Robopaths are Never Creative Question : I want to be creative. What should I do? Become a child again and you will be creative. All children are creative. Creativity needs freedom - freedom from the mind, freedom from knowledge, freedom from prejudices. A creative person is one who can try the new. A...

Fire of Rebellion Discourse date: Fri, 12 February 1969 00:00:00 GMT This discourse was given before teachers under the title: The Birth of New India! Zarathustra was coming down a hill. He was rushing downwards as if he had heard some very important news from down the hill. He reached the plains, ru...

Education: Love-Oriented Date unknown This discourse was given before students under the title: Youth and Rebellion. I am pleased at the prospect of speaking to the youth and the students. The first thing about the youth that comes to my mind is what today I would like to say to you in detail. For th...

Question 3 Beloved Osho, You often tell us that we should not judge ourselves or other people. I am a teacher and because of my job I have to judge the students. Now that I am going back to Italy, I am worried about how I shall manage with my job. Can you give me some help? Kalo Shreeman, my saying t...

Religion: One of the Biggest Crimes Against Humanity Question : Are you trying to destroy all of our previous ideas about religion? There is no other way to be religious. All that you have heard about religion, read about religion, has to be totally dropped. Unless you are clean, with no writing on y...

I am pleased at the prospect of speaking to the youth and the students. The first thing about the youth that comes to my mind is what today I would like to say to you in detail. For the old the past exists; that is already gone, and their whole world is behind them. Children imagine about and desire ...

Sex Education The teacher of a class of ten-year-olds is too shy to conduct the sex-education class and so she asks her class to make this a homework project. Little Eddy asks his father, who mumbles something about a stork. His grandmother says he came from a cabbage patch. His great-grandmother blu...

Question 5: My little son was never baptized. will this be of importance. It is very important! It is good that he was never baptized because baptism is such a significant thing — it cannot be forced upon anybody. When you force it on a child you are creating an artificial religion for him, and if th...

I can give you back Only from your innocent childhood, and only from there a real inquiry into truth begins. Only from there religion is possible; otherwise you can only talk about religion. ♦ A small boy gave the following summary of his Sunday school lesson: “There were these Jews who had broken ou...

[A sannyasin says she is afraid of meeting her parents.] I will take care -- just go and don t be afraid. It is always difficult to meet the parents, the most difficult thing, because between children and parents so many barriers exist; they have been created by the parents. The children are always a...

Robots Are Obedient - Rebels Are Dangerous Conditioning: A Substitute for Intelligence Question : Are idiots trained or born? It is a complicated question. Almost ninety percent of idiots are trained. Ten percent are born. And the ten percent are born because of those ninety percent who have been tra...

The Budding of a Buddha Question : How did you manage to stay with your own clarity as a child and not let yourself become intimidated by the grown-ups around you? Where did you get that courage from? Innocence is courage and clarity, both. There is no need to have courage if you are innocent. There ...

Question 2: Osho, What is your idea of true eduction? THE EDUCATION THAT HAS EXISTED up to now has not been true. It has not served humanity; on the contrary, it has served the vested interests. It has served the past. The teacher has been an agent of the past. He functions as a mediator to give past...

[A sannyasin says: I’m going to be a mother… Yes, I want it.] Do you understand what it means? If you want it, it is okay, mm? But one should be more conscious about it. To be a mother means a great revolution, and a radical change. To be a woman is one thing, and to be a mother is totally another. Y...

[Osho gives sannyas to a baby, and addresses the parents.] Prem Vega. Prem means love; Vega is the name of the brightest star – love, the brightest star. Every child represents love, brings love. Every child is a creation of love. Every child is a poem, and every child brings great hope into the worl...

The Nightmare "Gift"of Television A famous psychoanalyst, Franz Strunz from Munich, has been studying child behavior in dreams, and he has found that Sigmund Freud's original idea was not right. Sigmund Freud's original idea was that the child - every child, particularly in the civilized and cultured...

I was thinking, Why are they in the majority? -- but then I found that the first marathon race has created the whole trouble. And this situation will continue unless we are more intelligent and stop this accidental birth -- what I call accidental birth. Now we are at a stage where genetic engineering...

