Osho , also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (his real name), was an important spiritual guru born in 1931 and whose relevance has reached us even today.

As a spiritual guru, Osho wrote many texts where he expressed his ideas and thoughts , creating a great legion of admirers (also of detractors of course) that allowed him, over the years, to lead a very comfortable life, this even to possess a large collection of Rolls Royce vehicles for their use and enjoyment.

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The best famous Osho quotes

No doubt this guru was a person who caused great controversy during the 20th century, but what were his ideas and thoughts? Below you can discover 85 great phrases of Osho , which will help you to know a little more about this thinker.

1. Man has lived through the centuries like a sheep, being part of the crowd, abiding by its traditions, conventions, following the ancient scriptures and the old disciplines.

Many of us never question society itself, we just wander around without stopping to think.

2. The individual does not have to fit the model, the model has to fit the individual. My respect for the individual is absolute.

We must adapt the environment to our way of being and we must be totally consistent with who we are.

3. Intelligence is dangerous. Intelligence means that you will start thinking for yourself; you will start looking around for yourself. You will not believe in the scriptures; you will believe only in your own experience.

Our personal experiences can be our great guide in life, they will lead us on the right path.

4. A very religious person does not have theology. Yes, he has the experience, he has the truth, he has the luminosity, but he does not have theology.

As we see in this quote Osho was not attracted to classical religions, many times we are influenced by them through the very society in which we live.

5. In love, the other is important; in lust, one’s self is important.

When we truly love someone, that person is more important to us than we are to ourselves.

6. Love is the goal, life is the journey.

Love is something extremely important in life, without it life can seem meaningless.

7. You can fool yourself at certain times, live a world of dreams, but a dream will give you nothing.

Dreams and thoughts will be just that until we act and make it happen.

8. Only a blind man can easily define what light is. When you don’t know, you’re daring. Ignorance is always daring; knowledge is doubtful. And the more you know, the more you feel the ground under your feet dissolve.

When we are minimally intelligent we become aware that we do not possess an absolute truth, only the idiot believes to possess that truth.

9. To create guilt, all you need is one simple thing: to start calling the mistakes, sins. It’s simply about mistakes, it’s a human thing.

To err is human, we all make mistakes, the bad thing is to persevere in them.

10. It is beautiful to be alone, it is also beautiful to be in love, to be with people. And they are complementary, not contradictory.

Sometimes we all need moments of solitude to reflect or to find ourselves.

11. The most important question is whether you’re alive before you die.

To be truly alive we must live life to the fullest, showing our best selves.

12. The truth is not to be found on the outside. No master, no writings can give it to you. It is within you, and if you wish to get it, look for it in your own company.

To find the truth you must look within yourself, because the only truth that really interests you is your truth.

13. My effort here is that you don’t believe until you know. When you know, there’s no need to believe, you know. I destroy all belief systems and give you no substitute. Because of this, it is not easy to understand me.

Osho’s ideas are certainly very particular, he simply did not agree with any religion one hundred percent.
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14. Meditation is life, not sustenance. It has nothing to do with what you do; it has everything to do with who you are. Yes, business should not enter into your being, it is true.

Meditation is an activity that can help us in many different ways, both in our working life and emotionally.

15. When the false disappears, the true appears with all its novelty, all its beauty, because sincerity is beauty, honesty is beauty, authenticity is beauty.

Without doubt, sincerity, honesty and authenticity are qualities that we should all encourage, in ourselves and in others.

16. No one is superior, no one is inferior, but no one is equal either. People are simply unique, incomparable. You are you, I am I. I have to contribute to my potential life; you have to contribute to your potential life. I have to discover my own being; you have to discover your own being.

There is no one more important in our lives than ourselves, because we depend on who we are in order to achieve our personal goals. If you want something, fight for it.

17. The thought happens in your head. It is not really in the depths of the roots of your being; it is not your wholeness.

Today we can think one way and tomorrow we can change our minds, we all make mistakes.

18. God can’t be an object. He’s in the depths of your own being. How can you see him?

We must not get carried away by materialistic ambitions, there are much more important things in life.

