Understanding Osho

[ivarmaya]

Osho was a pretty unconventional teacher…he didn’t bother with the savior complex, embraced materialism, and had a playful, non-serious approach to life. He seemed to have pretty good understanding of reality(better than most appreciate) , yet he didn’t reject the world/life. Instead, he indulged in it. He embraced luxury, enjoyed life’s pleasures, and even seemed to accept not only his own attachments but also those of others. It’s like he was saying, “Yeah, we have attachments, but that’s just part of the game.”

That’s what sets him apart…he didn’t preach renunciation; he embraced and played with life’s contradictions.

Osho also didn’t hesitate to call out other spiritual leaders like Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha, and Krishnamurti for falling into dogma or missing deeper truths.

 

Here are some questions; 

- What’s your take on Osho and his teachings?

- Which aspects of his approach resonate with you the most, and why?

- In your view, what were his biggest personal limitations or shortcomings, as a teacher and/or in terms of his spiritual growth?

Also, if you have a favorite Osho quote or story, I’d love to hear it.

You can answer all, any, or none of these…whatever you feel like.

Cheers,

Ívar

[puporing]

I liked Osho, he's actually much closer to Jesus than most other spiritual teachers in the past and current I know of, mainly because he understood the idea that "love gives freedom". But of course, from Jesus' perspective, he is still not fully awake, close though.

Shortcomings. I suppose his attachments to money and things like that, it appears, though I do not know the details.  It seems like he completely misunderstood Jesus.. and made a similar mistake people tend to make, that Jesus was the same as his followers. I mean really, you can't be sure about "him" simply because it's been so long and unless you actually become him yourself you're not gonna know what this mind is like, it's all based on speculations and "the past".

And well, the emphasis on "enjoying life's pleasures",  is a common blindspot with other teachers, because he probably hasn't experienced much abuse, cruelty, desperation, persecution, rejection, or abandonment in his lifetime. If you reach the same amount of Light that Jesus had, people of this world would generally try to spit you out/reject you, it's like metaphysically incompatible. I'm saying that even if I were to try to find "worldly pleasures", I can't because people are generally repulsed by my light (as an added explanation).

Edited October 3 by puporing

[Atb210201]

Osho was a radical critical thinker.

He criticised almost everything in the world.

Every norm he was against you could say.

He was mainly a rebel before anything else.

 

[ivarmaya]

@puporing

I think there’s a deeper understanding behind Osho’s approach to attachment, materialism, and society’s outcasts… While it might look like he had ‘attachments,’ Osho saw them more as something to play with rather than something to suppress. Unlike most spiritual teachers who unconsciously shame life’s pleasures or existence itself, Osho embraced these things intentionally… His contradictions weren’t signs of confusion… they were meant to wake people up, to stop them from relying on him, and to push them towards self-reliance.

Materialism wasn’t ‘lower’ or ‘worse’ in Osho’s eyes… He understood that materialism and spirituality aren’t separate… both are part of the same game. Poverty and survival, on the other hand, can be barriers to spiritual growth because they keep people trapped in attachments. But Osho wasn’t moralizing about what’s right or wrong… He understood that real morality doesn’t come from beliefs… it comes from truth. Most people act based on what they think is ‘right,’ but love is actually far more radical than that, and Osho knew this. That’s why he’d say things like, ‘Be who you are, even if the whole world is against you.’ He didn’t reject anything because, at the deepest level, he saw everything as love.

He also didn’t focus on helping the poor and the ‘good’ because they already had representatives or were seen as worthy… Osho intentionally worked with the rich and those demonized by society… the ones rejected and dismissed… because they were neglected by the rest of the spiritual world. He saw materialism as a way to burn through desires… Osho understood the foolishness of mankind… that most people need to exhaust their desires before they can even begin to seek the truth in a genuine way. For him, materialism wasn’t something to be avoided or rejected… it was a tool.

When we look at reality from the angle of ‘attachment vs. non-attachment,’ we’re still creating a conceptual framework… a construct to make sense of life. But life is much more mysterious than that… Those who are afraid to embrace its fullness use attachment to ground their reality… to create some sense of control. But Osho understood that playing with these constructs… rather than shaming or avoiding them… was the key to real freedom.

