The Book of Understanding: Creating Your Own Path to Freedom

The path to freedom is filled with questions and uncertainty. Is it possible to truly know who we are? Do our lives have a purpose, or are we just accidental? What are we meant to contribute? What are we meant to become, to create, and to share? In The Book of Understanding, Osho, one of the most provocative thinkers of our time, challenges us to understand our world and ourselves in a new and radical way. The first step toward understanding, he says, is to question and doubt all that we have been taught to believe.

All our lives weve been handed so-called truths by countless others—beliefs we learned to accept without reason. It is only in questioning our beliefs, assumptions, and prejudices that we can begin to uncover our own unique voice and heal the divisions within us and without.

Once we discover our authentic self, we can embrace all aspects of the human experience—from the earthy, pleasure-loving qualities that characterize Zorba the Greek to the watchful, silent qualities of Gautam the Buddha. We can become whole and live with integrity, able to respond with creativity and compassion to the religious, political, and cultural divides that currently plague our society.

In this groundbreaking work, Osho identifies, loosens, and ultimately helps to untie the knots of fear and misunderstanding that restrict us—leaving us free to discover and create our own individual path to freedom.

Doubt—because doubt is not a sin, it is the sign of your intelligence.

You are not responsible to any nation, to any church, to any God. You are responsible only for one thing, and that is self-knowledge. And the miracle is, if you can fulfill this responsibility, you will be able to fulfill many other responsibilities without any effort. The moment you come to your own being, a revolution happens in your vision. Your whole outlook about life goes through a radical change. You start feeling new responsibilities—not as something to be done, not as duty to be fulfilled, but as a joy to do. —OSHO

"Osho may have been the Howard Stern of spirituality. The late Indian guru, known for most of his life as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, was certainly interested in earthiness ('drop repressions,' he advises). His idea of a 'new human being' draws from the pleasure-loving attitudes of Zorba the Greek as well as the silent serenity of the Buddha. This teacher from the 'crazy wisdom' school of spirituality was definitely into shock value: in teaching the importance of conscious awareness as the rule for experiencing life and becoming free, he maintained that God is bogus, Jesus and Krishna are hallucinations and religion is sheer stupidity. Those who prefer this take-no-prisoners style of critique of organized religions will find this guru comprehensive and provocative. From Western intellectuals Nietzsche and Darwin to Eastern spiritual figures Mahavira and Bodhidharma, Osho's references range across eras and cultures. Osho's familiarity with Western philosophy and religion makes his hybridization of Eastern and Western teachings very accessible to Westerners seeking a path to authentic living. Drawn from talks given to various audiences, this book provides a clear glimpse of Osho's assertive style as well as his central themes of freedom and human energy." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The revolutionary techniques of Osho continue to inspire people 15 years after his death. "The Book of Understanding" is the most clear and comprehensive statement of his unique "whole person" approach to a new spirituality.

Osho, known for his revolutionary contribution to the science of inner transformation, continues to inspire millions of people worldwide in their search to define a new approach to individual spirituality that is self-directed and responsive to the everyday challenges of contemporary life. The Sunday Times of London named him one of the “1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century,” and novelist Tom Robbins called him “the most dangerous man since Jesus Christ.” For more information about Osho and his work, please visit osho.com.