Pick the path or teacher you feel love for—love makes all genuine paths lead to the same truth.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, you have said that there are many mutually opposite paths that lead to the One Divine. In the past it used to be that seekers of a single path would gather around one master: yogis separate, devotees separate, tantrikas separate, meditators separate. That made it easy for everyone to walk their own path. But with you, in your ashram, there is a whole fair of opposing paths—yogis and bhaktas, tantrikas and Sufis, karma-yogis and meditators—all together. How is this so? It also creates obstacles. Kindly say something about this.
It is true. In the past it was like that. A master would be the advocate of one narrow path. That had its benefits, and its harms. The benefit was that no dilemma arose in your mind. The same thing—the same thing, the same thing—you heard. The same thing—the same thing, the same thing—you did. Doubt did not arise. You quietly held your path and walked. But there was a danger: narrowness set in. Sectarianism set in—the feeling that only I am right and everyone else is wrong; only this path is right and all others are wrong. So there was a benefit, and there was a harm. And the harm proved greater than the benefit. The benefit reached very few; the harm reached millions. The whole world became sectarian. The whole world became dogmatic: we are right and everyone else is wrong. Ask a Jain—he says, our guru is…
Being a Sikh, I am influenced by Nanak. I am also influenced by your words and vision. Please tell me which path I should adopt?
Where do you see a difference? Choice arises only when there is a difference. If Nanak were saying one thing and I another, then the question of choosing would arise. If you have loved Nanak, you will see Nanak in me. If you have loved me, you will see me in Nanak—where is the difference? An unprecedented happening is taking place here. There are people here who love Jesus; they have seen Jesus in me. Because of their love, they have loved me too. Their love became a bridge, and Jesus and I became one. There are people here who love Kabir. Those who love Mahavira. Those who love Buddha. Those who love Zarathustra. Those who love Mohammed. People of all religions are here. Nowhere else on earth will you find a place where people of all religions are present. And the delight is, no lesson in “synthesis of all…
Osho, after listening to you I experience slackness and sadness in practical life. But when you speak on love and devotion, on joy and celebration, my mind blossoms and fills with delight. Kindly show me my path.
You see—no second Mahavira, no second Krishna, no second Rama. Once one comes, he never appears again on the stage. Remember this. You too are new. Learn from everyone; accept your own. Listen to all; let the final decision come from the heart. So if talk of renunciation brings you slackness and sadness; your heart’s flower does not open but withers; the bud does not become a flower but, on the contrary, the flower closes its petals—as many flowers do at dusk when the sun sets—then understand: this is not your sun of truth. It may be someone else’s truth, because some flowers bloom only when the sun sets—night-blooming jasmine is like that. It may be hers; it is not for you. Then your path is perfectly clear. Wherever you glimpse joy, go there with courage. I am not saying you will find joy there every time. Many times you…
How would you describe your particular path to enlightenment in relationship to other traditional paths such as the various kinds of yoga, sufism, buddhism, zen, christianity, etcetera?
I HAVE NO particular path. I don't belong to any path whatsoever, and therefore all paths belong to me. Each path is perfect in itself, but each path can help only a very minor part of humanity. Each path exists for a particular type. It is complete in itself. Nothing is to be added to it -- nothing is to be deducted from it. As it is, it is perfect. But it can help only a particular type. Humanity is vast; one path cannot carry the whole of humanity. All paths are needed. In fact, as the human mind changes, more new paths have to be evolved. With the mind changing, many old paths have become by and by useless, or can be used only by a very few individuals. I use all paths. Whenever I see a seeker, I start looking into him -- what type he is and…
Beloved Osho, I took sannyas from swami shivanand of rishikesh after reading his book brahmacharya and other books of his.
AFTER SOME YEARS, I WAS ATTRACTED TO SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI AND THEREAFTER TO SRI AUROBINDO DUE TO HIS INTEGRAL APPROACH TO THE DIVINE. FROM 1959 ONWARDS I WAS DOING MEDITATION ON THE LINES INDICATED BY SRI AUROBINDO AND THE MOTHER. THEREAFTER J. KRISHNAMURTI'S APPROACH ATTRACTED ME, NOW YOURS. I ENJOY AND FEEL HAPPY WHENEVER I READ SRI AUROBINDO'S WORKS, SINCE HE EMPHASIZES LIVING A FULL LIFE AND REALIZATION OF INTEGRAL DIVINE AND GIVES MUCH EMPHASIS TO PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION. YOU ALSO EMPHASIZE NOT TO NEGATE LIFE BUT TO LIVE FULLY, AND HAVE GIVEN A NEW MEANING TO SANNYAS. HENCE I AM HERE TO EMBRACE THIS ALSO. I WONDER WHETHER I AM ON THE RIGHT PATH OR DRIFTING? WHAT IS THIS MULTIFARIOUS ATTRACTION IN ME? COULD YOU HELP ME WITH A RIGHT PATH IF I AM DRIFTING? But the questioner seems to be too much in the head: then he became interested…