Osho's perspective on Doubt
When Osho Spoke About Doubt
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Question: BELOVED MASTER, IS DOUBT REALLY OKAY? Doubt is the very foundation of all human growth. Belief is the poison -- doubt is the nectar. Doubt does not mean disbelief, because disbelief is again negative belief; it is not doubt. So don't get confused between doubt and disbelief. Doubt is simply the open mind, inquiring. Doubt means only a question mark. Doubt means, "I do not know, and I want to know, and I am ready to travel to the very end. But I will not accept any borrowed knowledge -- I want to know on my own." Yes, doubt is absolutely okay. Okay?
Beloved Osho, can you say something about doubt and negativity? What is the difference?
In Soviet Russia man has been reduced to a mechanism. You can kill -- nothing is killed, because there was nobody in the first place. It is just like a clock functioning. It moves, it shows you the time; that does not mean that there is somebody inside. You can take the clock apart and you will not find anything. I have heard.... Once Mulla Nasruddin's clock stopped. It was an old clock, and some day everything has to stop. He opened the clock and found there a fly, dead. He said, "Now I know the clock is dead -- this is the clock's soul!" He was just going to bury the clock in the garden when his wife caught hold of him. She said, "What are you doing? Have you gone mad? Clocks are not buried, graves are not made for them!" Nasruddin said, "Those people have never known…
Osho, I know for sure that my wife is utterly faithful to me, but still doubt goes on lingering somewhere inside me. What should I do to get rid of the doubt?
IN THE first place, why should you ask that she should be faithful to you? It is from there that doubt arises. The very desire that your wife should be faithful TO YOU is the beginning of doubt. Why? Who are you that she should be faithful to you? She should be faithful to herself, you should be faithful to yourself. That's what love is. If you love the woman, you would like her to be faithful to herself, because you would like her to be authentic. You would like her to be an individual in her own right. Why should you demand that she should be faithful to you? Who are you? -- just a stranger. YOU need not be faithful to her, you have to be faithful to yourself. This is my basic approach; it has to be understood well. Down the ages it has been said: be…
Question: First question: Osho, can doubt arise even in faith? ... Never. ... I wish you had asked, “Can faith arise in doubt? I would say, certainly. And how else will it arise? Man lives in doubt. Doubt is his natural condition. We are born in the night of doubt. We are searching for the dawn, looking for morning, waiting for the sun. Faith can arise in doubt—and let me add, only in doubt. Those who avoid doubt avoid faith. You have been taught very wrong things for centuries. You have been told, “Drop doubt. I say to you, doubt—doubt to your heart’s content; doubt totally. Do not leave even a grain, because whatever you leave will haunt you later. Better to settle it now. Doubt—why be afraid? Truth is so vast; doubt cannot destroy truth. If truth is, what can doubt do?
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi
कभी नहीं। काश तुमने पूछा होता क्या संदेह में श्रद्धा उठ सकती है? तो मैं कहता निश्चित। और तो उठेगी कैसे! संदेह में तो आदमी जीता ही है। संदेह तो उसकी सहज अवस्था है। संदेह तो स्वाभाविक है। संदेह की रात में ही हम पैदा हुए हैं। वहीं हमारा जन्म हुआ है। प्रभात की हम खोज कर रहे हैं। सुबह की हम तलाश कर रहे हैं। सूरज का हम इंतजार कर रहे हैं। संदेह में श्रद्धा उठ सकती है। और यह भी तुमसे कह दूं केवल संदेह में ही उठ सकती है। जो संदेह से बचे, वे श्रद्धा से बच गए। तुम्हें बड़ी गलत बातें सिखाई गई हैं सदियों से। तुम्हें कहा गया है संदेह छोड़ो। मैं तुमसे कहता हूं संदेह करो, जी भर कर करो, पूरा-पूरा करो। रत्ती भर भी मत छोड़ना क्योंकि जितना तुम छोड़ोगे उतना ही तुम्हें पीछे सताएगा। उससे पहले ही निपट लेना बेहतर है।
How can I be free of doubt?
practice
Don’t fight your doubts; keep questioning until only the sure feeling that you exist remains, and from that certainty real trust comes.
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Doubt everything until only “I am” feels certain, then quietly look inside with “Who am I?” and just watch—this opens you to the real truth (the divine) within.
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Is doubt really okay?
definition
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Doubt helps you look for the light, but once the inner light is on, you don’t need doubt or belief—you can see for yourself.
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Doubts are like covering your eyes while the teacher points—you must uncover them and look yourself.
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When you don’t fully understand, the mind doubts; stay present, stop overthinking, and as true understanding grows, the doubts melt and surrender happens on its own.
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Doubt means staying curious until you see for yourself; negativity means already saying no without looking.
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Keep asking questions until your mind grows quiet; in that quiet, real understanding appears.
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What is the true meaning of doubt?
definition
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What is the value of doubting everything?
definition
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Stop trying to own someone; be true to yourself and let them be free, and the worried thoughts fade.
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You keep doubting because your mind wears “doubt glasses”; take them off for a moment with trust, and you’ll see clearly.
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Profound Quotes on Doubt
Explore our structured collection of meaning-mapped quotes regarding Doubt.