Clothes began as control; the new person uses them wisely, not to copy others.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved master, nijinsky was once asked why people of the same century all seem to be alike. He answered: "it is the result of their clothing, because the clothes dictate our movements." could you please talk about clothes and the new man?
I am not in favor of nudism, I am in favor of natural living, according to the circumstances. In your home when you are playing with your children, there is no need for any identity. You don't have to be a supreme court judge, you don't have to be a great doctor, you simply have to be a human being. Eating, there is no need for clothes. And when your houses are well air-conditioned in summer, you can be nude; well heated in winter, you can be nude. And once in a while you can enjoy being nude in the park, in your garden. And in every commune the new man will create a place where people are not expected to have clothes, like swimming pools. Just in formal places, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, you can have beautiful clothes. To wear clothes once in a while means you will enjoy…
A friend has asked: Osho, your attire is like that of a monk—what is the reason for this? Can’t you wear trousers, shirts, and so on? You believe in science and preach throwing out the old.
The monk has nothing except his attire; so I have chosen that from him, and the other things I have chosen from those who have them. The monk has nothing but clothing. But clothing he does have. And remember, it is very scientific attire. Trousers and ties are not scientific. In fact, the best garments are those that do not erase the sense of nakedness. The best garments are those that do not tighten, do not bind, do not turn into a prison. The best garments are those that do not fasten you anywhere, that keep you always open and free. But we are used to living in cages, so we build our houses like cages. Then we are not satisfied with the house—because how will we carry the house around outside?—so we make our clothes like cages too, tight from all sides. And when nothing else is left, we…
Osho! Recently, the English magazine “New Delhi” published several photographs related to the group-psychotherapy groups running in the ashram. There has been a lot of discussion about them in newspapers and elsewhere—along with some misunderstandings. While I was in Delhi, many editors asked me, “What do you have to say about this?” Kindly say something about it.
Krishna Prem! Nakedness is man’s birthright. Existence created man naked. Clothes are man’s invention. To deny nakedness is to deny existence. If clothes are invented for convenience, that’s fine—if it’s cold, wear something to protect yourself from the elements. But the fundamental invention of clothing is not to protect from nature; it is to hide oneself. Behind clothes there is hypocrisy. That’s why whenever someone stands naked, your hypocrisy gets hurt. When Mahavira was naked, there was great opposition. There was even more when Lalla, the woman mystic of Kashmir, chose nakedness. But they were isolated cases; somehow we tolerated them. In my view, nakedness should be natural and effortless. Whenever convenient, people should have the natural right to be naked. Clothes conceal—and in that concealment lies all pornography. In concealment lies obscenity. You will not find obscenity among tribals, because they are naked. The more you hide, the more…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, AND THE WEAVER SAID, SPEAK TO US OF CLOTHES. AND HE ANSWERED: YOUR CLOTHES CONCEAL MUCH OF YOUR BEAUTY, YET THEY HIDE NOT THE UNBEAUTIFUL. AND THOUGH YOU SEEK IN GARMENTS THE FREEDOM OF PRIVACY YOU MAY FIND IN THEM A HARNESS AND A CHAIN. WOULD THAT YOU COULD MEET THE SUN AND THE WIND WITH MORE OF YOUR SKIN AND LESS OF YOUR RAIMENT. FOR THE BREATH OF LIFE IS IN THE SUNLIGHT AND THE HAND OF LIFE IS IN THE WIND. SOME OF YOU SAY, "IT IS THE NORTH WIND WHO HAS WOVEN THE CLOTHES WE WEAR." AND I SAY, AY, IT WAS THE NORTH WIND, BUT SHAME WAS HIS LOOM, AND THE SOFTENING OF THE SINEWS WAS HIS THREAD. AND WHEN HIS WORK WAS DONE, HE LAUGHED IN THE FOREST. FORGET NOT THAT MODESTY IS FOR A SHIELD AGAINST THE EYE OF THE UNCLEAN.
Question: at first sight, sannyas appears to be something that limits one's activities. Why does one have to change one's clothes to red? Why should one have to change his appearance, since sannyas is something that is within rather than without?
Gurdjieff used to say a very meaningful thing: that as you are now, you have no soul. He was both right and wrong. You have a soul, but you do not know about it. You are the outside, and so clothes are very meaningful. Because of clothes a person becomes beautiful and because of clothes a person becomes ugly. Because of clothes he becomes respected; because of clothes he is not respected. A judge has to wear certain clothes -- a supreme court justice has to use a particular robe -- and no one asks why. With that robe he is a supreme court justice; without that robe he is no one. This is how man is. When I look at a man he is more his clothes than his mind. And this is as it should be, because we belong to the body, we are identified with the body.…