20/05/2026
Why Change is Necessary in Education: According to Osho
In the modern age, education has become a fundamental right for every child. But does this education truly teach a person how to live? According to Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), today’s education system is deeply flawed. It merely turns individuals into employable machines while completely ignoring the deeper aspects of life — such as living consciously, love, creativity, and inner peace. Osho says that this education is not only inadequate and superficial but also harmful.
Main Problems with Current Education (Osho’s Perspective)
Osho pointed out several critical reasons why the traditional education system needs radical change:
1 Job-Oriented, Life-Negating:�“The education that has prevailed so far is very inadequate, incomplete, and superficial. It only makes people capable of earning a livelihood, but it gives no insight into how to live life.” It is limited to exams, degrees, and jobs. There is no room for understanding life, love, or joy.
2 Based on Competition – The Seed of Violence:�Education promotes competition. Osho says that all competition is essentially violent at its core. It turns a person ambitious, jealous, and loveless. Children start seeing each other as rivals instead of learning cooperation.
3 Emphasis on Rote Learning and Memory, Not Intelligence:�The entire system trains memory (rote learning) rather than awakening intelligence. Children with good memory score high marks, but true understanding, creativity, and curiosity are crushed. Osho remarked that memory is like a computer, whereas real education awakens living intelligence.
4 Past-Oriented and Imposition of Beliefs:�Education imposes old beliefs, religions, politics, and social structures onto children. Instead of teaching independent thinking, it traps them in conditioned beliefs. The result is the suppression of rebellious spirit and the creation of mechanical personalities.
5 Fragmentation of Humanity:�Osho viewed the current education system as one of the major causes of chaos and unrest in the world. It does not create whole human beings — it produces useful machines.
What Should True Education Be Like, According to Osho?
Osho saw education as a means of revolution. In his vision, new education should have these qualities:
• Love-Oriented and Cooperation-Based: Replace competition with love and cooperation. Children should not compare themselves with others but grow according to their own potential.
• Drawing Out Inner Potential: The real meaning of “education” is to draw out what is already inside the child, not to stuff knowledge from outside.
• Meditation and Awareness at the Center: Osho emphasized that meditation is the foundation of real education. It connects the child with inner silence, peace, and consciousness.
• Creation of a Rebellious Personality: Education should produce rebels — peaceful, non-violent individuals who can stand against wrong and outdated systems.
• Five-Dimensional Education: Osho suggested education should develop five dimensions — physical, emotional, intellectual, artistic/creative, and spiritual.
Osho’s clear message was: “Education will have to be completely transformed. Poisonous elements like ambition, success, and comparison must be removed entirely from the human mind.”
Why is This Change Urgent?
Today, we are advancing materially, but mental poverty, stress, violence, and loneliness are increasing rapidly. Osho warns that if education does not change, human beings will become victims of their own machines and ambitions. Only a transformed education can create a new generation that is aware, loving, and creative — which is essential for building a peaceful society.
Appeal to Readers: If you are a parent, teacher, or student, deeply reflect on Osho’s insights. Don’t turn your children into mere top scorers — help them become complete human beings. The purpose of education should not be to earn degrees, but to teach the art of living.
You can read Osho’s books such as Revolution in Education to understand this vision more deeply. The change can begin today — from within yourself and your surroundings.
Education is that which liberates man, not the one that binds him.
(This article is based on Osho’s discourses and teachings.)