Chapter #19 The Last Testament Vol 5 #19
Discourse Overview
Main Teaching: Osho refuses the roles of prophet, messiah or savior, arguing that such titles presuppose a God he denies, so the whole prophetic posture becomes absurd. He frames himself not as an authority but as a mirror: whoever looks into him finds only their own reflection, which dissolves any single-point claim to truth. From this arises his ethical insistence—leaders who reduce people to followers are criminal because they rob individuals of dignity and transform people into mere copies. Hence he offers friendship, not discipleship, and embraces both friends and enemies as part of the same human process of awakening. On prophecy and God: he says prophecy presumes a deity and a messenger, so without God the very office of prophet is meaningless and usually occupied by 'crackpots'. On identity: confronted with conflicting labels—Hindu, communist, anarchist—his only discovery is that he is a mirror, which explains why different people see themselves in him. On followers and friends: to call anyone a follower is humiliating because it reduces a person to a carbon copy; only friendship can help restore individuality and integrity. On leadership and dignity: leaders who demand followers commit a moral crime by denying people their dignity, so his path is to cultivate millions of autonomous friends rather than subjects.
More languages:
Checking…
Osho's Commentary
OPEN AIR INTERVIEW WITH ENZO BIAGY, AKA SARJANO, ITALIAN TV
THE QUESTION IS ASKED IN ITALIAN.
A: I am not a madman so I cannot be a prophet or a messiah or a savior. All these peoples who have claimed to be prophets, messiahs, saviors are simply crackpots.
For the simple reason I don't belong to their category because there is no God, and without a God you cannot be a prophet, you cannot be a messenger... messenger who?
And you cannot be a messiah... representing whom?
I am simply a human being and the people who think that I am a rascal raise a very significant question.
There are people who think I am a communist, there are people who think I am a capitalist, there are people who think I am a Hindu and there are people who think I am a Christian. There are people who think that I am a fascist and there are people who think I am an anarchist.
So it is so amusing that I started thinking "Who am I?"
And I found that I am only a mirror, so whoever looks into me finds his own face in me.
If a monkey looks into me he thinks I am a monkey.
Question asked in Italian and translator says as follows:
Q: WHO ARE YOUR FOLLOWERS AND WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS?
A: They are my friends. The very idea of somebody being a follower is humiliating and I cannot humiliate anybody.
To me, each individual has a dignity of his own and all the leaders are criminals because they have reduced people into followers.
And a follower can at the best be a good carbon copy. He can never be his original self.
Only a friend can help you to attain to your dignity, respectability, integrities, individuality....
I don't have any followers. I have millions of friends and millions of enemies. I love both, because both belong to me. In some way or other I am helping both. Interviewer says Thank you.