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Osho on Devotion

Devotion

In the essence of devotion, the true seeker yearns not for merit, knowledge, or heaven, but for a profound union with the Divine, dissolving the self like a river merging into the ocean, where the only fulfillment lies in becoming utterly saturated with the Beloved.

Osho's perspective on Devotion

When Osho Spoke About Devotion

Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.

Bhakti Sutra · Discourse 12Question 1 1976-03-12 Pune Translated from Hindi by Osho Live

Osho, is there an inner harmony between “God,” “devotion,” and “bhog” (divine enjoyment)?

How could you even be without being joined to the Divine? Not for a moment, not for a single instant. If He breathes in you, breath goes on. If He shines as the sun, your body is warmed. If He moves as the winds, you receive life. If He comes as rain, your thirst is quenched. If He appears as food, you gain strength. Only when He comes in a thousand forms do you live at all. Severed from Him for even a moment, life ends. The very name of being joined to Him is “life.” Therefore the devotee says: there has been no breaking—talk of joining is mistaken. We are joined; now simply enjoy. The devotee says: you are joined and yet you do not enjoy—how insane! What are you waiting for? The celebration is already prepared. Everything is all-ready—how can you sit there sad? For whom are you…
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

पहला प्रश्न: ओशो, ‘भगवान’ ‘भक्ति’ और ‘भोग’ में क्या कुछ आंतरिक तारतम्य है?

तुम हो कैसे सकते हो बिना परमात्मा से जुड़े हुए? एक क्षण को भी न हो सकोगे, एक पल को भी न हो सकोगे। वही श्वास लेगा तो श्वास चलेगी। वही सूरज बन कर चमकेगा तो शरीर को उत्ताप मिलेगा। वही हवाओं में आएगा तो प्राण मिलेगा। वही वर्षा में आएगा तो प्यास बुझेगी। वही भोजन में आएगा तो शक्ति मिलेगी। वही हजार-हजार रूपों में आएगा तो ही तुम जी सकोगे। एक क्षण को भी उससे टूटे कि जीना समाप्त हुआ। उससे जुड़े होने का नाम ही तो जीवन है। इसलिए भक्त कहता है: टूटना तो हुआ ही नहीं, जोड़ने की बात ही गलत है। भक्त कहता है: जुड़े हैं, अब बस भोगना है। भक्त कहता है: तुम जुड़े हो और भोग नहीं रहे--कैसे पागल हो! किस बात की प्रतीक्षा कर रहे हो? उत्सव की पूरी तैयारी हो चुकी है। सब पूरा-पूरा तैयार है, तुम बैठे कैसे हो उदास? तुम राह किसकी देखते हो? जिसकी तुम राह देखते थे वह आ ही चुका है। वह तुम्हारे भीतर ही निनादित है। तुम किसे पुकार रहे हो? जिसने पुकारा है, वही तो तुम्हारी पुकार है। तुम किसे खोजने चले हो? …

Kahe Vajid Pukar · Discourse 8Question 5 1979-09-19 Pune Translated from Hindi by Osho Live

Osho, what does a devotee truly desire—merit, or knowledge, or heaven?

Its falling from the eye gives such pain, for in it the whole world of love was housed. Only the devotee knows the value of a tear—only the devotee knows it fully! Lovers get a little hint; the devotee knows through and through. No, the devotee has no use for merit, nor for knowledge, nor for heaven. The devotee asks: Give me weeping. Give me longing. Let me weep for You. Let me ache; give me the pain of separation. Give me thirst. Kindle my thirst. Make me white-hot. Why am I so enamored of the garden? Listen to me: Someone’s radiance has come and hidden itself in the rose. The whole creation has poured into the heart’s reflecting cup; What grain is there that does not hold what the sun contains? There was light in the world of faith and trust; Darkness is all I found in questions and…
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

तीसरा प्रश्न: ओशो, भक्त की चाह क्या है--पुण्य, या ज्ञान, या स्वर्ग?

