Soteriology of Osho; an Innovative Soteriology or Following Tantra Creed

The present paper studies the theory of salvation in Osho's movement and tries to find its roots. First, the following three important questions have been answered through a brief review of Osho's life and most important doctrines: salvation from what?; By what means?; Towards what? These questions have been answered in Osho's doctrines as follows: we should attain salvation from limited and deficient sexual desires which prevent the complete meditation of man's mind; however, we should not resist our sexual desires to decrease them. Rather, we should fulfill them by the guidance of a skilled master and without usual limitations. Furthermore, these desires will be decreased and the ground for passing the stages of meditation will be provided by building a particular electric circuit between opposite sexes and achieving complete orgasm. In Osho's doctrines, the focal point of meditation is emptiness of mind which results in absolute tranquility. Finally, this paper proves that contrary to Osho's claim, he has not provided a unique soteriology. Rather, he has mixed the doctrines of ancient eastern schools, especially Tantra and Kundalini Yoga, and Zen Buddhism, and provided them in a more modern format. Although these doctrines are themselves severely criticized, they have been briefly mentioned in some paragraphs.