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Osho did not write books. He talked, in Hindi and in English, for more than two decades, and the talks were recorded, transcribed and edited into hundreds of titles that are still being compiled long after his death in 1990. That origin explains almost everything about how he reads: the long run-up, the jokes, the stories borrowed from Zen, Sufi and Hasidic traditions, the habit of taking one line of an old text — a sutra, a saying of Jesus, a verse of Lao Tzu — and talking around it for an hour. It also explains why the same book can feel like a revelation on one page and a sermon on the next. His history matters too: the commune at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, the 1984 salmonella attack carried out by its leadership, and his 1985 Alford plea to immigration charges are part of the record, and the writers below are chosen with that in mind. Some share his material, some share his method of talking a book into being, and one spent his life telling audiences not to follow anyone at all.
By Lisanne Swart · 10 authors · Spirituality · Meditation · Talks into books · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
If you like Osho, the closest match is Jiddu Krishnamurti — another Indian teacher whose books are edited talks, and the one Osho argued with most. For the same Zen and Tao material made playful for Western readers, read Alan Watts. For the source texts Osho kept returning to, go to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. For meditation as something you practise rather than discuss, Thich Nhat Hanh; and for the single question underneath all of it, Ramana Maharshi.
10 authors like Osho
Where to start if you loved Osho
If you want the closest match, read Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Freedom from the Known. Short, edited from talks, and the argument with gurus that Osho never stopped having.
If you want the same material, lighter, read Alan Watts.
The Way of Zen for the history, The Book for the argument.
If you want the source, read Lao Tzu.
The Tao Te Ching, ideally in two translations. Eighty-one verses Osho spent years talking about.
If you want to actually meditate, read Thich Nhat Hanh.
Peace Is Every Step. Practices you can try today, with no ashram required.
If you love the stories, read Anthony de Mello.
Awareness. Same parables, same jokes, and a Jesuit underneath.
If you want his own books in order
My guide to Osho's books covers fourteen key titles, where to begin, and the history behind them.
Frequently asked questions about authors like Osho
Who writes books most like Osho?
Jiddu Krishnamurti is the closest: another Indian teacher whose books are edited talks, and the one Osho debated most, though Krishnamurti rejected gurus and techniques entirely. Alan Watts covers the same Zen and Tao material with the same humour for Western readers, and Anthony de Mello teaches through the same kind of short, funny parables. For the source texts behind Osho's talks, read Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet.
What is the difference between Osho and Krishnamurti?
Both were Indian teachers whose books come from recorded talks, and both rejected organised religion. Krishnamurti went further: in 1929 he dissolved the organisation built around him and spent the rest of his life telling audiences not to follow any teacher or method, including him. Osho built a large movement, gave his followers new names and taught specific meditation techniques, and he criticised Krishnamurti for offering insight without a way to practise it.
Did Osho write his books himself?
Almost none of them. Osho gave talks, in Hindi and English, and his followers recorded, transcribed and edited them into books, which is why there are hundreds of titles and why new compilations still appear. The few books he dictated directly, such as Glimpses of a Golden Childhood, were recorded in the early 1980s. Authors on this list with the same origin include Krishnamurti, Anthony de Mello and Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Which Osho book should I read first?
Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously (1999) is the easiest way in: short, themed and drawn from many talks. If you want to try the meditations rather than read about them, start with Meditation: The First and Last Freedom. My guide to Osho’s books sets out fourteen key titles in order.
Is it still worth reading Osho, given his history?
That is a judgement each reader makes, and the facts are worth knowing first. The commune he led at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon was the base for a 1984 salmonella attack by its leadership, in which 751 people fell ill, and in 1985 he entered an Alford plea to immigration charges and left the United States. Many readers still find the talks useful as commentary on older texts and as meditation instruction. If you would rather read teachers without that history, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ramana Maharshi and Lao Tzu are the places to go.
What should I read after The Book of Secrets?
The Book of Secrets is Osho's commentary on 112 meditation techniques from an old tantric text. For more techniques with a quieter approach, read Thich Nhat Hanh's Peace Is Every Step or Anthony de Mello's Sadhana, which is built as a set of exercises. For the single method underneath many of them, read Ramana Maharshi on self-inquiry.
Sources
- Rajneesh — Wikipedia
- “Truth Is a Pathless Land”, 1925–1934 timeline — Krishnamurti Foundation of America
- Notification concerning the writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello (1998) — Vatican
- “Osho, Guru Extraordinaire, Is Long Gone But His Books Live On” — Publishing Trends, 2001
List last reviewed 9 October 2026.
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“I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti, dissolving the Order of the Star, 3 August 1929. The line Osho spent years arguing with.
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