उस आंसू का आंख से गिर जाना बड़ी पीड़ा दे जाता है, क्योंकि उसी आंसू में तो सारे प्रेम का संसार बसा था। भक्त जानता है आंसू का मूल्य--केवल भक्त ही जानता है! प्रेमियों को थोड़ी-थोड़ी खबर मिलती है, भक्त को पूरा-पूरा अनुभव होता है। नहीं, भक्त को कोई प्रयोजन नहीं है पुण्य से, न ज्ञान से, न स्वर्ग से। भक्त मांगता है: मुझे रुदन दो। मुझे विरह दो। मैं रोऊं तुम्हारे लिए। मैं तड़पूं, मुझे तड़पन दो। मुझे प्यास दो। जलाओ मेरी प्यास को। मुझे उत्तप्त करो। गुलशन परस्त क्यों हूं, मेरी बात तो सुनो, जलवा किसी का आके छुपा है गुलाब में। कुल कायनात आई दिले अक्सयाब में, जर्रे में क्या नहीं है जो है आफताब में। दुनियाए-एतकादो-यकीं में थी रौशनी, तारीकियां मिली हैं सवालो-जवाब में।

Athato Bhakti Jigyasa · Discourse 8Question 4 1978-01-18 Pune Translated from Hindi by Osho Live
Question: Third question: Osho, does a devotee ever quarrel with God? Only the devotee quarrels! Who else would? Only the devotee can quarrel! Who else has such strength? A devotee knows no fear. Where is there fear in love? That is why I say: Tulsidas’s statement is wrong when he said, “Without fear there is no love.” Tulsidas did not know love. Where there is fear, how can there be love? And whatever arises out of fear will be something else—it is not love. Someone stands over you with a stick and says, “Love me!” You will obey because you see the stick—otherwise he’ll crack your skull. A mother says to her son, “Love me, I am your mother! Otherwise I won’t give you milk; you will starve.” The son thinks, “I’ll have to love.” This “love” is born of fear. A father says, “Love me, I am your father!
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

… कोई डंडा लेकर खड़ा है और तुमसे कहता है, प्रेम करो मुझे! करोगे तुम, क्योंकि डंडा देख रहे हो, नहीं तो सिर खोल देगा। मां बेटे से कह रही है कि मुझे प्रेम करो, मैं तेरी मां हूं! और नहीं तो दूध नहीं दूंगी, भूखा मर जाएगा। बेटा भी सोचता है कि प्रेम करना पड़ेगा। यह प्रीति तो भय से हो रही है। बाप कहता है, मुझे प्रेम करो, मैं पिता हूं तुम्हारा! इस जगत में तुम्हारी जो प्रीतियां हैं, वे भय से ही हो रही हैं। तुलसीदास उस संबंध में सच हैं। लेकिन ये प्रीतियां कहां हैं? ये तो पाखंड हैं। ये तो थोथी बातें हैं, जबर्दस्ती ओढ़ ली हैं। इनमें सत्य नहीं है, प्रामाणिकता नहीं है। असली प्रीति भय से नहीं होती। और जहां प्रीति होती है, वहां भय नहीं होता। …

Krishna Smriti · Discourse 20Question 3 1970-10-05 Bombay Translated from Hindi by Osho Live

Osho, what are the similarities and differences between the sthitaprajna and the devotee? This too was in the earlier part of the question.

