According to Osho, true justice cannot be manufactured by political revolutions or by swapping ‘wrong’ rulers for ‘right’ ones; it arises from an inner revolution. Because outer change without inner transformation repeats the same conditioning, power simply recreates injustice. Justice flowers when individuals awaken to freedom, awareness, and responsibility—transforming people rather than power structures—so society naturally realigns with fairness without repression.
Real justice happens when people change inside—becoming aware and kind—not when new bosses take power.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: BELOVED OSHO, OF JUSTICE WHEN YOU HAVE AN ENEMY, DO NOT REQUITE HIM GOOD FOR EVIL: FOR THAT WOULD MAKE HIM ASHAMED. BUT PROVE THAT HE HAS DONE SOMETHING GOOD TO YOU. BETTER TO BE ANGRY THAN MAKE ASHAMED! AND WHEN YOU ARE CURSED, I DO NOT LIKE IT THAT YOU THEN WANT TO BLESS. RATHER CURSE BACK A LITTLE! AND SHOULD A GREAT INJUSTICE BE DONE YOU, THEN QUICKLY DO FIVE LITTLE INJUSTICES BESIDES. HE WHO BEARS INJUSTICE ALONE IS TERRIBLE TO BEHOLD. DID YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY? SHARED INJUSTICE IS HALF JUSTICE. AND HE WHO CAN BEAR IT SHOULD TAKE THE INJUSTICE UPON HIMSELF. A LITTLE REVENGE IS MORE HUMAN THAN NO REVENGE AT ALL. AND IF THE PUNISHMENT BE NOT ALSO A RIGHT AND AN HONOUR FOR THE TRANSGRESSOR, THEN I DO NOT LIKE YOUR PUNISHMENT.
Osho, what is the relationship between meditation and patience?
If you sit to meditate to remove mental restlessness, you will keep looking back again and again: “Has it gone yet?” And the irony is that when you begin to meditate, restlessness will increase. Because what has been repressed will start surfacing; catharsis will begin. The rubbish you have kept hidden within and never allowed to express—meditation will break open those doors too. It will clean the house. Dust piled up for years, for births, will rise again; there will be gusts and storms. For a while even the little peace you had will be lost. Then you will panic: “I came for peace, and even what I had is gone.” Without patience, you could even become unhinged, because meditation brings such a great storm. The disease is not from a day or two; it’s from lifetimes. Meditation will break through all the layers to reach your innermost core. In…
Osho, yesterday you spoke about justice and compassion and said that only a man of wisdom can bring compassion along with justice. Is a synthesis of justice and compassion possible?
On the basis of logic—no. On the plane of logic—no. A synthesis of justice and compassion is not possible according to logic, because they belong to two different planes. Understand. Justice means: let what is proper happen. Compassion is not included in justice. Justice only means that the appropriate rule be applied. In compassion there is the heart; in justice there is only the intellect. Compassion is the greater thing. Compassion means: let what ought to be happen. It is not about rules; it is something bigger than rules. Consider: you go to court; you have stolen. The judge looks into his books, flips the pages, searches the law. You stole fifty rupees; he looks up the penalty; the penalty is written in the book; accordingly he sentences you. He keeps his distance; he does not enter into any human relationship with you. He does not think that within you,…
Question: BELOVED MASTER, WHAT IS JUSTICE FOR A REBELLIOUS MAN? Raso, it is one of the most significant questions to be asked -- for the simple reason that man has never tried to remove the causes of injustice. On the contrary, in the name of justice, he has been taking revenge on the individuals who were not obedient to the social order, to the establishment, to the vested interests. They were condemned as criminals, punished -- and it was thought that justice had been restored. In fact, the people who had been punished were really the victims. Justice was not restored. In fact, the people who were the root causes of injustice in the world had taken their revenge. Their revenge was fulfilled, and people were made afraid to go against the social order in any way. It is very strange that such a long history...
Question: BELOVED OSHO, AND A MERCHANT SAID, SPEAK TO US OF BUYING AND SELLING. AND HE ANSWERED AND SAID: TO YOU THE EARTH YIELDS HER FRUIT, AND YOU SHALL NOT WANT IF YOU BUT KNOW HOW TO FILL YOUR HANDS. IT IS IN EXCHANGING THE GIFTS OF THE EARTH THAT YOU SHALL FIND ABUNDANCE AND BE SATISFIED. YET UNLESS THE EXCHANGE BE IN LOVE AND KINDLY JUSTICE IT WILL BUT LEAD SOME TO GREED AND OTHERS TO HUNGER. WHEN IN THE MARKETPLACE YOU TOILERS OF THE SEA AND FIELDS AND VINEYARDS MEET THE WEAVERS AND THE POTTERS AND THE GATHERERS OF SPICES, INVOKE THEN THE MASTER SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, TO COME INTO YOUR MIDST AND SANCTIFY THE SCALES AND THE RECKONING THAT WEIGHS VALUE AGAINST VALUE. AND SUFFER NOT THE BARREN-HANDED TO TAKE PART IN YOUR TRANSACTIONS, WHO WOULD SELL THEIR WORDS FOR YOUR LABOR.