19. My definition is: man is an animal that laughs. Laughter is proof that you are capable of seeing the ridiculousness of life.

By laughing we show a greater understanding of everything around us, no doubt a great human characteristic.

20. You change. Change radically. Stop doing the things you’ve been doing all along. Start doing things you’ve never done before. Change radically, become a new person and you will be surprised. Don’t ever expect the other person to change.

We must evolve and know how to adapt to the moment in which we find ourselves; that is the real strength of the human being himself.

21. Whatever you feel, you become it. It’s your responsibility.

Our feelings are largely responsible for deciding what our next move will be.

22. You become what you think you are. Or it’s not that you become it, but that the idea is deeply rooted.

The opinion we have of ourselves is the same as that which we transmit to others.

23. You’re not wrong! Just your model, the way you’ve learned to live is wrong. The motivations you have learned and accepted as your own are not theirs, they do not satisfy your destiny.

Everything we have done and learned in life, is what has brought us to the place where we are.

24. People say that love is blind, because they don’t know what love is. I say that only love has eyes; not everything that is blind is love.

When we love a person, we are able to see in him or her something that others cannot see.

25. Happiness is a shadow of harmony; it pursues harmony. There is no other way to be happy.

Harmony is something that can make our lives much more bearable and beneficial.

26. Never interfere in anyone’s life and do not let anyone interfere in your life.

What is really important in our life is ourselves, we must know how to value ourselves.

27. Happiness is an art that must be learned. It has nothing to do with doing or not doing.

In order to be happy we must know how to be happy, it is up to us to become happy.

28. Fools laugh at others. Wisdom laughs at herself.

Knowing how to laugh at ourselves is something that is extremely important and that we should all do.

29. There are not many roads. There are many names for the same path, and this path is consciousness.

The path we choose in life depends solely and exclusively on ourselves.

30. Time cannot be stopped, cannot be reversed, cannot be held back. It’s one-dimensional. There’s no possible way back. And ultimately, the very process of time is death, because you’re wasting that time, you’re dying.

Time has only one direction and it inevitably leads to our death.

31. No, I don’t want to beat people up. I want to give them eyes.

It’s much better to see what’s good for you than to have certain guidelines for it.

32. Never obey any command unless it also comes from within you.

We must abide by an order that we understand is useful, otherwise we should not carry it out.

33. Life is a mystery, not a question. It is not a puzzle to be solved, it is not a question to be answered but it is a mystery to be lived, a mystery to be loved, a mystery to be danced with.

Throughout our lives we are always discovering new things, that is the grace of living.

34. The ignorant person is innocent; he knows that he does not know, and because he knows that he does not know, he is on the threshold of wisdom. Because he knows that he does not know, he can inquire, and his inquiry will be pure, without prejudice.

Being aware of our own ignorance is the first step towards wisdom.

35. The moment you enter the world of words, you begin to fall out of what is. The more you enter into language, the further you are from existence.

Reading is a very beneficial habit that we should all value and appreciate.

36. No one is here to fulfill your dream. Everyone is here to fulfill their own destiny, their own reality.

We are the only ones responsible for our future, it will depend on our actions to reach our destination.

37. Don’t try to understand life. Live it. Don’t try to understand love. Move towards it. Then you will know, and all knowledge will come from your experience. The more you know, the more you will know what remains to be known.

To live life to the full we must act, our actions will bring us the experiences necessary to achieve spiritual fulfillment.

38. Love cannot be taught, it can only be captured.

Love is an emotion that we can all feel and none of us can explain.

39. That’s the simple secret of happiness. Whatever you do, don’t let the past get in the way, don’t let the future bother you. Because the past no longer exists, and the future has not yet arrived. To live in the memory, to live in the imagination, is to live in non-existence.

Knowing how to live in the moment will help us live life much more fully.

40. I love this world because it’s imperfect. It is imperfect, and that is why it is growing; if it were perfect, it would have been dead.

Many times in imperfections lies beauty, that imperfection makes us unique.

