According to Osho, when two true masters criticize each other, a disciple should neither judge nor take sides; simply follow the one who resonates with your heart and verify through your own experience. Such clashes are useful—they shake off 'unbaked pots' and strengthen those joined by the heart. If your trust is real, criticism won’t disturb you; it will deepen clarity and commitment.
If two wise teachers argue, don’t get upset—follow the one your heart trusts and keep learning from your own steps.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, if two true masters criticize and condemn each other, what should the disciples understand?
If you are a disciple, you will choose what resonates with your heart and move on. You will not bother about who criticized whom. Nor will you oppose the one who criticized. Who are you to judge! A disciple, and he decides who is a true master and who is not? The very idea is foolishness. It is like a blind man deciding who can see and who cannot. How will the blind judge who sees? The blind need only know: “I cannot see.” Having found a friend, take his hand and walk. Then, through your own experience, see: walking with this person, do I fall into pits? Walking with him, do I keep bumping into things? Walking with him, do I end up breaking my hands and feet? If your experience shows otherwise, then to think, “This man must have eyes,” is at first only an inference. But that…
Beloved Osho, I don't understand why enlightened masters are critical of each other. Are they not all working towards the higher good? Are they not different flavors of the same truth?
"My wife, Bridget," Sean confided to Paddy, "is an angel." "You are lucky," said Paddy, "my wife Maureen is still alive." Hymie Goldberg was having his first session with the psychoanalyst. "Do you cheat on your wife?" asked the shrink. "My God," said Hymie, "who else could I cheat on?" A Californian psychiatrist was driving along in his car, when he saw a man lying on the sidewalk. He stopped his car and got out. It turned out the man had been mugged and left for dead. "Quick," said the shrink, "tell me who did this to you; he needs help immediately!" An Indian businessman who had made millions after a childhood of poverty was on his deathbed giving advice to his son. "Listen, son," he said, "I owe my success to two principles -- honesty and wisdom. Honesty is if you promise to deliver some goods, no matter what…
Osho, sometimes a great revolt flares up in my mind against you, and here and there I even end up making little criticisms of you. It is said that one who maligns the guru finds no refuge anywhere. What should I do?
Good. Let it flare up. Only a dead disciple never rebels. Rebellion is energy; if you repress it, it becomes poison, if you watch it, it becomes fuel for awareness. Remember, your criticism cannot harm me; it can only cloud you. When you throw mud at the sky, the sky is not stained—only your hands are. Do not be frightened by old sayings. “Whoever maligns the guru finds no place” was invented by priests to protect their thrones. A living master does not need your fear; he invites your intelligence. If your trust cannot pass through the fire of doubt, it is not trust—it is decoration borrowed from others. I do not ask you to stop your rebellion; I ask you to bring it into the light. Two things to remember: - Do not gossip. Gossip is the coward’s rebellion. If something burns in you about me, bring it to…
Osho, if a surrendered disciple quietly, on the sly, goes to listen to another enlightened one, is that merely curiosity, disobedience, or a search for something more?
You can find it with Buddha, with Mahavira, with Krishna, with Christ. Thousands of lamps have been lit; in all lamps there is the same light. But the blind will not find it in any. And the blind man’s ego is not willing to admit that there is some defect in his eyes; that is why he cannot see. The ego says: this lamp must not have light; look for another lamp. This well has no water; search for another well. And the thought that my own throat does not know how to drink—the ego will not accept. Ego never takes the fault upon itself. So, Krishna Mohammad, they are to be pitied! Those who wander like this will not gain anything by wandering. At most they may collect some rubbish, a few bits of information. And those bits of information will become further obstacles on the path of wisdom.…
Beloved Osho, when does the disciple's freedom become his master's condemnation?
How can one even think to do something, in the name of freedom, against his own master? The master is his freedom, and if something is going against the master, that is not freedom. You are going against yourself and against freedom. It may appear on the surface that you are acting on your own, but you will harm yourself. If you think harming yourself is your freedom, destroying the work that the master has been doing on your eyes... if you think it is your freedom to destroy the glasses that have been provided to you, then you are behaving in an absolutely idiotic way. To find the master is a blessing, and to dissolve oneself into the master is the most delicious experience experience of freedom and joy, a kind of unburdening of all the unnecessary load, an experience of lightness and laughter.... But it is very difficult…