What is the difference or similarity between the sthitaprajna and the devotee? Sthitaprajna means one who is no longer a devotee—he has become God. Devotee means one who is on the journey toward becoming God. The devotee is on the path; the sthitaprajna has arrived. The path is the same; the arrival is the same. But “sthitaprajna” is the name for one who has reached the destination, and “devotee” is the name for the traveler who is still moving. There must be similarity, because the path and the goal are connected—otherwise how would the path reach the goal? There must be similarity, because the goal is simply the completion of the path. Where the path is complete, the destination appears. There must be similarity, because the one on the path is, in a sense, already at the destination—only a little distance remains, that’s all. It’s a matter of distance. The…
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

ओशो, स्थितप्रज्ञ और भक्त में क्या समानता है और क्या भिन्नता है, यह भी प्रश्र्न के पिछले अंश में था।

स्थितप्रज्ञ और भक्त में क्या भेद या समानता है? स्थितप्रज्ञ का अर्थ है, जो अब भक्त नहीं रहा, भगवान हो गया। भक्त का अर्थ है, जो भगवान होने की यात्रा पर है। भक्त रास्ते में है, स्थितप्रज्ञ पहुंच गया है। रास्ता वही है, पहुंचना वहीं है। लेकिन यह मुकाम पर पहुंचे हुए आदमी का नाम है, स्थितप्रज्ञ। और भक्त यात्री का नाम है जो चल रहा है। समानता होगी ही, क्योंकि रास्ता और मंजिल जुड़े होते हैं। अन्यथा रास्ता मंजिल तक कैसे पहुंचेगा? समानता होगी ही, क्योंकि मंजिल सिर्फ रास्ते की पूर्णता है। जहां रास्ता पूरा हो जाता है, वहां मंजिल आ जाती है। …

Prayer uses words to reach God, and when those words fade into deep, loving silence, that’s devotion.
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Devotion isn’t about doing things; it’s about letting go of ‘me’ so love can come in.
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Real devotion is a free, joyful love that helps you stand tall; dependence is when someone cages you.
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Thinkers and strict practitioners don’t usually see love as helping them, but love can hold and help them both.
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Yes—when you really love God, you can cry, complain, and argue, and it still counts as prayer because it comes from deep longing.
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Devotion and meditation start when you feel happily complete by yourself, not lonely and needy.
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When you feel jittery, aim all that energy at loving and remembering God, and hand your jitters over to Him.
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You don’t have to make God like you; just relax, be humble and grateful, and let your honest love be.
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Begin at home, then travel in tiny teams with simple materials during free time to nearby places, share recordings and books, and hold small camps.
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When thinking has worn us out and proved empty, our heart opens by itself—so devotion doesn’t need blind faith, just the failure of intellect.
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See yourself as the soul (not just body or mind), let love mature, and devotion naturally appears.
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Stop pretending, let go of selfishness, give yourself completely, and you will feel that you are love; that feeling is devotion.
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If you truly give everything to God, you stop keeping score of good and bad and let grace handle the results.
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It hurts and feels good at the same time—like missing someone you love because you know they’re on the way.
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Real devotion counts only when you discover it inside yourself through meditation, not by copying books, priests, or saints.
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Don’t worry about which path is best—live like life is a joyful party, not homework, and even chores feel like play.
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When you stop trying to control and give your whole heart to the Divine, a natural, deep joy shows you were never separate.
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Devotion isn’t pretend—it’s the heart’s way of knowing truth, like a loving dream that can guide you to the divine.
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Krishna wasn’t devoted to a separate god; his loving devotion made the whole world—and himself—shine as God.
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It’s like one person still walking to the city and another who has already reached and lives there; the road is the same, but one is traveling and the other is home.
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If your way is devotion, pour your whole heart into it and don’t worry about Buddha’s watchfulness—your love will ripen into clarity on its own.
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Calling the natural ‘scientific’ means it follows life’s built-in law in body and heart, so loving, un-opposed living is truer than running away.
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A real devotee doesn’t want rewards, cleverness, or paradise—only to melt so completely into God that nothing of “me” is left.
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Devotion makes you humble so your heart can really see, you may cry from joy, and it stays peaceful if you don’t overthink it.
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When your whole heart longs for the Beloved, you become watchful and focused, and finally notice the Divine that was always here.
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Profound Quotes on Devotion

Explore our structured collection of meaning-mapped quotes regarding Devotion.