[ivarmaya]

11 hours ago, puporing said:

@puporing
Osho didn’t really dismiss Jesus… he critiqued Christianity and how it distorted Jesus’s original message. In fact, he once said, “Jesus is the first, last, and only Christian that has ever lived.” Osho saw the institutional focus on guilt, suffering, and sacrifice as overshadowing the true message of love and freedom that Jesus embodied. His aim was often to provoke reactions, challenging the rigid interpretations of Jesus’s teachings.

That being said, in my understanding Osho was a more developed teacher. He embraced life’s pleasures and materialism, seeing them as pathways to burn through desires, rather than something to renounce. While Jesus’s teachings were groundbreaking for his time, addressing the oppressive systems of his era, Osho’s more holistic approach was suited to the complexities of a modern, materialistic world. He rejected the need for self-denial and suffering, favoring a path of total freedom and the celebration of life.

 

 

Edited October 3 by ivarmaya

[gettoefl]

New doc premiering TODAY alleging sexual abuse throughout his commune in Oregon. It is being shown on ITV on the 13th in the UK. I am agnostic about these claims and so I will watch it. I spent several years reading Osho's books and consider him an inimitable and tireless force for truth. For the record the Osho reddit sub might offer more answers to your question. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Osho/comments/1ftn3lo/the_truth_about_sexual_abuse_in_rajneeshosho/

https://www.dartmouthfilms.com/childrenofthecult

https://www.tvguide.co.uk/schedule/125908dd-7f15-58ec-ad40-480d01ad5eac/children-of-the-cult

 

Edited October 3 by gettoefl

[Hsinav]

16 hours ago, ivarmaya said:

Osho was a pretty unconventional teacher…he didn’t bother with the savior complex, embraced materialism, and had a playful, non-serious approach to life. He seemed to have pretty good understanding of reality(better than most appreciate) , yet he didn’t reject the world/life. Instead, he indulged in it. He embraced luxury, enjoyed life’s pleasures, and even seemed to accept not only his own attachments but also those of others. It’s like he was saying, “Yeah, we have attachments, but that’s just part of the game.”

That’s what sets him apart…he didn’t preach renunciation; he embraced and played with life’s contradictions.

Osho also didn’t hesitate to call out other spiritual leaders like Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha, and Krishnamurti for falling into dogma or missing deeper truths.

 

Here are some questions; 

- What’s your take on Osho and his teachings?

- Which aspects of his approach resonate with you the most, and why?

- In your view, what were his biggest personal limitations or shortcomings, as a teacher and/or in terms of his spiritual growth?

Also, if you have a favorite Osho quote or story, I’d love to hear it.

You can answer all, any, or none of these…whatever you feel like.

Cheers,

Ívar

Followed Osho for a long time and think that the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country sums up his time pretty well.

Edited October 3 by Hsinav

[Davino]

Fun fact, Osho was an insatiable and voracious reader. It is said that he read more than 100,000 books.

You can find his favourite ones in: "Books I Have Loved : 168 Books to Change Your Life!"

His book: "Hsin Hsin Ming The Book of Nothing : The Zen Understanding of Mind and Consciousness." Is a commentary on his favourite verses ever written, the poems of Sosan, the third Zen Patriarch. Quite good and for all publics, the point of the book is direct satori, which makes it a bizarre book afterall.

[Atb210201]

1 hour ago, Davino said:

Fun fact, Osho was an insatiable and voracious reader. It is said that he read more than 100,000 books.

I've read this somewhere else before too.

But with a simple math we can say even if he read 1 book a day he must at least have lived 274 years reading 1 book from his birth to his death everyday for this number to happen.

Unless he read 100 books a day or at least 10 books a day for 27 years.

Edited October 3 by Atb210201

[shree]

@Lila9 You’ve nailed it once again.

Reading your post made me realize that we’ve had a very similar journey with Osho - how we found him and how his teachings have influenced us.

I haven’t read too many of his books yet, but I’ve listened to q countless hours of his talks. His ideas about courage, being true to yourself, and accepting the rebel within really connect with me.

It’s amazing how he shows that meditation and spirituality can be more playful and natural, not something strict or forced.