[The new sannyasin says she is concerned about screaming at her son. Osho asks her to give an example, and she replies: He comes up to his sister and he pinches her and she shrieks. It makes me nervous and so I scream at him to stop it.] No, don’t be worried about screaming – not at all. It is natura...

Question 2 Osho, My parents are so disappointed in me, they worry all the time. they have made my being here possible, so how can i turn from them? what do i owe to my parents? The trouble with the family is that children grow out of childhood, but parents never grow out of their parenthood! Man has ...

Teenage Revolution Question 5 : At this young age there is a lot of shyness and insecurity about making decisions. Parents are not often helpful. How to develop the inner strength? All shyness is basically concerned with sex. Once children are perfectly free to have sexual relationships, you will see...

[In September 1977 a sannyasin, who is setting up a new school for sannyasin children in the ashram, asks about education in the new commune] Question The sannyasin who started the ashram school says: I just don't understand what it means to be a teacher to children here... Yes, that is right -- it w...

Question 4 Osho, How can we teach children to be moral and religious? Krishnaraj, ARE YOU MAD? Are you asking me this question or to Ayatollah Khomaniac? To whom are you asking this question? You should go to Ayatollah Khomaniac. I teach a religionless religion and I teach an amoral morality. It will...

Every child is born clever. No child is ever born idiotic. To become an idiot one needs to be educated. To convert people to idiocy, schools and colleges and universities are needed. It is a great achievement. Idiocy is not natural; it has to be learned, it has to be earned. Great effort has to be ma...

Education and Religion Discourse date: Fri, 3 March 1967 00:00:00 GMT There was a fakir who was very alone. He saw God in his dream and found that he was even more alone. The fakir was puzzled and asked God, "Why are you also so alone? You have many devotees - where are they?" On hearing this, God sa...

[The new sannyasin is seven months pregnant.] Then just be here and absorb as much of my energy as possible. Be open and vulnerable. But go to meditations – even if you can’t do them. Just sit by the side. Be a part, just silently participate. Go to the music group and sit silently by the side. Let t...

[A sannyasin brings her baby and says she has been screaming a lot which upsets her.] That is part of being a mother…. It is not an easy job…. But now it is too late! Every woman wants to become a mother without knowing the responsibilities. It is a long commitment. And remember: never think of what ...

Towards the Birth of a New Man (Date unknown - This discourse was given to a congregation of teachers and students published in booklet of same name.) I am very pleased to be present among you. Certainly, on this occasion, I would like to share some of my heartfelt views with you. It is painful to se...

Knowledge is That Which Liberates Discourse date: Fri, 23 September 1968 00:00:00 GMT Sa Vidya Ya Vimuktaye. Knowledge is that which liberates. This morning I would like to say a few things to you on this subject. This is a marvellous saying. It is the most original definition of knowledge. This is t...

[A sannyasin, present with his five-year-old son says: I would like to talk about the relationship with my son. He is a very beautiful and rich child, but I feel he demands too much energy from me and needs much attention. I am in a struggle between feeling guilty and sacrificing myself. Is it possib...

Children are immensely intelligent, they just need a chance! They need opportunities to grow, the right climate. Every child is born with the potential of enlightenment, with the potential of becoming awakened, but we destroy it. This has been the greatest calamity in the whole history of man. No oth...

Osho on Parenting In a better world no parent will give you any belief. Certainly he will give you courage to inquire, courage to adventure. He will sharpen your intelligence so that when you come across a lie you can see it and when you come across a truth you can immediately recognize it, but he wi...

[A sannyasin has brought her son because she is worried about the way he doesn’t eat, which may be causing bronchitis, and how he relates with other children.] What is the way? I think the problem is more with you than with him! He seems to be perfectly okay! You seem to be too worried about him. Som...

Truth and Science In a small village one moonless night everyone was fast asleep when the sound of weeping and crying suddenly broke the stillness. It awakened everyone, and the villagers, confused and shaken, ran towards the small hut from which the shouting came. From within they heard, “Fire! I am...

Genes Don't Have to be Blue Question 1 I still study in school and I want to know: What is the secret of education? It may be a little difficult for you to understand the secret of education. But I cannot come down from my vision, so I will tell what I feel is the secret, knowing perfectly well perha...

