Osho's perspective on Liberation
When Osho Spoke About Liberation
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Osho, why do the Jain scriptures say that women cannot attain liberation? The topic will shift a bit. There’s a small question. Since the topic will change, let’s do it briefly, then we’ll sit for meditation. The question is: Why do the Jain scriptures say that women cannot attain liberation (moksha)?
The reason is that the Jain scriptures were created out of a masculine mind. Jain sadhana is a masculine sadhana. Its whole process is aggressive, attacking. And so the Jain scripture cannot even conceive how a woman could attain moksha. If we ask a devotee of Krishna, he will be in great difficulty! He will say, how could anyone other than a woman attain liberation? How will a man be liberated? Because a Krishna devotee, even if he is a man, makes himself a woman and falls in love with Krishna. When Meera went to Vrindavan she was stopped from entering the temple, because the priest there would not look at women. When Meera was stopped she said, ask that priest one question: Is there any man other than Krishna? And being a priest of Krishna, are you still a man? Then the priest said, let her come. I have…
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…
Questioner: why do jaina scriptures say that there is no liberation for women?
This question will change the context of our discussion and therefore I would deal with it briefly and then we will sit for meditation. You ask why the Jaina scriptures say that women cannot attain to freedom. The reason is that Jaina scriptures are the handiwork of the male mind. The truth is, the whole of Jaina discipline is male-oriented, it is aggressive. Therefore Jaina scriptures cannot think how women, who represent passive energy can attain to liberation. But devotees of Krishna think otherwise. If you ask one of them about it he will immediately say women alone can attain to it, no one except them can. The male mind is simply incapable of reaching God, according to Krishna's philosophy. Even male devotees of Krishna turn into feminine minds so they can fall in love with Krishna. There is a beautiful anecdote in the life of Meera, the renowned devotee…
Osho, if in your presence a person has an inner experience but later cannot, what is that? Would you call it a direction toward liberation or dependence?
There can be two kinds of reasons. In fact there can be many, but broadly two will do. - One: he may only be imagining, not actually experiencing. Even for imagination my presence gives support. Alone, even imagining becomes difficult. Imagination too asks for props. So in my presence he will be able to imagine more easily, and it will be easier to mistake imagination for experience. At home, if the same kind of thing happened, he might suspect it is only imagination. - The other, less frequent, possibility: you did not imagine; you actually took a leap. For a moment you jumped two feet off the ground; you lifted your head and saw a little higher. Then you fell back to the ground. That is possible too. Both can be useful. Even imagination is an indicator that you want to imagine—really, that you want to experience; that is why…
"The world is a mirage born from misinterpretation, while liberation is the profound truth that reveals the wonder of existence beyond illusion."
"Liberation is not the opposite of the world; it is the absence of all wheels, where craving ceases and your true nature is finally recognized."
"Liberation cannot be achieved unconsciously; it blossoms only in the garden of awareness, where letting go becomes the path to true freedom."
"Consciousness must journey through the world, for it is the inevitable corridor that leads to liberation. There is no leap from dormancy to enlightenment; awakening requires the experience of life."
"Liberation is not a feeling to be deepened; it is the recognition of your true nature, revealed when desire and self-fabrication dissolve into simply being."
"Liberation is not an achievement but an unveiling of what you already are; when you drop the grasping and rest in suchness, freedom reveals itself."
"In liberation, the illusion of a separate self dissolves, revealing that what we call 'personality' is merely a transient construct of the unliberated mind. True freedom is the realization of pure, impersonal consciousness, unbound by identity or limitation."
"Liberated souls transcend the mechanical cycles of nigod, for true awakening shatters the illusion of return, leading to a freedom that exists beyond all laws and limitations."
"True liberation comes not from a last-minute chant, but from a lifetime of devotion that allows the name of Rama to arise naturally in the final moment."
From what does bondage result?
definition"Bondage arises from the dual forces of doubt and ego, which fracture your being and imprison your consciousness; true freedom is found when trust replaces doubt and humility dissolves the walls of self-importance."
"Patanjali's practice is not about reconditioning the mind, but about unconditioning it—untangling the knots of attachment and expectation to restore your original, unknotted consciousness."
"Liberation begins the moment you honestly acknowledge your helplessness; in that humility, the ego's defenses crumble, inviting grace and the awakening of true consciousness."
"Liberation is not possible while duality persists; true freedom arises only when the lover and the beloved dissolve into the oneness of pure being."
"Liberation is not about dissolving the Beloved, but about dissolving the 'I'; in true devotion, the devotee disappears, leaving only the essence of love."
"Liberation is not a desire to be achieved; it is the flowering of reality when all seeking ceases and you rest in the present."
"True inner experiences with a teacher leave a mark on your being; if nothing has changed within you, it was merely imagination, not realization."
"Only the bound return; the liberated do not, for freedom expands endlessly, leaving no basis for rebirth."
"Moksha is not a distant prize to attain; it is your very nature waiting to be remembered, and even in laziness and fear, liberation unfolds through the simple act of mindful remembrance."
"Liberation is not a destination; it is the moment you drop your secondhand knowledge and awaken to the childlike innocence within, where barriers dissolve and grace finds you."
What happens when a person has an inner experience in a group but cannot replicate it alone later?
outcome"Don't chase the repetition of a fleeting experience; instead, cultivate awareness daily until the fragrance of your being becomes an independent climate."
"Desiring rebirth instead of liberation keeps you trapped in the cycle of existence, for true freedom can only be found in the courageous longing to break free from hope and the illusion of a better tomorrow."
What is men's liberation?
definition"Men's liberation lies in the renunciation of control; only by dropping the urge to dominate can one truly experience freedom and love."
"Liberation is not the escape from life, but the return to your own being, where stillness reveals the spontaneous joy of existence and the indivisible oneness we call God."
"To be truly liberated is to become a hollow flute, allowing the Divine to play through you, embodying both the earthly and the transcendent without attachment to a fixed self."
"Human liberation is found in the inward science of meditation; in the stillness where even 'I am' dissolves, grace descends and the whole becomes present."
Profound Quotes on Liberation
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