According to Osho, society rewards compliant, counterfeit virtues, but it punishes authentic virtue because real goodness arises from individual insight and defies collective hypocrisy. True virtue demands courage and rebellion; hence the genuinely virtuous are often persecuted, while conformists are crowned. Punishment is the social cost of integrity, whereas respectability is the reward for spiritual surrender and hypocrisy.
If you follow your real inner truth, many people may dislike it and punish you, while those who pretend to be good get praise.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, nietzsche's maxim: "one is punished most for one's virtues" I see the truth of most clearly in you. But even a man who is virtuous by society's standards is subtly punished too, isn't he? -- punished by jealousy and criticism. It is as if one is only meant to strive towards; to attain is an altogether different matter. Is this so?
For a man of love, nationality is nothing but a beautiful name for hatred. Religious organizations are nothing but sophisticated ways of hating others who don't belong to your organization, to your herd, to your crowd. Friedrich Nietzsche is right; his whole life's experience is condensed in that small statement. He suffered for his virtues. The Italian priest was preaching about sex and morality to his congregation. "Sex is-a dirty", he shouted. "I wanna see only good-a girls today. I wanna every virgin in-a church to-a stand up." Not a soul moved. Then after a long pause a sexy looking blond holding an infant in her arms got to her feet. "Virgins is-a what I want," said the outraged priest. "Hey father," she asked, "you expect a two month old baby to stand by herself?" I was in Greece and one of my sannyasins, Amrito, who was my hostess, told…
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?
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…
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.
The perfume of sandalwood, rosebay, or jasmine, cannot travel against the wind.
BUT THE FRAGRANCE OF VIRTUE TRAVELS EVEN AGAINST THE WIND, AS FAR AS THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. HOW MUCH FINER IS THE FRAGRANCE OF VIRTUE THAN OF SANDALWOOD, ROSEBAY, OF THE BLUE LOTUS, OR JASMINE! THE FRAGRANCE OF SANDALWOOD OR ROSEBAY DOES NOT TRAVEL FAR. BUT THE FRAGRANCE OF VIRTUE RISES TO THE HEAVENS. DESIRE NEVER CROSSES THE PATH OF VIRTUOUS AND WAKEFUL MEN. THEIR BRIGHTNESS SETS THEM FREE. HOW SWEETLY THE LOTUS GROWS IN THE LITTER OF THE WAYSIDE. ITS PURE FRAGRANCE DELIGHTS THE HEART. FOLLOW THE AWAKENED AND FROM AMONG THE BLIND THE LIGHT OF YOUR WISDOM Life has to attain a balance always. You have taken so much, now give it. Become a flower! Only when you become a flower is there a possibility of disappearing as a fragrance. But then too, remember, don't remain a closed flower, don't remain a bud; otherwise your fragrance will…