We cling to the circumference, so much so that we have completely forgotten about the centre. Unless the circumference disappears completely we are not going to be reminded of the centre. And the centre contains all, the very kingdom of god. And the centre is capable of creating a thousand and one ci...

[A sannyasin says she feels confused; stuck and not flowing. Osho checks her energy.] Nothing to be worried about. I don’t see that you are not flowing with the river – that is not the confusion. The confusion is just the vice versa: for the first time you are flowing with the river, and that is crea...

Compassion is pure soul, it is pure sky: it has no matter around it. It is the ultimate blooming of the flower. Even the flower disappears in it, only fragrance remains. Shanti means silence, deva means god – god of silence. Help him to become as silent as possible. By being silent yourself, he will ...

Question 8: Osho, Should Childten be told all the facts of Life, Irrespective of their age? Govinddas, IT HAS always been a problem down the ages — what to tell children and what not to tell. Parents have been very much concerned. In the past the strategy was not to tell about the facts of life, to a...

[A sannyasin asks about returning to the West to take custody of her son, as she and her husband are divorcing.] This is my suggestion: if you feel that you are too disturbed you can go and do whatsoever you want to do. But this is my suggestion – that going and fighting for the son is not going to h...

Question 4 : Osho, Is it not possible to raise children in such a way that they never become interested in the dirty things of life? Chandrakand, WHAT do you mean by “dirty things of life”? Life is all beautiful! Even dirt is not dirty, even dirt has its own splendor. Because life is divine — how can...

Question 1: Osho, What would be the form of Education in the New Commune? Maneesha, the education that has prevailed in the past is very insufficient, incomplete, superficial. It only creates people who can earn their livelihood but it does not give any insight into living itself. It is not only inco...

[A new sannyasin says: I’m a nursery school teacher, I teach children of fouranda-half to five years old. Is there anything you can say to help me to do this job as beautifully as possible?] Very good work. To be with children is one of the most beautiful things. But one has to learn it, otherwise it...

The Family: Prisoners of Love Question 3: The family has been the basic social unit for thousands of years, yet you doubt its validity in your new world. What do you suggest can replace it? Man has outgrown the family. The utility of the family is finished; it has lived too long. It is one of the mos...

[The sannyasin who started the ashram school says: I just don’t understand what it means to be a teacher to children here… ] Yes, that is right – it will be a totally different thing! It will be a totally different thing…. It can’t apply here. A few things to remember, and then you can work them out…...

Question 1: Osho, Are children really so intelligent as you always say they are? Gautami, Intelligence is not something that is acquired, it is inbuilt, it is inborn, it is intrinsic to life itself. Not only children are intelligent, animals are intelligent in their own way, trees are intelligent in ...

Osho on Parents On one hand we go on teaching people to be true, and on the other hand, in a subtle way, we go on teaching them not to be true. Each child is made neurotic by the parents, by the society; and we know that we are doing it, and we know that others have done the same to us. Stop doing it...

Question 3 Beloved Osho, You often tell us that we should not judge ourselves or other people. I am a teacher and because of my job I have to judge the students. Now that I am going back to Italy, I am worried about how I shall manage with my job. Can you give me some help? KaloShreeman, my saying th...

Question 8: Osho, Can children understand the Truth? RAJ, CHILDREN CAN UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH but cannot understand that they understand it. They understand more clearly than you can understand because they are more clean, more innocent; but they are so innocent that they cannot understand that they un...

[The woman says: I feel that I’m pregnant since we’ve been here. Is there any meditation or thing to do that will be helpful for the baby or for us?] Just remain as happy and loving as possible. Avoid negativities – that’s what destroys the mind of the child. When the child is in formation he not onl...

[A sannyasin and her young son are present. She says: It’s very difficult for me – I feel he is very strong and I don’t feel strong at all. I don’t know what to do in certain situations.] Let him be strong! Why should you be worried about his strength? It is good. He has to be strong and the mother h...

The Politics of Misery Question 1 Osho, Does a child not have as much right to privacy and freedom from parental conditioning as the parents expect for themselves? It is one of the most fundamental problems facing humanity today. The future depends on how we solve this problem. It has never been enco...

