Osho's perspective on Belief
When Osho Spoke About Belief
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Question: The last question: Osho, can a devotee live only by the support of belief? Belief is a hollow thing, a false thing. A devotee lives by love, not by belief. Belief is needed by those in whose lives love is absent. In a devotee, love wells up on seeing existence. Seeing green trees, the desire to embrace them arises. Hearing music, there is a longing to become musical. Seeing the stars, one feels like dancing with them. In a devotee, love toward existence has awakened. A devotee has no need of belief. In a devotee, trust has arisen. And there is a great difference between trust and belief. Belief belongs to the head, trust belongs to the heart. Belief is of doctrine. If you are born in a Hindu home, your beliefs are Hindu; that does not make you a devotee.
Osho, why is it that the moment we cling to some belief—whether theism or atheism—the mind feels so reassured? Why does it seem almost impossible for it to stand in the middle, dropping both?
There is no greater courage than to stand in existence without conclusions. By “without conclusions” I mean: no belief, no superstition. It means: we will see existence as it is, without bringing our notions in between. We will neither say “God is” nor “God is not.” We will neither say “the soul is” nor “the soul is not.” We will inquire. But inquiry is hard. Inquiry means you must pay a price. Who wants that bother? So we borrow beliefs on credit. We say, Mahavira knew, Buddha knew, Krishna knew—why should we get into the mess? We’ll cling to them, hold their feet, and pass through. That is not faith; it is only weakness. And the weak do not move. It is not trust to think we can walk to freedom by holding Buddha’s feet. If you have no trust in yourself, how will you trust Buddha? No real trust…
I believe in god, and it is not out of fear. Why do you say that all belief is out of fear?
Then why do you believe? You don't know. If you know, there is no need to believe. All belief is out of ignorance Belief MEANS ignorance. Buddha knows, he does not believe. I know, I don't believe at all. But why do you believe? From where comes your belief? It is not coming from your experience -- then from where is it coming? It can come only from two sources, which are basically the same source -- either fear or greed. Either you are afraid or you are greedy. And these are the two aspects of the same coin, fear and greed. Greed is out of fear, and out of greed more fear arises. They go together. So either you are afraid of hell or you are greedy for heaven. Otherwise why do you believe in God? How can you believe in God? Your very belief simply says that alone…
I have been surrounded since my childhood by people who wanted me to believe in god and to follow his commandments. Why are the god believers always trying to convert others?
Mahatma Gandhi interpreted them -- I don't agree with his interpretation. He interpreted that the monkey who is holding his hands on the ears says, "Don't listen to anything evil." And the monkey who is holding his hands on the eyes says, "Don't see anything evil." And the third monkey who has his hands on the mouth is indicating, "Don't say anything evil." Now, you can understand why the fourth monkey has been dropped -- in fact he should not have been dropped if Gandhi had really been a man of truth. The fourth monkey is the logical conclusion: "Hide the origin of all evil." But this is not my interpretation. Knowing the people, and knowing that Charles Darwin has this great idea that man has come from monkeys -- and there is every possibility, because your mind still functions like a monkey. My interpretation, when I went to see…
"True devotion is not built on belief, but on the living experience of love and trust that flows from the heart, transcending all doctrines and labels."
"Real transformation occurs not by rearranging the surface of your personality, but by allowing the ocean of your being to change, for true peace cannot be manufactured through thought or belief."
Do you teach disbelief?
definition"Disbelief is not cynicism; it is the cleansing of the mind that allows you to see reality directly, beyond borrowed certainties and secondhand truths."
"Belief is merely a lens that colors perception; true divinity is revealed through direct awareness, where even a stone transforms into the Divine."
"Doubt everything, even your doubt, and in that pure skepticism, a fresh faith will blossom, untainted by the illusions of certainty."
"The awakened can be found beyond the boundaries of tradition; true recognition demands an inner transformation, not mere adherence to the past."
"True belief is born not from borrowed creeds, but from the honest disillusionment that arises when we see the futility of worldly pursuits."
"Only a conscious, total yes or a conscious, total no can shatter the chains of belief and disbelief, inviting the risk of true transformation and inner revolution."
"Belief without understanding is like a fragile facade; only direct realization can withstand the storms of life."
What is the concept of Gnostic belief?
definition"Gnosis is not a belief but the profound knowing that arises from direct experience; true seekers embrace doubt, allowing it to transform into insight."
"Belief is a comforting illusion, a mental projection; true awareness emerges only when all beliefs dissolve, revealing the silent truth of your inner nature."
"Belief is a borrowed consolation, while truth is discovered in your own silent awareness; let direct experience, not opinion, reveal what is real."
"True connection transcends belief; it blossoms from the silence of individuality, where the dewdrop of 'I' merges into the ocean of universal consciousness."
"Belief is a veil that obscures the inherent truth; only through radical honesty and the courage to say 'I do not know' can we dissolve the barriers and reveal what truly is."
"Belief is a crutch for the ignorant; true understanding arises not from faith, but from direct experience and inquiry."
"Belief is a crutch for the ordinary; in the search for God, only direct experience can lead you to the divine."
"Belief is a crutch for the ignorant; true knowledge transcends both belief and disbelief, revealing the essence of existence."
"Believers in God often seek to convert others not out of certainty, but to drown their own doubts in the numbers of the crowd; true understanding stands alone, needing no validation from followers."
"The mind clings to beliefs for comfort, but true clarity and trust emerge only in the vast emptiness of not knowing."
"Belief is a shadow of fear, a substitute for knowing that arises from ignorance and insecurity; when fear dissolves, so does belief, revealing the direct experience of truth."
Why is belief condemned?
definition"Belief is a barrier to God, a substitute for true understanding; drop it and embrace your ignorance, for in that authenticity, direct knowing unfolds."
Will belief still remain?
outcome"Belief is a crutch for the ignorant; when truth is directly known, belief dissolves into the clarity of understanding."
Profound Quotes on Belief
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