Ask Osho!
Osho on What is wondrous and precious about the honest truth?

What is wondrous and precious about the honest truth?

Truth is pure and needs no adjective; the true wonder lies in our unique freedom to choose it, making that choice the crowning dignity of our existence.

— Osho
According to Osho, there is nothing specially wondrous about an “honest truth”—truth needs no adjective. Truth alone is pure, nude, the very essence of existence, nature’s only religion. What is truly precious is man’s unique freedom to choose truth; when, with awareness, we align with it, that choice becomes a glorious moment—the crowning dignity of human life.

Truth doesn’t need extra labels; everything is already truth, and our real treasure is freely choosing to live it.

In His Own Words

From the Discourses

Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.

Question: BELOVED OSHO, AN OLD TIBETAN IS QUOTED AS SAYING: "LIKE A LION, I HAVE NO FEAR. LIKE AN ELEPHANT, I HAVE NO ANXIETY. LIKE A MADMAN, I HAVE NO HOPE. I TELL YOU THE HONEST TRUTH." OSHO, WHAT IS SO WONDROUS AND PRECIOUS ABOUT THE HONEST TRUTH? In fact, to use these two words together shows a deep misunderstanding. "Honest truth" implies that there can be dishonest truth. Truth is enough. Honesty is a very ordinary quality that comes as a shadow of truth, with many other qualities. There is something immensely important about truth. But remember, never use the words honest truth. That means you have a suspicion: deep down you yourself are not convinced of the truthfulness of truth. To substitute, to compensate, you add honesty to it. Nothing can be added to truth. Truth is always pure, nude, alone.
Read the full discourse →
The Sound Of One Hand Clapping · Discourse 12
1981-03-12 · Chuang Tzu Auditorium · English
truth cannot be achieved by human efforts because all human efforts are bound to originate in the mind and mind is the barrier between truth and consciousness the mind has to be put aside that's what man is capable of doing not using the mind, putting the mind aside by-passing the mind, transcending the mind and the moment the mind is not functioning consciousness immediately becomes connected with the truth the barrier is no more there hence the bridge happens and that is the greatest blessing in existence when truth showers on you only with the experience of truth life becomes meaningful, significant a celebration a man without truth is a beggar a man without truth is not yet really alive he is simply living in a kind of dream he is not awakened not awakened to the tremendous beauty of existence to the immense ecstasy of life not aware…
Read the full discourse →
From Darkness To Light · Discourse 22
1985-03-23 · Lao Tzu Grove · English

Beloved Osho, what is truth? And whatever it is, why are most people not interested in it?

"Love God" -- I don't know how you are going to love God. You don't know what God looks like. You don't know from where to approach Him, which side is His face. The Indian god has three faces; from all the three sides you can approach him. The Hindu god has thousands of hands; you can hold any. But where are you going to meet these gods with thousands of hands, three heads ...? Just all junk. Nobody knows .... A small child was making a drawing. His father asked him, "What are you doing, so absorbed?" He said, "I am drawing a picture of God." The father said, "A picture of God? But nobody has seen Him, nobody knows how He looks. How can you make a picture of God?" The child said, "Just wait. Let me finish the picture and everybody will know how He looks." All…
Read the full discourse →
The Path Of The Mystic · Discourse 16
1986-05-12 · Punta Del Este, Uruguay · English

Beloved Osho, I see that people go on saying that they want the truth -- nothing but the truth -- and freedom; they want to live in freedom. But when it actually comes down to it, nobody wants to hear the truth or live in freedom. They want to continue to live in lies and possess what they think they have. I see that in myself, and it is becoming less and less as I am walking the path with you. Why do we want to hold on to the ugly lies of life so much that we give up our trueness and our nature?

The court of the king was full. For the first time everybody was present; the queen was present, the princesses were present. The man said to the court and to the king, "I have brought the clothes. And for these clothes, the two, three million rupees that you have given are nothing. When you see the clothes you will see they are a thousandfold more costly. In fact you cannot appraise their cost on the earth; they are something that belongs to heaven. They are not found on the earth." The king was in a hurry. He said, "Open your box!" The man said, "The way it must be done has been explained to me. You give me your cap. First I will put your cap into the box, then I will take out the cap of God and put it on your head. Just one condition has to be…
Read the full discourse →
The Heart Sutra · Discourse 2
1977-10-12 · Buddha Hall · English

Beloved Osho,sometimes while just sitting, the question comes up in the mind: what is truth? But by the time I come here I realize that I am not capable to ask. But may I ask what happens in those moments when the question arises so strongly that had you been nearby I would have asked it. Or if you had not replied, I would have caught hold of your beard or collar and asked, "what is truth, Osho?"

When you fall in love with a woman there is some truth -- if you have fallen absolutely unaware, if you have not 'done' it in any way, if you have not acted, managed, if you have not even thought about it. Suddenly you see a woman, you look into her eyes, she looks into your eyes, and something clicks. You are not the doer of it, you are simply possessed by it, you simply fall into it. It has nothing to do with you. Your ego is not involved, at least not in the very, very beginning, when love is virgin. In that moment there is truth, but there is no interpretation. That's why love remains indefinable. Soon the mind comes in, starts managing things, takes possession of you. You start thinking about the girl as your girlfriend, you start thinking of how to get married, you start thinking…
Read the full discourse →
Keep Exploring

Related Questions on Truth