According to Osho, a master is an empty, egoless channel—'a hollow bamboo'—through whom the divine acts; he is no-mind, a doorway to depth, and his loving presence heals without trying. A psychotherapist is a knowledgeable doer who works on the surface of mind, applying techniques; helpful for adjustments, yet limited, sharing the patient’s level and unable to reach the existential core.
A master lets the divine heal your deepest self, while a therapist uses mind-knowledge to fix surface problems.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
What is the difference between waiting for godot and waiting for god?
It is as if the sun has risen in the morning and you are sitting in your room with closed doors and windows, in darkness. Open the doors, you become available to the sun. The sun was already available -- just the meeting happens. You cannot wait for God. All waiting is for Godot. Godot means the one who never comes, who CANNOT come, whose arrival is impossible. And the only impossible thing is that which has already happened -- how can it happen again? You are alive, and you are waiting for life, Now, this is ridiculous. The real man of religion does not think in terms of God. He thinks in terms of life or, even better, of living -- because life can again become an abstract idea. Living, moment-to-moment living. In that very living, one knows what God is, because one knows who one is. Your idea…
Often it seems that a successful therapeutic relationship results in spiritual growth for both client and therapist. Please explain: to what extent is the relationship between client and therapist similar to that of disciple and master?
They are the modern version of the priest. In the ancient days the priest used to serve the same function. He used to keep people under rule, under control. He was serving the king. There was a conspiracy between the priest and the politician. The politician would touch the feet of the priest and the priest was enforcing a certain kind of society on people -- in the name of God. Then by and by God died. Naturally the priest became unemployed. The kings disappeared. Now there are only five kings -- four of playing cards and one of England. Others have disappeared. The king disappeared, the priest disappeared, the God disappeared, the society became democratic. But the society needs the priest. Without the priest the politician cannot function. The priest has come back with a new name -- the psychotherapist is the new priest and psychotherapy is the new…
Question: BELOVED MASTER, WHAT IS BEYOND PSYCHOTHERAPY? In one madhouse, the old doctor had retired and the new doctor had come in, and all the mad people were very happy. They rejoiced and danced. The doctor said, "Why are you so happy?" They said, "Because you are just like us! That man, although he stayed with us for ten years, remained a foreigner. But you really understand." At that moment the doctor saw that he himself was dancing with them, rejoicing. Even the mad people recognized that he was also mad. They said, "This is the greatest thing that has happened in this madhouse. Now there is no problem -- we are all one." This unity between the patient and the doctor.... The psychotherapist has to create some kind of bridge to communicate, but inside him is the same kind of mind which can go berserk any moment.
Osho, why does there seem to be so much conflict between the world and God?
It is as if someone were sleeping deeply in this garden. The cuckoo comes and sings, birds are chattering, the sun rises, breezes dance through the trees; but someone is fast asleep. The breezes touch him, the birds’ songs echo at his ears, the sun’s rays play on his face, but he knows nothing. Then someone comes and shakes him awake. His eyes open—the glory of the sun is revealed, the song of the passing breeze is heard, suddenly the cuckoo’s call, the fragrance of flowers. Do you think something new has happened? Everything was already there, just as it is. Only this man has become new—nothing else has changed. The same garden, the same sun, the same flowers, the same birds—everything the same; only a small difference: he was asleep; he is awake. The meaning of “world” is: you are asleep in God. The meaning of “God” is: you…
A very clever mind is behind it, but not an enlightened mind; and that is where something of immense value is missing. So tell your friends to learn the techniques, but remember only one thing, that sooner or later you will have to look somewhere else. Those techniques can be used, but they will have to be used somewhere else -- Arica cannot use them. Arica can put you on the path but it cannot help you to reach the goal. So Aricans will have to look somewhere else; sooner or later they will have to move. I cannot say that any method in itself is wrong; all the methods they use are right and can be used if there is somebody who has an organic vision of life. They can be used, they can fit together. But that person is missing there.