According to Osho, Zorba the Greek is his own 'autobiography'—a symbol of living joyfully, playfully, and intensely in the present. He urges disciples to embody Zorba’s zest: drop seriousness, relax, celebrate, and be abundantly alive. Life itself is divine; one moment of total, passionate presence reveals eternity. Don’t postpone—live now without regret.
Zorba means enjoy life fully right now—be playful and relaxed—because living totally is how you touch the divine.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, when I came to greece to see you, everything reflected more and more of the zorba. Now, being here in india, everything around you is reflecting more of the buddha. Osho, does this depend on being in greece or india?
In Harapur, seven thousand years ago, they had bathrooms attached to their bedrooms, they had bathtubs, and they had a very special arrangement for circulation of water in the city. The hot and cold water in your bathroom is not a new thing; it was available in Harapur, in Mohenjo daro. They had swimming pools. It must have been a very highly cultured society. At the time of Gautam Buddha, just twenty-five centuries ago, even then the West was not very evolved. And you can see it. We did not crucify Gautam Buddha, and the West crucified Jesus Christ five hundred years after Gautam Buddha. And what Jesus was saying was nothing compared to Gautam Buddha. Gautam Buddha was saying that there is no God; still, nobody thought of crucifying him. Jesus Christ was not saying anything against Judaism; on the contrary, he was simply saying that he was their…
What is your relationship with zorba, as invented by kazantzakis, and what does zorba have in common with you? I know that he didn't have any wealth....
Gautam Buddha was a Zorba up to the age of twenty-nine. Six years of deep meditation transformed the man. He became enlightened. So when I have called the new man Zorba the Buddha, I have reasons to call it so. Every man is born as a Zorba. Your religions don't allow you to live the Zorba, so you don't get bored with it. They don't allow you to live it so totally that you get finished with it. Your religions are preventing you from becoming buddhas. The word `buddha' means the enlightened one, the awakened one. Your religions are keeping you asleep. They are certainly functioning as opium. My effort is to make you first totally Zorbas, utterly Zorbas, intensely Zorbas, so that you can transcend Zorba and enter into another phase of your consciousness -- the awakening. Zorba is the foundation of the temple. Buddha is the temple itself.…
Beloved Osho, I am just curious. Have you read the book zorba the greek by kazantzakis? I love it so much. Is not zorba exactly the way you want us to be? At least that is how I understand your teaching.
So I would not say to you to wait for the next time. Take hold of this moment! This is the only time there is, there is no other time. Even if you are eighty-five you can start living. And what is there to lose when you are eighty-five? If you go barefoot on the beach in the spring, if you collect daisies -- even if you die in that, nothing is wrong. To die barefoot on the beach is the right way to die. To die collecting daisies is the right way to die. Whether you are eighty-five or fifteen doesn't matter. Take hold of this moment. Be a Zorba. You ask: "I am just curious. Have you read the book Zorba the Greek? I love it so much." Only loving it won't help. Be it! Sometimes it happens that you love the opposite of what you are. You…
Question: BELOVED MASTER, HOW IS YOUR REBEL CONCERNED WITH "ZORBA THE BUDDHA"? Zorba is a fictitious character, a man who believed in the pleasures of the body, in the pleasures of the senses. He enjoyed life to the fullest, without bothering about what is going to happen to him in the next life, whether he will enter into heaven or be thrown into hell. He was a poor servant; his boss was very rich, but very serious, long faced -- very British. One full-moon night... I have not been able to forget what he said to his boss. Zorba was in his cabin. He went outside, with his guitar -- he was going to dance on the beach -- and he invited the boss. He said, "Boss, only one thing is wrong with you -- you think too much. Just come on!
Beloved Osho, isn't it amazing that of all the places in the world, the first two stops on your world tour should be the land of buddha and the land of zorba?
It is. But one thing should be understood about it: in reality Zorba comes first, Buddha comes afterwards. Zorba is the beginning, Buddha is the fulfillment. Zorba is the roots, the trunk, the branches. Buddha is the flowers, the fruit, the fragrance. In reality this is the order. But I went first to Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha, and then I came to Crete, the land of Zorba. That has a significance.... When you approach a tree, first you see the flowers, the fruits. They come last as far as the tree's growth is concerned, but when you go to the tree, those are the first to be seen. And only if you want to go deeper into the reality of those flowers will you find that behind those flowers are hidden roots in the earth. In life, Zorba comes first, Buddha comes second. But when you start exploring the…