Ask Osho!
Osho on What is the relationship between Osho's teachings and controversial figures like Hitler?

What is the relationship between Osho's teachings and controversial figures like Hitler?

True nonviolence is the absence of coercion; even the most revered figures can embody hidden violence if they impose their will.

— Osho
According to Osho, references to figures like Hitler are provocative devices to unmask hidden violence and authoritarianism—even in celebrated leaders like Gandhi—not endorsements. He insists he is not anti-Semitic and loves Jews for their suffering. True nonviolence, he says, means never imposing one’s will; any coercion, however saintly its image, is violence. His comparisons challenge blind reverence and awaken individual freedom.

He brings up Hitler only to show that forcing others—even by ‘good’ leaders—is violence, and real spirituality means respecting freedom, not cruelty.

Keep Exploring

Related Questions on Controversy