“But don’t follow rules imposed from the outside. No imposed rule can ever be right, because rules are created by people who want to control you! Yes, sometimes great enlightened ones appear in the world — like Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Mohammed. They did not give rules to the world; they gave their love. But sooner or later their disciples gather together and start creating rules of conduct. As soon as the Master leaves, as soon as the light is gone, they find themselves in deep darkness and begin to grope for rules to follow, because the light in which they could see is no longer there. Now they must rely on rules.
What Jesus did was whispered by his heart, but what Christians constantly do is not the whisper of their hearts. They are imitators — and the moment you begin to imitate, you insult the human within you, you insult your God. Never imitate, be always original. Don’t become a carbon copy. But that is what is happening all over the world — carbon copies everywhere.
Life is indeed a dance if you are original — and you are meant to be original. Just see how different Krishna is from Buddha. If Krishna had followed Buddha, we would have missed one of the most beautiful people on this earth. Or if Buddha had followed Krishna, he would have been just a miserable specimen. Just imagine Buddha playing the flute! — he would have disturbed the sleep of many people, as he was not a flutist. Just imagine Buddha dancing — it looks so ridiculous, absolutely absurd.
And the same is true for Krishna. Sitting under some tree without a flute, without a crown of peacock feathers, without beautiful clothes — just sitting like a beggar under a tree with closed eyes, no one dancing around him, no song, no dance — Krishna would look so poor, so impoverished. Buddha is Buddha, Krishna is Krishna, and you are you. And in no way are you less than anyone else. Respect yourself, respect your inner voice and follow it.
And remember, I don’t guarantee that it will always lead you in the right direction. Many times it will lead you in the wrong direction, because to arrive at the right door, one must first knock on many wrong doors. That’s how it is. If you suddenly stumble upon the right door, you won’t be able to recognize it. So remember: in the end, no effort is ever wasted; all efforts contribute to the ultimate climax of your growth.
So do not hesitate, do not worry too much about making mistakes. This is one of the problems: people are taught never to make a mistake, and they become so hesitant, so afraid, so terrified of doing something wrong that they become stuck. They cannot move, lest something wrong happens. So they become like stones, they lose all movement.
Make as many mistakes as possible, remembering only one thing: never make the same mistake twice. And you will grow. It is part of your freedom to go astray, part of your dignity to go even against God. And sometimes it is beautiful to go even against God. That is how you begin to have a backbone — otherwise, there are millions of spineless people.”
— Osho
If we believe that there are no coincidences, then Osho’s message likely comes to remind you that the most important thing for you right now is to be yourself — even if it carries the risk of being misunderstood or rejected by others.
