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Why, you might ask. I respond, did America poison Osho? Osho will become a saint in India, of a stature no less than Gautama the Buddha. Osho himself did indeed propagate the myth that America poisoned him. He did this for a variety of reasons: America picked a fight with him; his followers wanted to hate a state power; Socrates is famous; any publicity is good publicity; he needed a scapegoat. Still, while from his discourses one can see that Osho clearly propagated the idea, from his discourses one can just as clearly see that what he propagated was indeed a myth – unless of course you a blind, like his followers, or too judgemental to read his works. Indeed, that is how the story has unfolded over the years since his leaving the body: his followers continued to propagate the myth, and no one else questioned the myth, not considering it worthy of attention. A little common sense with regard to the context, combined with his own discourses, is enough to roundly debunk the myth, and yet this did not happen. Let enough years go by and the context fades, just as the myth gets reinforced by his followers, and then it is no small task to debunk the myth. You do not think that many years from now a holy war might be fought between India and America over this? Osho was obviously familiar with the context, and he obviously knew that his relevant discourses contained clear evidence of his story-telling skills. He knew the myth could easily be debunked. You do not think he wanted it debunked? That is worth a double shot I think!
Why, you might ask. I respond, what is this business about Osho and Zorba the Buddha? Osho knew that his teachings fitted together, and as such, fitted together as a system, because, he delivered them. However, he did not deliver them as parts of that system. He simply talked, as an ongoing expression of his insight into things. Osho challenged academia with the task of trying to make sense of his teachings. You will go mad if you try, he says. His followers think they are so wise, because they know that he is so contradictory that there is no sense to be made from his teachings, and so laugh at any effort to make sense of them. His followers think they are in on the joke, as intellectuals one after the other try to make sense of his teachings, fail at the task, and go mad. Fools his followers are indeed! For Osho to understand and subsequently explain how his teachings fit as a system, he would have to take the same road as the fervent scholar. He would have to retrace his steps. Indeed, to be thorough, he would have to retrace all his steps. I am of the view that Osho did not actually know what he created. He knew that he had created something, but, he did not know what it was. He did not lay down the challenge to scholars because he wanted them to all go mad. He laid down the challenge because he wanted someone to explain his teachings. Why, given it would be more tasty food for the mind? So that one part of the pie does not get mistaken for the whole pie, such that other parts of the pie get thrown in the bin – something which has already happened! I am not going to claim that my work ‘Osho: Zorba the Buddha’ explains his teachings. However, I will say this. I have not seen anyone else make even a half-decent attempt – either nonsense about sex and money, or a pitiful collage of the obvious. That is worth a double shot I think!
Why, you might ask. I respond, and now there is a third book. One is lonely, two is boring, three is a party. Aside from making a party, the work, which is on the topic of mindfulness and God, and which primarily focuses on Christian mysticism, was written in the hope of making it on the compulsory reading list for the folk at the Washington Family Ranch, so that they may deepen their knowledge of their Christian heritage, as well as learn a little about the heritage of the holy place upon which they now dwell. That is worth a double shot I think!