Book Review – Sex Matters: From Sex to Superconsciousness
Feb 23, 2026
This book is a pivotal game changer. Osho stands among the greatest spiritual thinkers and inspiring spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, recognized for his revolutionary contributions to inner transformation and spiritual growth.
Osho sparked a worldwide ‘lovolution’ by giving a series of public discourses between the years 1968 – 1970 delivered in Hindi. These discourses were transcribed and printed in book form with the title; ‘From Sex to Superconsciousness.’ This book has transformed the minds of millions, becoming Osho’s most widely read book.
Osho's teachings continue to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.
What Sex Matters Focuses on
Sex Matters (From Sex to Superconsciousness) begins with a radical premise that shocked conservative audiences in 1968, that sexual energy is not something to be suppressed, but rather the very foundation of spiritual awakening. Osho challenges readers to examine how centuries of religious conditioning have created widespread sexual repression, turning one of life's most sacred energies into a source of guilt and shame.
Osho argues that repressed sexuality festers in the unconscious mind, creating psychological distortions, neuroses, and a fundamental disconnection from our authentic selves. When we deny our sexual nature, we cut ourselves off from the very life force that could propel us toward enlightenment.
Osho embraces sex as the starting point of a transformative journey. He teaches that when we approach sexuality with full awareness and acceptance, the energy naturally begins to rise through higher centers of consciousness.
The orgasm provides a glimpse of egolessness, a brief dissolution of the separate self that mirrors the state of meditation.
The book's ultimate focus is teaching us how to enjoy life fully through conscious celebration of all aspects of human experience, including our sexuality. Only by accepting and understanding our sexual energy can we transform it into the refined spiritual energy that leads to superconsciousness.
Read: Osho Quotes: 70 Teachings That Will Transform Your Life
Physical and Emotional Intimacies: Breaking the Taboo
Osho was invited to give this series of discourses on the theme of ‘Love.’ He scandalized his hosts when during the first discourse he said: “If you want a shower of love in your life, renounce this conflict with sex. Accept sex with joy. Acknowledge its sacredness. Receive it gratefully and embrace it more and more deeply. You will be surprised that sex can reveal such sacredness; it will reveal its sacredness to the degree of your acceptance.”
After the first talk, Osho was thrown out of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Auditorium where his discourse series was scheduled. Subsequently, he resumed the series in another venue called the Gwalia Tank Maidan. (At this time, he used to have audiences of approximately 50,000 people.)
Once the book became widely available, people all over India were buying it and reading it surreptitiously with a brown paper wrapper over the cover or hiding it inside another book. It was a top favourite among religious monks of all faiths. Once it was translated into English, this trend spread to the whole world, influencing generations of people up to the present.
What he says is an evident truth, and yet to hear these words from the mouth of an enlightened saint brought the blood of righteous ‘spiritual leaders’ to a boil. It seems there is an unspoken rule that ‘spiritual’ people are not allowed to have any wisdom to share about the basic human need of sexuality and relationship.
According to biographical materials, Osho has been recognized by The Sunday Times of London as one of the '1000 Makers of the 20th Century' and by Sunday Mid-Day in India as among ten people who changed India's destiny.
Sex Begins the Journey to Love
In his next discourse Osho continued: “I was told to speak on “Love.” But I felt that as long as we were hampered by certain incorrect suppositions about sex and lust, we would never be able to understand or appreciate love. As long as such misleading beliefs are deep-rooted, whatever we say about love will be incomplete, will be wasted, will be untrue. So, to focus on that, I talked about lust and sex in that particular meeting. I said that the sex energy itself could be transformed into love….
Sex can become love. But how can one who hates sex ever become filled with love? How can one transform sex when one is its enemy? And so, I stressed the necessity of understanding lust, of knowing sex.”
In this book, Osho is pointing out the path of Tantra; by living sex consciously, it transforms into love and by living love consciously it transforms into superconsciousness. This highlights how important love is in this process.
It is interesting that multitudes of people who heard about the book only ever heard the word ‘sex’ in the title and never came to understand the word ‘superconsciousness.’ In order to understand the word ‘superconsciousness,’ it is necessary to not only read the book but to practice what Osho is indicating in the book! The journey from sexual awareness to superconsciousness involves transforming raw sexual energy into spiritual energy through awareness and meditation.
Why Sex Matters on the Spiritual Path
“The people who say that sex has no relation to religion are entirely incorrect, because it is the energy of sex, in a transformed and sublimated form, that enters the realm of religion. The sublimation of this vital energy lifts man to realms about which we know very little. The transformation of his sex energy raises man to a world where there is no death, no sorrow, to a world where there is nothing but joy, pure joy. And anyone who possesses that energy, that life-force, can uplift himself to that realm of joyous, truthful consciousness, to sat-chit-anand.”
Sex to Superconsciousness is a small book with an enormous impact. It is as relevant today as it was when Osho gave these discourses. It traces the path back home to our true nature and our true expression, as souls made visible in human form. Even if you never read another book, read this one.
What Osho is offering in these few pages is actually what each and every human being longs for, the path to wholeness, the awakening of love, and the realization of bliss.
The Role of Meditation and Awareness
Osho's shares that meditation and awareness are your keys to unlocking the full potential of your sexual energy. Instead of viewing sex as something you've got to repress or hide away, the Osho approach invites you to bring pure awareness to your intimacies.
When you practice meditation, you can break free from those conditioned belief systems that have been associating sex with sin, perversion, or shame. Osho challenges you to look beyond the taboos and prejudices that have been stunting humanity for centuries. He's encouraging you to return to that relaxed innocence and playful curiosity that nature intended. You'll rediscover sex as a fundamental gift, an innate biological energy that, when you embrace it consciously, leads you to a deeper enjoyment of life in all its richness.
Read: Shift Your Reality with These 11 Osho Meditations
