Chapter #15 Scriptures In Silence And Sermons In Stones #15
Discourse Overview
Main Teaching: Love is the only real virtue, the only true religion and morality; without love virtues become painted smiles, masks that hide a dead center. Love transforms the being from the core, and acts then follow like ripples from a pure source—compassion, honesty and nonviolence become natural expressions, not imposed rules. Those who run institutions—priests and politicians—prefer phony people whose outward character can be controlled; they fear the fire and freedom that true love brings. To live with love is to know life fully and gracefully; virtue is not performance but the grace of an inner heart. On love: Love is not a technique or duty but a transforming flame that makes morality effortless and spontaneous. On virtue: True virtue is an inner state, not a checklist—when love is present cruelty, lying and cheating become impossible. On authority and religion: Institutional religion often seeks conformity and respectable masks rather than burning hearts, producing harmless, passionless people. On God and truth: God looks at your center, not your circumference, and cannot be deceived by outward acts or painted smiles.
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Osho's Commentary
Love is the only virtue for me, the only religion, the only morality. If love is missing then one can have all the morality and still one will be dead; still, deep down one will be immoral. Without love one can have all the virtues but they will be superficial. They will be just like a painted smile, a mask -- maybe good to become respectable, but God cannot be deceived in such superficial ways. In fact he cannot be deceived in any way. He looks at the very center of your being, not at your circumference. He looks not at what you do but what you are.
Love transforms your being, and then your acts are transformed automatically. a loving person cannot by immoral, he cannot hurt anybody, he cannot cheat, he cannot lie. It is impossible for him to be cruel. Compassion will be simply his way of life.
The priests and the politicians are not interested in love; they are interested in imposing a certain character on you. They don't want real human beings, they want phony people. Phony people are not dangerous to the establishment. They are so phony -- how can they be dangerous? They have no fire in them, no passion for life, no passion for truth.
Without love one never knows what life is -- and to know life in its total beauty is to live beautifully, gracefully. That is virtue.