The center around which our education is moving is wrong. The whole problem has arisen due to the wrong center – which is ambition. Our whole educational system is revolving around ambition. What is being taught to us? We are taught ambition. We are taught a race to get ahead of everyone. Even in a s...

Osho Quotes on Parents Each child is made neurotic by the parents, by the society; and we know that we are doing it, and we know that others have done the same to us. Stop doing it to yourself and stop doing it to others. Become alert. Just be real. I emphasize reality more than truth. Because truth ...

[A sannyasin says she’s pregnant. She’d decided to have an abortion and thought she was happy with the decision, but since then, whenever she thinks about it she feels a tremendous amount of sadness.] Mm mm. This will be a momentary sadness. If you want to become a mother then you want to get into de...

TO BE A MOTHER IS SWEET…. Why? Just giving birth to a child is not to be a mother, remember. Otherwise there are millions of mothers on the earth — and there seems to be no sweetness. In fact, if you ask the psychologists they will say just the opposite. They will say the only problem to be solved is...

Question 4: What is Education? Parmar, man is born as a seed. He is born as a potentiality. He is not born as an actuality. And this is very special, this is extraordinary, because in the whole of existence only man is born as a potentiality; every other animal is born actual. A dog is born as a dog,...

If you are a parent you will need this much courage -- not to interfere. Open doors of unknown directions to the child so he can explore. He does not know what he has in him, nobody knows. He has to grope in the dark. Don't make him afraid of darkness, don't make him afraid of failure, don't make him...

Somebody dies... then those who were close to him, they should perform the death ceremony. The clergyman may not have even known the person; he will simply repeat a certain ritual. It is better that friends perform the ceremony. If there is a marriage, there is no need for any clergyman. Moreover, it...

Wild Wisdom Question : Are you trying to destroy all of our previous ideas about religion? Everybody thinks that he already knows what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is evil. You can see it within yourself, and you can see it without you. You can move around in the world and you will fin...

A child needs immense privacy, as much as possible, a maximum of privacy, so that he can develop his individuality un-interfered with. But we are trespassing on the child, continuously trespassing. The parents are continuously asking, 'What are you doing? What are you thinking?' Even thinking! “A chi...

Osho on Education "This i call education: to make people more intelligent." - Osho, "The Secret, #2" “Nobody is inferior, and nobody is superior. One is just oneself, incomparable.“ - Osho, "The Golden Future, #23" “Never compare. Each child has to be respected on his own. Each child has to be respec...

Question 1 Beloved Osho, Are you trying to destroy all of our previous ideas about religion? There is no other way to be religious. All that you have heard about religion, read about religion, has to be totally dropped. Unless you are clean, with no writing on your consciousness, you will never know ...

[The sannyasin who started the ashram school says: I just don’t understand what it means to be a teacher to children here… ] Yes, that is right — it will be a totally different thing! It will be a totally different thing…. It can’t apply here. A few things to remember, and then you can work them out…...

Question 2 Osho, What is learning? Vedant, LEARNING, in the first place, is not knowledge. Let us start from negating, from eliminating; let us first say what learning is not. Learning is not knowledge. Learning has become too much identified with knowledge. It is just the opposite of knowledge. The ...

Then what should we do for education in religion? The seed of religion is there in everybody because life is there in everybody. We should create opportunities for the growth of that seed, and remove the obstacles on the path of that growth. If this can be done, the seed sprouts on its own, out of it...

First move as deeply into love as possible. Till then avoid having children, because children should come out of a tremendous love, otherwise not. You can give birth to ordinary children, who are just by-products of a physiological and biological meeting of man and woman, but they are anonymous. When...

Veet means beyond, shankaro means conditionings. Man is born unconditioned, man is born as freedom… just an open sky, with no clouds, with no boundaries, with no adjectives, no definitions – neither Hindu nor Christian nor Communist – just pure existence, an emptiness. But immediately the society sta...

How Guilt is Built Question Why are parents so cruel to their children? Is there any sense in making them responsible? And how can one avoid making the same mistake? Parents are cruel to their children because parents have some investment in them. Parents have some ambitions they would like to fulfil...

