According to Osho, he is not a mere personality to be worshiped but a mirror and a pointer to the divine within you. He teaches that the sacred is always near; you need only cry, pray, and knock from your innermost core, and it responds. His function is to awaken this direct, heartfelt contact beyond doctrines and borrowed beliefs.
Osho is a guide who helps you feel the God inside you by honestly asking from your heart.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, who are you?
I AM JUST A MIRROR -- nothing more, nothing less. If you come close to me you can see your face as it is. Many people will see ugly faces and they will become angry at me. They will think that this ugliness is part of me. Many people will see beautiful faces; they will become infatuated with me. They will think that this beauty is part of me. Both are wrong. Just a few days ago THE SUNDAY STATESMAN published an article about me. The title of the article is "Rajneesh -- Sage or Satyr?" The writer is a famous Bengali scholar, a follower of Sri Aurobindo. He has written many books, particularly on Aurobindo's philosophy. He cannot come to a conclusion; he wavers. I enjoyed his article. One moment he thinks I am a saint, another moment he thinks I am a sinner. One moment he feels I…
Question: BELOVED OSHO, CAN YOU SAY WHO YOU ARE? Maneesha, I am an invitation for all those who are seeking, searching, and have a deep longing in their hearts to find their home. I am an answer to the question that everybody is, but cannot formulate -- a question that is more a quest than a question, more a thirst than a verbal, mental inquiry; a thirst that one feels in every cell and fiber of his being, but has no way to bring to words and ask. I am an answer for that question which you cannot ask and you cannot expect that it could be answered. When I say I am the answer, I don't mean that I can give you the answer... yes, if you are ready, you can take it.
Osho, what is god?
GOD is not a person. That is one of the greatest misunderstandings, and it has prevailed so long that it has become almost a fact. Even if a lie is repeated continuously for centuries it is bound to appear as if it is a truth. God is a presence, not a person. Hence all worshipping is sheer stupidity. Prayerfulness is needed, not prayer. There is nobody to pray to; there is no possibility of any dialogue between you and God. Dialogue is possible only between two persons, and God is not a person but a presence -- like beauty, like joy. God simply means godliness. It is because of this fact that Buddha denied the existence of God. He wanted to emphasize that God is a quality, an experience -- like love. You cannot talk to love, you can live it. You need not create temples of love, you need…
Question: Second question: Osho, are you a messiah? What do you take yourself to be? But those footprints were very clear. The astrologer grew anxious—was his scripture wrong? He followed the tracks. In the direction the prints seemed to go, he walked, for it had become necessary to see this man. Walking along, he reached the tree under which Buddha sat—and then he was in deeper trouble. Seeing Buddha’s face, it seemed indeed the face of a chakravarti—his very presence had the aura a world emperor should have: the same halo, the same circle of light, the same fragrance, the same majesty. Yet the man looked like a beggar. A begging bowl lay beside him; not even a mat to sit upon. He was seated on a rock under a bush.
Osho, what should I call you—Prabhu, Vibhu, or Shambhu? I ask this so that I may bow at your feet continuously. Only there do I wish to bow for all three times. Now please hear my prayer!
So absorbed in worship that one forgets even to raise the hands. You don’t remember to bow—you are bowed. So immersed in devotion! “Now, for prayer, my hands no longer rise; the heart seems lost in surrender and consent.” The temperament is so drowned in worship, in prayer: who remembers when to raise hands, when to offer flowers, when to mark the forehead? Bowed is bowed. Bowing is not an outer affair. It is inner—an inward mood. You ask to bow for three times. You will be in trouble, and you’ll put me in trouble too. If you must bow, bow—just spare me! “Because I may bow at your feet continuously.” What is the fear? Why make it “continuous”? Is this moment not enough? Settle this moment within itself. The next moment will care for itself. Why keep accounts of tomorrow? Surely your today is poor. Talk of tomorrow arises…