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Osho on Karma

Karma

In the dance of karma, where pleasure and pain, gain and loss, intertwine as mere illusions, one finds true equanimity; by relinquishing the delusions of doership and salvation, we embrace total acceptance, dissolving sin and virtue into the bliss of the present moment.

Osho's perspective on Karma

When Osho Spoke About Karma

Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.

Jin Sutra · Discourse 35Question 1 1976-07-13 Pune Translated from Hindi by Osho Live

Osho, you say the same thing in countless ways. But when I listen to you, it feels as if I am hearing it for the first time. And I feel so much joy that I don’t feel like going back home. What should I do—what can I do—so that I can just keep listening to you!

You will feel as if you have been made to rise out of season, before time—as if you were not yet to go and yet had to go. And if you go in that way, your home will become even more desolate than before. I do not want to make your home desolate; I want to make your home a temple. I want that when you go home, your home’s new form is revealed. I do not want to tear you away from home, from the world, from family life. That is the newness of my sannyas: I do not want to sever you from the world; I want to join you to the world in such a way that your connection with the world becomes a connection with the Divine. Let the world no longer be a barrier between you and the Divine; let it become a means. If…
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

पहला प्रश्न: ओशो, आप एक ही बात कहते हैं अनेक-अनेक ढंगों से। पर जब आपको सुनता हूं तो उस समय यही लगता है कि पहली बार सुन रहा हूं। और इतना आनंद मिलता है कि वापस घर लौटकर जाने का जी नहीं करता। क्या करूं, मैं क्या करूं कि आपको सुनता ही रहूं!

… ऐसा लगेगा जैसे अभी जाना न था और जाना पड़ा। और अगर ऐसे तुम गये, तो घर और भी उदास हो जाएगा। जितना पहले था, उससे भी ज्यादा। मैं तुम्हारे घर को उदास नहीं करना चाहता। मैं तुम्हारे घर को मंदिर बनाना चाहता हूं। मैं चाहता हूं कि तुम जब घर जाओ, तो तुम्हारे घर का अभिनवरूप प्रकट हो। मैं तुम्हें घर से, संसार से, गृहस्थी से तोड़ नहीं लेना चाहता। वही मेरे संन्यास का अभिनवपन है कि मैं तुम्हें संसार सेे तोड़ नहीं लेना चाहता। …

Mahaveer Meri Drishti Mein · Discourse 13Question 2 1969-09-23 Translated from Hindi by Osho Live

Osho, Mahipal-ji asks about karma: this evolution that is happening—the animals and birds moving toward the human realm—is it simply the result of a spontaneous, automatic evolution that runs by itself, or does their conscious effort also participate in it?

As I said: when a new consciousness develops, new bodies must be assumed. When a conscious society’s numbers increase, new planets and satellites must be colonized. Scientists cannot explain how life first appeared on Earth; they can describe evolution, but evolution presupposes something that evolves. Where did life come from? If the fish became human, where did the fish come from? If plant became fish, where did life enter the plant? Life must come from somewhere. Similarly, when a mother becomes fit to conceive, a soul enters her. When a planet or satellite becomes fit for life, life migrates there from other planets. The first germs always transmigrate; there is no other way. From another planet—perhaps one where life is nearing its end—the seed comes. You also asked whether the efforts of Buddhas and Mahaviras—or I, or anyone—ever actually help beings to evolve. It has happened many times. Our view…
ओशो के मूल हिंदी शब्द · Osho's original Hindi

प्रश्न: ओशो, कर्म के संबंध में महीपाल जी पूछते हैं कि यह जो विकास हो रहा है, पशु-पक्षी हैं, मनुष्य योनि तक आ रहे हैं, यह सहज विकास का ही परिणाम है ऑटोमैटिक, अपने आप चल रहा जो विकास है, या कि उनकी सचेत चेष्टा भी इसमें सहयोगी है?

जैसा मैंने कहा कि जब नई चेतना विकसित होती है, तो नये शरीर ग्रहण करने पड़ते हैं। जब एक चेतन समाज की संख्या बढ़ती है, तो नये ग्रह-उपग्रह बसाने पड़ते हैं। पहला जीवन भी जो इस पृथ्वी पर आया है, वह भी वैज्ञानिक नहीं बता पाते कि कैसे आ गया। वैज्ञानिक विकास बता पाते हैं, लेकिन विकास तो किसी चीज का होता है, जो हो। विकास तो बाद की बात है। जीवन आया कहां से? जीवन आ कैसे गया? विकास तो ठीक है कि मछली आदमी बन गई। लेकिन मछली, वह प्राण कहां से आया? कि कोई कहे पौधा मछली बन गया, तो पौधे में वह प्राण कहां से आया? यानी प्राण को कहीं न कहीं से आने की जरूरत है। और इसलिए मैं आपसे कहना चाहता हूं दूसरी बात, और वह यह कि जब एक मां गर्भ के योग्य होती है, तो एक आत्मा उसमें प्रवेश करती है। जब एक पृथ्वी या एक उपग्रह जीवन के योग्य हो जाता है, तो दूसरे ग्रहों-उपग्रहों से जीवन वहां प्रवेश करता है। और कोई उपाय नहीं है। यानी जो पहला जीवाणु है, वह सदा ट्रांस-माइग्रेट करता है। उसके सिवा कोई उपाय नहीं है। …

