full discourse →
I Am That · Discourse 2
1980-10-12 · Buddha Hall · English
Osho, what is god?
GOD is not a person. That is one of the greatest misunderstandings, and it has prevailed so long that it has become almost a fact. Even if a lie is repeated continuously for centuries it is bound to appear as if it is a truth. God is a presence, not a person. Hence all worshipping is sheer stupidity. Prayerfulness is needed, not prayer. There is nobody to pray to; there is no possibility of any dialogue between you and God. Dialogue is possible only between two persons, and God is not a person but a presence -- like beauty, like joy. God simply means godliness. It is because of this fact that Buddha denied the existence of God. He wanted to emphasize that God is a quality, an experience -- like love. You cannot talk to love, you can live it. You need not create temples of love, you need…Read the full discourse →
Maha Geeta · Discourse 88
1977-02-07 · Pune · Hindi · English translation
Osho, what is the relationship between meditation and patience?
If you sit to meditate to remove mental restlessness, you will keep looking back again and again: “Has it gone yet?” And the irony is that when you begin to meditate, restlessness will increase. Because what has been repressed will start surfacing; catharsis will begin. The rubbish you have kept hidden within and never allowed to express—meditation will break open those doors too. It will clean the house. Dust piled up for years, for births, will rise again; there will be gusts and storms. For a while even the little peace you had will be lost. Then you will panic: “I came for peace, and even what I had is gone.” Without patience, you could even become unhinged, because meditation brings such a great storm. The disease is not from a day or two; it’s from lifetimes. Meditation will break through all the layers to reach your innermost core. In…Read the full discourse →
Jharat Dashahun Dis Moti · Discourse 4
1980-01-24 · Pune · Hindi · English translation
Osho, what is the definition of God?
Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…Read the full discourse →
Mare He Jogi Maro · Discourse 8
1979-11-18 · Pune · Hindi · English translation
Question: First question: Osho, why is the divine called ineffable? Everything in life is ineffable. The divine is the totality of life. When every single thing in life is ineffable, then the sum of all will be supremely ineffable. Can you define love? Someone may ask, “What is love?” And it is not that you have not known love. Perhaps the monsoon hasn’t poured, but a drizzle has surely touched you. In some way, by some door, a little taste of love has been felt. You must have known a friend’s love, a husband’s, a wife’s, a son’s, a mother’s, a father’s. From somewhere or other a ray of love must have descended, for without a ray of love no one can live. There has been a recognition, a small window has opened. But if someone asks, “What is love?” you will be struck dumb. What will you say?Read the full discourse →