Osho Quotes on Children We go on forcing children to go to sleep when we think it is time. But sleep is not to be manipulated by time, sleep is something inner. When the child feels sleepy he will go to sleep, but mother and father go on forcing the child to go to sleep, as if sleep can be ordered. C...

Teacher, Society and Revolution Date unknown. This discourse was first published in KRANTINADA MONTHLY 1968 to 1969. I would like to tell you a few things which I see about teachers and the society. Perhaps there will be no agreement between the way you think and the way I think. Perhaps I may be opp...

Education: A Preparation Towards Being Yourself Question : What is education? Man is born as a seed. He is born as a potentiality. He is not born as an actuality. And this is very special, this is extraordinary, because in the whole of existence only man is born as a potentiality; every other animal ...

Listening to the birds, I remember.... Just outside my classroom in the high school there were beautiful mango trees. And mango trees are where cuckoos make their nests. This is the cuckoo that is calling, and there is nothing sweeter than the sound of a cuckoo. So I used to sit by the window, lookin...

Every child is born clever. No child is ever born idiotic. To become an idiot one needs to be educated. To convert people to idiocy, schools and colleges and universities are needed. It is a great achievement. Idiocy is not natural; it has to be learned, it has to be earned. Great effort has to be ma...

Teaching - A Put Down or a Lift Up Question 3 : You often tell us that we should not judge ourselves or other people. I am a teacher, and because of my job I have to judge the students. Now I am worried about how I shall manage with my job. Can you give me some help? My saying that you should not jud...

Total Education Discourse date: Fri, 21 January 1968 00:00:00 GMT This discourse was given to teachers at Poddar College. Of the misfortunes that have befallen mankind, the greatest are the ones which we have been regarding as blessings. Because of regarding them as benedictions, as blessings, it has...

Question 1: Osho, Having heard you talk about competition and our childhood the other morning, it set me thinking of my own education. i realized that for twenty-one years solidly, every single event at school -- from playing in the garden, through official sports, to latin grammar -- was basically a...

Smack Your Own Butt! Question : How can the birth of a child be made as gentle as possible? When the child comes out of the womb, it is the greatest shock of his life. Even death will not be this big a shock, because death will come without warning. Death will come most probably when he is unconsciou...

[A sannyasin says: I am pregnant and I want to ask you if I can be a good mother and if the child can be okay. … I wanted a baby so much; that’s why I don’t know. Maybe I’m not strong enough — that’s why I wanted to ask you. Osho checks here energy.] You have a very great desire to be a mother. So be...

The Generation Gap - Mutual Disrespect Question : What is this generation gap? I hear so much about it these days. Two old men of eighty were sitting in their club when one said, "Do you think there is as much love, as much fun going on as there used to be?" "Yes, certainly," said the other, "but the...

Mystic Rose For Children The following is a meditation suggested by Osho for children and their teachers to do together at the beginning of each school day. Stage 1 Ten minutes gibberish. With eyes closed, make any nonsense sounds you like; sing, cry, shout. Let your body do whatever it wants; jump, ...

Question 3 Does education lead to meditation? please explain education and religion. Ordinarily that which is called education is almost against meditation. It should not be so but it is so. The original meaning of the word 'education' is not against meditation. The original meaning is: to draw out. ...

Question : Beloved Osho, If intellect is such an obstacle in the journey towards self-realization, is not then training and sharpening of it just useless? Is it not possible that because of their innocence and expressiveness, children should be helped To move into meditation directly, without imparti...

Question : Beloved Osho, If intellect is such an obstacle in the journey towards self-realization, is not then training and sharpening of it just useless? is it not possible that because of their innocence and expressiveness, children should be helped to move into meditation directly, without imparti...

[A sannyasin, who is a mother, says: I feel this longing to have another child and I feel very split about it. I feel that it’s crazy and yet there’s this longing inside me to have a child. Osho checks her energy.] It is crazy in a way, and yet there is some rationale in it. A few things I would like...

Question 1: Osho, What would be the form of education in the new commune? Maneesha, the education that has prevailed in the past is very insufficient, incomplete, superficial. It only creates people who can earn their livelihood but it does not give any insight into living itself. It is not only inco...

