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Osho on What is the role of community in spiritual awakening?

What is the role of community in spiritual awakening?

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Community can be an alarm clock for your awakening, but remember, it can also lull you back to sleep if you choose the wrong companions.

— Osho
Synthesized from Source definition
Core Insight:
According to Osho, community is a method, not the source of awakening. In school-paths like Gurdjieff’s, a group—and above all a truly awakened master—serves as ‘alarm clocks,’ preventing drift into sleep and pushing you past superficial fatigue into deeper energies. Yet groups are double-edged: sleep is contagious, awakening is not. Without the right group and master, community narcotizes rather than liberates.
A good group with a real master can keep you awake, but the wrong crowd will lull you to sleep.
Why this matters practically
- Choose your spiritual company carefully; prioritize guidance from a truly awakened teacher.
- Use community as discipline and reminder, not as a crutch—awakening remains personal.
- Track which environments make you dull or alert and adjust your affiliations accordingly.
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