Osho's perspective on Renunciation
When Osho Spoke About Renunciation
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Question: Third question: Osho, is renunciation a big thing or a small one? It depends on the person. If you renounce with understanding, it’s a very small matter. If you renounce out of unawareness, then it is a big thing—a very big thing. Understanding means you have seen that wealth has no real value. Then renunciation is a tiny thing. It was trash—you dropped it; so what did you really leave? You won’t sing its praises, won’t have others praise you, won’t hanker for it. You won’t go around saying, “I gave up millions.” There was nothing there; you saw it, so you let it go. It was refuse—you discarded it; pebbles and stones—you dropped them.
Beloved master, is renouncing the world and society part of a rebellious spirit?
As far as the world is concerned... and the world and the society are not the same thing. In the past, the so-called religious people have renounced the society and the world, both. The rebel will fight against the society, renounce its ideals, and he will love the world -- because the world, the existence, is our very source of life. To renounce it is to be anti-life. But all religions have been anti-life, life-negative. The rebel should be life-affirmative. He will bring in all those values which make the world more beautiful, more lovable, which make the world more rich. It is our world -- we are part of it, it is part of us -- how can we renounce it? Where can we go to renounce it? The world is in the Himalayan cave as much as it is here in the marketplace. The world has to be…
Osho, you support the Upanishadic utterance “tena tyaktena bhunjīthāh”—first enjoyment, then renunciation. If one has to renounce anyway, why enjoy? Why bring in enjoyment at all?
But if you get hasty, half-baked, and say, “If one has to renounce, why enjoy?”—then how did it occur to you that you “have to” renounce? The thorn has not pricked you, so why think of removing it? You must have heard the words of one whose foot was pierced by a thorn—one who knew the pain, removed it, and knew the relief—some awakened one. You heard a Paltu, a Kabir, a Nanak, and borrowed their words. The thorn had pricked them, so there was pain; they removed it and found ease. You have not been pricked and you begin to remove a thorn that is not there—what will you remove? You will deceive yourself that there must be a thorn! A sick man takes medicine and becomes well; you, hearing of a sick man’s recovery, buy the medicine—being healthy, you will become ill. And this is what happened here.…
Osho, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa kept constantly warning his renunciates to stay away from kamini and kanchan. You tell your sannyasins to live the world intensely. What is the reason for this difference?
So I speak the language of Tantra—but the result is the same. Ramakrishna says: stay away from woman and gold. I say: you will become free of woman and gold—by entering the world rightly. The words differ; only the manner of saying is different. The truth is one. It happened that two men were fighting by the roadside. One had a big stick, the other a long knife. Both were ready to kill, and many people were trying to pacify them: “Brother, don’t fight. What’s the use? You have children; he has a wife and home; you have old parents. What are you doing? If someone dies, then what?” A big crowd tried to explain, but the more they explained, the more the fighters’ fury rose. In fact, if the crowd did not interfere, the fury might subside. But when a crowd comes to persuade, the fury never subsides. If…
Can the word 'indulgence' be misleading?
definition"Indulgence can mislead, but if one must err, let it be in indulgence, for through experience we learn and grow, transforming excess into clarity and effortless renunciation."
"True renunciation is not about giving up; it is the effortless dropping of the lower when the higher is revealed, transforming loss into profound gain."
"Falling is not failure but a testament to your courage in striving for the heights; it is the settled who truly lose by never daring to climb."
"True renunciation arises not from avoidance, but from the deep understanding of the world's darkness; only by tasting sin can one truly appreciate the sweetness of freedom."
"True rebellion is not in renouncing the world, but in embracing it with awareness, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth."
Is renunciation a big thing or a small one?
definition"Renunciation is not about sacrifice; it is the effortless act of dropping what is valueless when you truly see it for what it is."
"True renunciation is not about abandoning home or family, but about shedding the attachments of craving and unconsciousness that bind us. When understanding arises, what is unnecessary will naturally fall away, revealing the freedom that lies within."
"True longing for the divine demands everything; if you seek God without the willingness to renounce, your desire is merely a wish, not a burning fire."
"Renunciation is not the path; it is awareness that transforms desire into understanding, allowing the unnecessary to fall away naturally."
"Renunciation is not an escape from responsibilities, but the blossoming of an inner quest for truth, from which true compassion and action naturally arise."
"Renunciation is not the path to the eternal; it is a denial of life itself, born from the illusion that joy in this world is a mirage. True understanding embraces life, revealing that our desires are projections, not the essence of our being."
What is renunciation?
definition"Renunciation is not about denial; it is the courageous inward turn to discover the supreme joy of one's own being. In this journey within, the nonessential falls away, revealing the true richness of life."
"Real renunciation arises not from poverty, but from the fullness of experience; only when you have known abundance can you truly let go."
"The essence of liberation remains the same, whether through renunciation or acceptance; it is the approach that varies, guiding different souls toward the same truth."
What is the reason that traditions of renunciation emphasize mendicancy and non-householder status?
definition"True renunciation is not about the outer sacrifices of mendicancy or celibacy, but the inner awakening that transcends societal admiration for visible contrasts."
"Renunciation is the badge of a civilization's poverty, where scarcity masquerades as spirituality, and lack is mistaken for wisdom. True spirituality flourishes not in deprivation, but in abundance."
"To honor the asleep is to deepen their slumber; true compassion lies in withholding deference, for it may awaken them from their illusions."
Why did Mahavira preach renunciation by fostering a feeling of hatred toward the world and the body?
definition"True renunciation is not about hating the world or the body, but about transcending attachment and aversion, moving from doer to witness, where bondage dissolves in pure observation."
"Falling is not a failure; it is a testament to your ascent, for only those who dare to climb can truly know the depth of the abyss. Embrace the risk, strengthen your wings, and keep soaring towards the summit."
"Only by fully tasting the sweetness of life can we understand its bitterness, and in that understanding, true renunciation blossoms into freedom."
"Recognizing the transience of the world is not an act of negation, but a profound acceptance of life’s impermanence. In this understanding lies the essence of true love and ecstasy."
"Valuing suffering breeds a hierarchy of reverence, where the 'greater' renouncer is merely a more skilled self-torturer, and true respect can only flourish in the soil of awareness and joy, not pain."
Profound Quotes on Renunciation
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