Question 3 Does education lead to meditation? please explain education and religion. Ordinarily that which is called education is almost against meditation. It should not be so but it is so. The original meaning of the word ‘education’ is not against meditation. The original meaning is: to draw out. ...

Meditation: Nature's Gift Question : Surely, meditation is for mystics. Why do you propose it for ordinary people and their children? It is for mystics, surely, but everybody is a born mystic - because everybody carries a great mystery within him which has to be realized; everybody carries great pote...

Seven-Year Cycles Question : What is the right way to help the child grow without interfering in his natural potentialiity? Every way to help a child is wrong. The very idea of helping is not right. The child needs your love, not your help. The child needs nourishment, support, but not your help. The...

The Light of Disbelief Discourse date: Fri, 14 August 1969 00:00:00 GMT This discourse was given to students. Just as an individual becomes old, the society also becomes old. Just as an individual dies, the society dies and civilizations also die, but no individual can refuse to become old or refuse ...

[A sannyasin, who is leaving, refers to a letter she had written earlier: I asked if I could have a baby and you said I could. Then I began to think that Osho is putting a responsibility on me and was I ready for it.] If you can avoid it that is very good. When people ask, they create trouble for me....

[An indian sannyasin, here on visit from kenya, said that she was concerned about what she felt was her overprotective attitude to her eighteen-year-old son. He also felt he was overprotected and that he was not allowed to do those things that other boys of his age were doing. She added that he had f...

Question 6: I want to give birth to a buddha. That’s my only desire in life, to become the mother of a buddha. Osho, is it possible? First become a Buddha; then maybe a Buddha is born out of you. But the desire to give birth to a Buddha is utterly futile. That is again an ego trip, that “I should bec...

Sex Education Sex does not rear its head as soon as a child is born. There is still time for that. The body gathers energy, the cells gain strength, and the day comes when the body is fully ready. The energy will slowly muster itself, and then it will push open a door that has been shut for the first...

[The sannyasin who started the ashram school says: I just don’t understand what it means to be a teacher to children here…] Yes, that is right — it will be a totally different thing! It will be a totally different thing…. It can’t apply here. A few things to remember, and then you can work them out…....

Question 2: Osho, I am angry with my parents for the first time. they are simple people, and i say to myself that it is not their fault that they have no understanding of osho. but my anger is so much in conflict with my love that it hurts. i am so angry writing this that i can't even formulate the q...

Transformation Through Awareness Discourse date: Fri, 2 September 1969 00:00:00 GMT The original title was: Education: Means and Ends Question 1: Do you think it is necessary to give a new type of education so that people may understand differentiations? can objectivity and subjectivity be separated?...

Five-Dimensional Education Question : Can you please explain your vision of education? The education that has prevailed in the past is very insufficient, incomplete, superficial. It only creates people who can earn their livelihood but it does not give any insight into living itself. It is not only i...

The Face of Godliness Question : How can one ensure that our children maintain their original face? The original face of every child is the face of God. Of course my God is not a Christian, a Hindu, a Jew. My God is not even a person but only a presence. It is less like a flower and more like fragran...

Conscious Innocence: Paradise Regained Question : Why is childlikeness compared to meditation? When man is reborn, only then he understands what is the beauty and the grandeur of childhood. The child is ignorant; hence he is unable to understand the tremendous innocence that surrounds him. Once a chi...

Who's Kidding Whom Question : Beloved Osho, Having heard you talk about competition and our childhood the other morning, it set me thinking of my own education. i realized that for twenty-one years solidly, every single event at school -- from playing in the garden, through official sports, to latin ...

A Sufi Story I have told you a Sufi story... A woman was very much impressed by a Sufi mystic, and she was very worried about her only son. She was living for him; the father was dead. That boy was her life, and she wanted him to become something. The boy was too attached to eating sweets and all kin...

[A sannyasin, weeping, says: Something that came up during primal was that even though I see what my parents did to me I'm still doing the same thing to my kid. So many times my own needs get in the way of what she needs. I can't seem to give her any help. And I think I'm doing her harm.] Mm mm. One ...

Just the other day, one shankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati, has given a statement that no religious man can support family planning — and all religions will agree with the Hindu shankaracharya. But I am puzzled. The Christian God has only one begotten son: if that is not family planning, then what is...