41. Courage is a love story with the unknown.

We don’t all have the strength to be brave, to show the courage we have inside.

42. Only people who suffer from an inferiority complex want to impress others. A truly superior person is not compared to anyone else.

A very wise quote we should all remember, we should not compare ourselves to anyone.

43. Forget the idea of becoming someone, because you’re already a masterpiece. You can’t be improved. You just have to know it, realize it, and then you will be.

Recognizing how incredible we are is the first step towards our self-improvement.

44. Whoever is concerned about coherence will be false, because only lies can be coherent. Life is constantly changing.

Indeed, life goes round in circles and what is true today may be a lie tomorrow.

45. Lovers are mirrors of each other. Love makes you aware of your original face.

We must know how to see ourselves through the eyes of our beloved, that person will tell us who we really are.

46. Never sacrifice your life for anything! Sacrifice everything for life! Life is the ultimate goal.

Life is the most valuable gift that we are given, it is the only thing that is really worthwhile.

47. Never try to change a person you love, because the same effort you make to change that person says that you love only half, and the other half of the person is not accepted.

To really love someone we must do so in all their magnificence, with their defects and their virtues.

48. Intelligence never grows by imitation: intelligence grows by experimentation. Intelligence grows by accepting challenges.

Indeed, whether we develop our intelligence depends on us and our personal concerns to exploit it to the full.

49. There has never been a person like you before, there is no one like you at this time in the whole world, and there will never be anyone like you.

We are all unique in our own way, possessing distinctive traits that will never be repeated.

50. If you love yourself, you will be surprised: others will love you. No one loves a person who does not love himself.

To be loved, we must first love ourselves. This is something we should all be very clear about.

51. No one can say anything about you. What people say is about themselves.

When someone praises another person or expresses negative opinions about them, they are really talking about themselves and their shortcomings or virtues.

52. Life is not a technology, not a science. Life is an art, you have to feel it. It’s like walking a tightrope.

To be able to live life to the full, we must listen to our emotions, for they are a fundamental part of us.

53. Life begins where fear ends.

Fear is something that harms us greatly, paralyzes us and does not allow us to move forward in life.

54. One thing: you have to walk and create the path by walking; you will not find a path already made. It is not cheap to reach the highest realization of truth. You will have to create the way by walking alone; the way is not already made waiting for you. It is just like the sky: birds fly but leave no footprints. You cannot follow them; there are no tracks behind them.

By living we all create our own path, it is no one else’s. We all have a unique path in life.

55. Meditate with joy, do not meditate with seriousness. When you enter the meditation room, leave your seriousness and your shoes at the door. Make meditation fun.

To meditate properly we must put our worries aside.

56. No one else can destroy but you; no one else can create but you. We are all Judas and Jesus.

Within us there is the possibility of doing good or doing evil, it is up to us what we do with that possibility.

57. If you love a flower, don’t pick it. For if you do, it will die and cease to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

We should not try to impose ourselves on our partner, he or she should be as he or she really wants to be.

58. If you do not live dangerously, you do not live. Life only flourishes in danger. Life never flourishes in safety. When everything is going perfectly, look, you are dying and nothing happens.

In order to be able to fulfill our dreams we must take certain risks, those who do not risk never achieve anything.

59. Once you have begun to see the beauty of life, ugliness begins to disappear. If you begin to see life with joy, sadness disappears. You cannot have heaven and hell, you can only have one. It’s your choice.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and in the attitude to which he is predisposed.

60. Be the person you are. Never try to be someone else, so you can grow up. Maturity is accepting the responsibility of being yourself, no matter what the cost.

We must know how to accept ourselves as we are, we are all perfect in our own way.

61. Don’t wait and there will be no frustration. Frustration is only a shadow that follows expectation.

We must not believe that life will give us anything, in order to achieve our goals we will have to work for it.

62. By falling in love you remain a child; growing in love you mature. Little by little love becomes, not a relationship, but a state of being. You are not in love, you are love.

Love is a fundamental aspect in our lives, it can be a big part of our own being.

