According to Osho, resisting war—through protests, slogans, and political struggle—has little value today; it often mirrors the same aggression and can hasten conflict. Only a radical shift of consciousness can prevent catastrophe: spread love and meditation, grow inner awareness, and nurture a new humanity. When scientific power outruns spiritual growth, external resistance is impotent; inner transformation is the real prevention.
Angry protests don’t stop war; becoming peaceful and loving inside—and helping others do the same—takes away war’s fuel.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved master, you told us the story of krishna and arjuna. But is there no value in resisting war in a time where a handful of madmen play with atomic bombs?
Peter Bohm, how can you resist these few madmen who are playing with atom bombs? What will be your strategy of resistance? In fact, your resistance may bring the war sooner than otherwise; your resistance is not going to prevent it. The only thing that can prevent the world war is that you start a totally new consciousness, that you start a new kind of humanity... a man who is capable of love, a man who is capable of meditation. Let love and meditation spread far and wide. Let meditation reach to as many people as possible. Except that, all your efforts at resistance are impotent. You can protest and you can go on a long march, but have you ever watched the protesters, the people who are against war, the pacifists? Have you watched their processions? They look so aggressive, they themselves look mad! If they had the atom…
Osho, you know that right now the world is abuzz with talk of war. What can each of us do to avert this danger?
In one sense this is good, because we will have to decide. Only in moments of such danger do people decide; otherwise they don’t. When life itself is at stake, then decisions are made. Now life is at stake. Before this century ends, the world will have to decide: if you want war, let nations continue; if you do not, bid nations farewell. Once nations are gone, India need not keep an army—against whom would it keep one? Pakistan need not keep an army—against whom? And right now armies are devouring everything. Seventy percent of the world’s wealth is eaten up by armies. This world could become a paradise. Just imagine if that seventy percent were invested in productive work, and these idle people who do nothing all day but drill—foolishness! Left turn! Right turn! What is the point of left turn and right turn? Why on earth are you…
But I don't see there is any way to find an antidote. For the simple reason that 300 years of continuous creation of war mechanisms, destructive weapons, has led to the nuclear weapon. You have never worked for life, you have never thought about how to create more beautiful life-healthier, intelligent, lengthier. If side by side you were working for these 300 years, putting your whole energy as you have been putting into war, perhaps you may be able to find an antidote -- but there is not time enough. If all the scientists of the world together start working now, perhaps in one hundred years they may be able to find a clue which nullifies all nuclear weapons. That seems to be impossible. So to me the third world war is over. We have passed it -- now think about the fourth. And prepare for the fourth.
Beloved Osho, on one hand the world is preparing for a global suicide; it looks like there is not much time left for our growth. On the other hand, what I heard from you is that growth is only possible when we relax, sit silently, and wait. This is a paradox. Beloved Osho, please can you speak about how to come out of situations where one part of me is restless and wants to do something? -- yet deep down I feel that this leads me nowhere.
In the Old Testament, there is a beautiful story of two cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. God became very angry with these two cities, because in both people were practicing perverted sex. In Sodom people were making love to animals; hence `sodomy' has become the word for making love with animals. In Gomorrah people had become homosexuals, and all kinds of perversions ... God finally decided to destroy both those cities completely, and in the Old Testament he did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It does not look right of God, but the Jewish God is an angry God. That is our projection: it is not a question of whether God is angry or not. God is a hypothesis -- you can make anything out of it, whatever you want. God declares in the Jewish scriptures, "I am a very angry God, very jealous. I will never forgive you if you go…
Beloved Osho, what do you say about the third world war? Is it going to happen or not? What should we do to prevent it?
Don't do anything to prevent it, because this humanity that you see around the earth is not worth anything. A good third world war will at least clean this planet of human garbage: cathedrals, temples, mosques, White Houses where only lies are manufactured. Perhaps that's why it is called the White House -- because we know the phrase "white lie." Lies are always white; they have to be painted white. All these politicians, with no awareness, no love, and with all the nuclear weapons in their hands.... The world right now contains so many nuclear and atomic weapons that this poor humanity can be killed seven times -- although that is not needed, once is more than enough. And they go on piling them up. But I am not a pessimist. I am saying it to you just to emphasize the fact that it is not a question of the…