And yes, it all started with Rumi and Osho quotes!

[puporing]

@ivarmaya Well, that's why I said he was actually close to Jesus without realizing it, other than not fully awakening.

(his dismissal of Jesus I was referring to stuff like this: https://youtu.be/2fTQ9xNoxgI?si=q6Sh0c76ucdFFGeY )

I don't shame materialism, but I'm saying you can awaken beyond most of that, not by shaming, but by awakening further than someone like Osho. I certainly had some period of my life where I was more attached to material pursuits, and there are aspects of that I value too like in relationship to beauty, love and connection. See people automatically just assume if someone isn't focused on "earthly desires" they're coming from a place of shame, this isn't always the case, not for me anyway. I'm saying that.. ultimately the truth of my/your being was just more important to me and none of this stuff is really meaningful in comparison when I cannot connect with a single human being here. You'd stop caring about money and sex too if there's nobody here you can relate to and people automatically reject you by the way you appear/speak.

I'm saying that Osho could still enjoy those things precisely because he didn't go that far like Jesus did. And that one of the reasons he didn't go that far was (like a lot of teachers) because he had a relatively comfortable life. If this sounds circular, maybe it's meant to be.

That said, would I say no if someone gave me 1 million bucks? No because that would save me a ton of headache in terms of survival here.. and it would also give me more freedom to give some of that money to people who really need, or to pay for services I couldn't otherwise afford, etc. So there's some nuance to this "materialism" stuff.

I am not for people having to suffer and slave away their life at a job they hate/don't resonate with but have to do due to survival.

Edited October 3 by puporing

[Davino]

@Atb210201 Yes, my previous statement is probably inaccurate. It seems very unlikely. Thanks for bringing it up.

He read many many books, more than what you would consider too much, that seems to be the general knowledge.

[Ishanga]

I like Osho allot, I think his biggest take away that he showcased was to confuse ppl, make them disbelieve everything they believed in, he could talk You out of anything and completely change Your Mindset pretty quickly, for sure he is high level of Consciousness!!

[puporing]

@ivarmaya the other thing that almost nobody knows about unless they also reached here is that there are certain "pleasures" derived from this state that fulfills you as well that's not of "material nature". Like you're compelled to do certain things here that may seem to be "self denying" from an ego perspective, but actually a joyful act unbeknownst to the world at large.

So it's almost like... The pleasure you could derive through non-material means can outweigh ones you derived from material means, depending, if that makes any sense.

Edited October 4 by puporing

[gettoefl]

Two good Osho resources:

Timeline of his whole public life, where he was, what he said, what was published: https://www.sannyas.wiki/index.php?title=Osho_Timeline_1964

As you can see, the man did not take a day off!

Most of his discourses unabridged: https://oshoworld.com/osho-book-search/

[Ajay0]

Reading Osho's books brought joy to my life as well as plenty of useful insights.

 He was one of those masters whose perspectives helped to bridge the gap between spirituality and materialism, considering them to be a complementary whole rather than at odds with each other. 

When it was reported to him that his books were being stolen by teenagers from exhibition stalls set in eastern european communist countries back then, he told the organizers to ignore the theft. This shows that he was more interested in the spreading of ideas.

He died 34 years back and his books are good intellectual resources for humanity to profit from.

One of my lamentations in life is that I did not get to study all his books at a much younger age.

[PurpleTree]

Osho is quite nice.

nicer than Sadhguru imo

but I still need to see that documentary.

[Oppositionless]

I'm realizing now that Osho was a pickup guru in his past life, before he was a spiritual guru. Master of enlightenment and master of game.

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Leo has a book written by OSHO on his book list. I warn you, its excessively long, but absolutely worth the read.

[martins name]

There are more dimensions to spirituality than just awakening, it's also embodying divine qualities, like love. His irresponsible community didn't show the seriousness and responsibility that embodying love brings. It's ultimately hypocritical to prioritize our own enlightenment over others'. When that realization is taken to its conclusion you get a life of purpose like that of Jesus or ghandi instead of the Buddha.

I still get value from listening to his talks and his kundalini meditation is great. He's still great at enlightenment.