Beloved master, why is it that sincere, gentle and kindhearted men are suffering and neglected? Why is it that the cunning, the cheap and the evil are flourishing and respectable? Is it the result of their past life karma, prarabdha?

There is no need to believe in prarabdha, in fate. There is no need to believe that people are suffering because of their past evil acts, karma. The reality is that the good people, the nice people, the virtuous people are bound to suffer. You cannot have everything in life. If you have goodness, enjoy it; if you have virtue, enjoy it; if you have a niceness, enjoy it. Why should you be jealous of the cunning people becoming prime ministers, of the evil people becoming rich? The evil people are bound to win in the race with the good people if the race is for money, if the race is for power, prestige, respectability. But if the race is for inner silence, peace, calm, coolness, silence, meditation, godliness, then the evil people will not get anything, anywhere. I don't see any problem at all. If you had asked this…

What is the law of karma?

It is not in fact a law, because there is nobody behind it as a lawgiver. On the contrary, it is intrinsic to existence itself. It is the very nature of life: whatsoever you sow, you reap.But it is complex, it is not so simple, it is not so obvious. To make it more clear, try to understand it in a psychological way, because the modern mind can understand only if something is explained in a psychological way. In the past, when the law of karma was talked about -- when Buddha talked about it and Mahavira talked about it -- they had used physiological, physical analogies. Man has gone far away from that, man has moved far away from that. Now man lives more in the psychological, so this will be helpful. Every crime against one's own nature, every one, without exception, records itself in our unconscious -- what…
If you can accept everything without complaint, do so; if not, meditate to step outside the karma game and just watch.
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Listening to the Gita isn't your achievement; it's a gift—let go of pride and just receive.
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When you stop feeling like the doer, whatever happens through you is just play—not something to count as good or bad.
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Good deeds don’t erase bad ones; every action brings its own result, and you must face it.
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Karma only sticks because you think the dream is real; when you wake up and know you’re the watcher, it can’t touch you.
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A sage shines like the sun for no reason, but we live in cause-and-effect, so meeting him isn’t random—it’s the next step in our story.
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Your happiness isn’t fixed by past lives; it comes from what you and your society do now, so change your actions and the system to change your life.
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Pushing feelings down is still an action that sticks to you; noticing them and letting them pass sets you free.
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Evolution isn’t a conveyor belt; even animals choose a little, and by the time we’re human, our growth happens mostly when we choose it.
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Even if a god offers help, it only shows that support appears when you truly stand alone—still, you must not take it, because this journey has to be done by yourself.
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What you do makes you feel good or bad right away—no waiting until later.
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What you do plants seeds that later become your experiences; if you act with awareness and without clinging to results, you stop making sticky seeds and become free.
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If you don’t notice the divine when it comes, you stay stuck and sad until you soften and open.
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Sitting near a lit candle can light your own; if you open and sit quietly, old knots melt, but if you close off, you tie new knots.
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Whatever you’re born with isn’t random; it’s a chance to grow wiser and more aware.
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Your next life doesn’t carry rewards or punishments, but it keeps the grooves of habit that make you repeat things unless you make a new path.
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It’s not destiny messing up love; it’s our own habits and hopes—notice them and accept people as they are to stop getting hurt.
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What’s happening to you now grew from what you did before—use it wisely so you don’t plant more problems.
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Like a hot fire, clear awareness makes you bravely face your mistakes now, so the hurt finishes quickly instead of lasting for ages.
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Karma sticks when you act on autopilot; make life a conscious sannyas and your actions won’t leave chains.
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Karma means your actions write themselves inside you: being true to yourself opens you and connects you, while going against yourself makes you feel guilty and closed, shaping how your life goes.
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We’re all connected, so whatever kindness or harm you send out comes back to you, usually stronger.
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We start life differently because our past-made habits set our starting kit—not just money, but qualities like health, smarts, and how we spend or share.
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When you act wide awake inside, nothing sticky builds up; when you act half-asleep, trouble is built in.
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Karma sticks when you act asleep; wake up fully or let God drive completely, and nothing sticks.
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Profound Quotes on Karma

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