Osho's perspective on Spirituality
When Osho Spoke About Spirituality
Passages from the discourses where this theme comes alive.
Beloved Osho, jesus says, "seek and you will find." does a desireless search exist?
But all the religions down the ages have been teaching you to respect your parents. Why? Why do the religions teach that? It is a subtle strategy of exploitation. Your religion has been given to you by your parents, and if you go against your religion, they will be hurt. If a Hindu declares, "I am simply a human being, no longer a Hindu," the parents will be hurt. So the parents have also taught him to respect them and believe in whatsoever they have said -- they cannot be wrong. As if your parents are enlightened people! As if your parents know what they are doing! Their parents did the same thing to them, they have done it to you, and you will do it to your children. This is how diseases go on being transferred from one generation to another generation. Of course the priests will say, "Respect…
Well, I was brought up as a catholic, so how come jesus is a stranger to me?
Jesus is always a stranger. It does not matter whether you were brought up as a Catholic or a Protestant or a Hindu or a Mohammedan. The very being of Jesus is that of a stranger, because he is an outsider. He lives on a different plane, he lives in a different dimension: he lives in God, you live in the world. He talks a different language; he talks about things you have not even dreamt about. You cannot trust him. You cannot even understand him; he is incomprehensible. You may have been brought up as a Catholic; that means you have been taught from your childhood things about Jesus. Those are simply words; you have not been introduced to Jesus, because that introduction is possible only through meditation -- not through any kind of teaching, not through the Catholic catechism. It is all rubbish. In fact, rather than helping…
Question: OSHO, WHY DO INDIANS THINK THEY ARE MORE SPIRITUAL THAN OTHERS? John, PLEASE FORGIVE THE POOR INDIANS. They don t have anything else to brag about. You can brag about other things: money, power, atomic or hydrogen bombs, airplanes, that you have walked on the moon, that you have penetrated to the very secrets of life, your science, technology; you can brag about your affluence. Poor India has nothing else to brag about; it can only brag about something invisible so there is no need to prove it. Spirituality is such a thing you can brag about it and nobody can prove it, nobody can disprove it. For thousands of years India has suffered starvation, poverty, so much so that it has to rationalize it. It has rationalized it so that to be poor is something spiritual. The Indian spiritual man renounces all comforts and becomes poor.
A friend has asked: Osho, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa walked many different paths and affirmed one destination and one truth. But once he had become accomplished in a practice, how did he start another practice again from A, B, C? After attaining knowledge, did he become ignorant again and then begin anew on a fresh path?
This needs a little understanding. After the ultimate knowing, no one can return. There is no way back—because the destination and the traveler have become one. When the destination and the traveler are one, who would return, and how? But before the ultimate knowing—just before arriving at the destination—one last step remains. We call that knowing. We call it the ultimate knowing when the destination and the traveler dissolve into one. The river has fallen into the ocean; now it cannot return. But a river that has reached the shore and is poised there can still fall into the ocean—or it can turn back. That is the moment of knowing: the seeker has arrived at the very door of fulfillment. From there the whole spread of the ocean is visible. And yet a small distance remains. The seeker has not yet become the siddha. He has come very close—almost equal…
"Each enlightened being is a unique flower in the garden of existence; categories are for objects, not for the vibrant essence of individuality."
"Let spirituality be the master and material wealth the servant; prioritize inner growth, allowing material means to support your quest for consciousness."
Can one enter another's body?
definition"Your inner strength is your greatest protection; when you shrink in fear and doubt, you invite the restless spirits to take residence in your being."
"True spiritual success arises not from self-confidence or perseverance, but from the surrender of the ego, allowing the divine to unfold within the emptiness of the self."
"God is not something to be attained; it is the silence of your desires and ego that reveals your own consciousness. Surrender to the present moment, and let your being blossom through love and awareness."
How can one discern between an ego-driven spiritual search and an authentic religious search?
outcome"An authentic spiritual search brings clarity and faith effortlessly, while an ego-driven quest is marked by confusion and the need for validation. True depth is known directly, not sought after."
"Spiritual truth flourishes in the absence of organization and dogma; it spreads like poetry, touching hearts without the weight of intent or manipulation."
"Proclaim the truth uncompromisingly, for spiritual ideas spread not by fitting into local minds, but by remaining pure and universal like twenty-four carat gold. Trust in time; the future will recognize and embrace what is ahead of its age."
"Bring the sacred into the ordinary, for true spirituality is not found in escape, but in the dance of daily life."
"Help from advanced souls comes not through demand, but through your readiness; when you open your heart with trust and awareness, the universe will guide you to the right teacher."
How did Dariya Sahib, despite lacking formal education, embody the essence of spiritual teachings?
definition"Real spirituality is not about literacy, but the innocence that arises from total inner cleansing and the shedding of all conditioning."
"Before the final dissolution, you can choose a new path, but after ultimate knowing, there is no separate 'you' left to begin anything anew."
"Spiritual realization does not depend on separating the two bodies; it flourishes in the clarity of awareness and the simplicity of the present moment."
Is the state of unconsciousness false?
definition"Unconsciousness is an illusion, a projection of the sleeping mind that distorts reality; awakening is the key that dissolves this mist and reveals what truly is."
"True miracles are not in the spectacle of the extraordinary, but in the profound transformation of the heart—fearlessness, love, and forgiveness amidst suffering."
"Spirituality flourishes not in the shadows of poverty and hypocrisy, but in the light of prosperity and education, where individuals can truly experience life and transcend it."
"True transformation arises not from compulsion but from the recognition of your innate freedom; only those who dare to choose in the present moment can transmute their inner heat into spiritual light."
"To be 'poor in spirit' is to embrace inner emptiness, where the ego dissolves and even humility fades, revealing the profound truth that in losing oneself, one discovers the fullness of existence."
"The golden age is not lost; it is revived within us when we turn inward and connect with the awakened spirit that still breathes in the silence of our being."
"Stay with the Divine in loving patience; your readiness invites grace, and in steadfast devotion, the making makes itself."
"Spirituality is not born from a single event, but from the quiet accumulation of experiences that awaken the soul."
"When you connect with Nietzsche's spirit, you are merely engaging in a dialogue with your own mind; true transformation comes from the silence beyond intellect, not from the brilliance of ego."
"True religious feeling blossoms in freedom, where the heart naturally resonates with the divine, unconditioned by coercion."
"True spirituality is not found in the mechanical repetition of names, but in the transformative presence of a realized master who awakens you to the now."
"The more you hurry and crave results, the longer transformation takes; true awakening happens in the timelessness of patience, where the goal is not a destination but a present reality."
Profound Quotes on Spirituality
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