According to Osho, Gandhi’s “nonviolence” is a strategic, coercive tool—pressure disguised as peace—thus still violence; true ahimsa must be total, noncoercive, and born of inner transformation. He cites Gandhi’s wartime recruiting and condemnation of disobedient soldiers to show political calculation. Real nonviolence works silently through meditation, purification, and prayer, never manipulating others by threat, publicity, or moral blackmail.
Don’t force people—even with guilt or threats; change yourself inside and let quiet love, not pressure, do the work.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Sabai Sayane Ek Mat · Discourse 10
1975-09-20 · Pune · Hindi
Osho, what is the first experience of samadhi like?
You will know only when it happens. It cannot be said; at most a few hints can be given. It is as if, in the dark, a lamp is suddenly lit. Or as if a dying patient, right at the edge of death, suddenly finds a medicine that works; life’s wave, life’s thrill spreads again—so it is. As if a corpse becomes alive—such is the first experience of samadhi. It is the taste of nectar. The experience of the ultimate music. But it will be only when it happens; and only then will you understand. You will not understand by my saying it. It is as with love. How can anyone explain it? To someone who has never loved, never known love, no matter how many explanations you offer—he will hear it all and still ask, “I haven’t understood; please explain a little more.” It is like explaining light to…Read the full discourse →
A friend has asked: Osho, Gandhi has urged the practice of vows such as ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy), and asangraha/aparigraha (non-possessiveness), and Patanjali too has emphasized them. So is it necessary to cultivate these before samadhi? Or can one reach samadhi without them?
Gandhi used to say continually, “I have no doctrine, no ideology. There is no such thing as Gandhism.” It sounded very humble. In Karachi there was a conference where Gandhi was speaking. Communists waved black flags and shouted, “Down with Gandhism!” Gandhi was at the microphone. Always, whenever anyone spoke of Gandhism, he would say, “There is no such thing.” But that day, when the slogan “Down with Gandhism!” was raised and the black flags waved, it suddenly burst out of his mouth, “Gandhi may die, but Gandhism is immortal!” What was hidden in the unconscious surfaced. It had been pushed down in some inner corner; hard to detect. We are not even aware of the corners of our own minds—what lurks where. It can slip out in an unguarded moment. It is necessary to understand Gandhi’s life very correctly. Gandhi’s life is a great failed experiment—a great experiment, and…Read the full discourse →
A friend has asked: Do you not believe in Gandhiji’s nonviolence? And if you do not believe in Gandhi’s nonviolence, does that mean your faith is in violence?
- Nonviolent means: from whose consciousness the urge to torment has dissolved—toward others and toward oneself. - Nonviolent means: from whose mind the desire to exert pressure has vanished—whether by the knife or by a fast. - Nonviolent means: one who is free of the desire to pressure anyone in any way. Because by exerting pressure we make ourselves superior to the other. And have you noticed? By showing a knife you do not become higher than the other, but by fasting you do. Nietzsche, jokingly, said something against Jesus. Jesus says, “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other.” Nietzsche said, “What greater insult to the other could there be? You did not even regard him as a man, as your equal. He slapped you; you offered the other cheek. In that instant you became a god, and he a worm of the earth.” Nietzsche joked that…Read the full discourse →
Tao Upanishad · Discourse 120
1975-03-30 · Pune · Hindi
Osho, you said... then you will find that the devotee is God. The question arises: if one devotee prefers to be God and another wants to remain only a devotee, then which of the two is superior?
The one who wants to be God will not be able to be. And the one who wants to remain a devotee will become God. The question of superior or inferior does not arise, because only one of the two will happen. The one who does not want to be will be. The one who wants to be will be deprived. That very wanting is of the ego. But the matter is a little delicate. Sometimes humility too belongs to the ego. Beware that your humility may not be of the ego. Perhaps you are saying, “No, I don’t want to be,” because you know that those who refuse are the ones who attain. Then you are clever. Then your humility is adulterous. Your humility is not pure, not sacred, not virginal—it is like a prostitute. The one who wants to be God, whose ego says, “I must become God,”…Read the full discourse →
Beloved master, in the old days in bombay, even though I felt physically so close to you, you were so far away. Now sitting here with you in buddha hall, where thousands of us move around you -- compared to the room in bombay -- I feel you so intimately and personally, like I never did before. Beloved master, have you dropped serious political talks and become more intimate and juicy? Your smile is happening more often than ever. Please comment.
The moment the old man heard that I was going to eat in the night, he was so shocked. He said, "What am I hearing? I called you the twenty-fifth tirthankara and you are going to eat in the night! I have been thinking that your book is the essential for all those who are seekers of the path -- and the reality is, you don't know even the ABC of religion." This is the ABC of religion, that eating in the night is preparing your path towards hell! I said, "I told you just to wait, not to make decisions, but you didn't listen, you said you were determined. In fact just to show you how determined you were, I told the woman that I would eat after one hour." He said, "Really? Then forgive me. I touch your feet, just forgive me." I said, "Wait, you are making…Read the full discourse →