63. Experience life in all its forms; good-evil, sweet-bitter, light-dark, summer-winter. Experience all dualities. Do not be afraid to experience, for the more experience you have, the more mature you will be.

The experiences allow us to move forward in life, with them we will discover who we are and what we really want.

64. Running, dancing, swimming, anything can be a meditation. My definition of meditation is: whenever your body, your mind, and your soul are functioning together in rhythm, that is meditation, because it will bring the room.

Who hasn’t ever meditated by walking or running? We can do both at the same time.

65. Hell is within you, as well as paradise.

With our own attitudes we generate around us either paradise or hell.

66. It’s not a matter of learning much. On the contrary, it is a question of unlearning a lot.

Society instills in us certain values that are often not positive.

67. Enjoy! If you can’t enjoy your work, change. Don’t wait!

We should not waste time doing those things that do not fill us as a person

68. The problem with the family is that the children one day abandon their childhood, but the parents never give up parenthood.

Our children will always be an essential part of our lives.

69. We die at every moment to renew ourselves at every moment.

Throughout our earthly existence we change and evolve.

70. I have tried in every way to make you aware of your individuality, of your freedom, of your absolute capacity to grow without the help of anyone. Your growth is something intrinsic to your being.

It is up to us to be happy, it is not up to anything material or anyone else.

71. Life is absolutely balanced between the positive and the negative. Now it is your choice to decide which side you want to be on: heaven or hell.

It is our personal choice how we want to live our life and it depends on what we choose to be happy about.

72. No one has the power to take two steps at a time; you can only take one step at a time.

Step by step we will be able to walk the path that leads to our personal improvement.

73. When I say that you are gods and goddesses, I mean that your possibilities are infinite, your potentiality is infinite.

Life brings us infinite possibilities of change and in us is the power to choose.

74. You feel good, you feel bad, and those feelings bubble up from your unconsciousness, from your own past. No one is responsible but you. No one can make you angry, and no one can make you happy.

We are our greatest detractor, we tell ourselves over and over again that we are not capable of doing something, we must convince ourselves in order to be fully effective.

75. One only needs a little bit of alertness to see and discover: life is one big cosmic laugh.

Humor can accompany us throughout our lives, many people resort to humor to make their lives much happier.

76. Love is a bird and it likes to be free. It takes all the sky to grow.

We can love many people, but in the same way, we will not love two people equally.

77. The whole world is a cyclone. But once you’ve found the center, the cyclone disappears. This insignificance is the last peak of consciousness.

We must disregard all the unnecessary information that society is bombarding us with.

78. Laughter is of tremendous beauty, it gives you lightness. Laughter will make you lighter, give you wings to fly. And life is full of opportunities to laugh. You just need to have sensitivity.

Knowing how to take advantage of every opportunity we have to be able to laugh will help us be much happier.

79. Don’t look, don’t ask, don’t answer, don’t call, don’t sue, relax. If you relax, it’s there. If you relax, you start to vibrate with it.

Being relaxed is something very important in life, because unfortunately, society transmits a great nervousness with which we only manage to increase our stress.

80. Being creative means being in love with life. You can only be creative if you love life enough that you want to improve its beauty, you want to bring to it a little more music, a little more poetry, a little more dance.

To be able to create, we must first be at peace with ourselves, for with a totally calm mind we can be much more original.

81. The day you think you know, your death has occurred, for now there will be no wonder, joy or surprise. Now you will live a dead life.

The grace of life lies in finding new things to discover, to explore. Life always finds something to surprise you with.

82. Get out of your head and into your heart. Think less, feel more.

We should all be in touch with our own feelings, be much more human.

83. They say: think twice before you jump. I say: jump first and then think all you want.

Self-confidence is essential in order to be completely free.

84. I live my life based on two principles. One, I live today as if it were my last day on earth. Two, I live today as if I were going to live forever.

No doubt a good philosophy that many of us could adopt as our own.

85. Love needs two things: it has to be rooted in freedom and it has to know the art of trust.

We must give our partner the freedom to choose for herself and have the confidence that she will stay with us. This is one of Osho’s 85 great phrases.