From Ignorance to Innocence - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 19. RELIGION IS REBELLION
prophets sent by God, so what was wrong with poor Jesus? – why should he not be accepted? But
if God had been denied, then...”There is nobody to send you. First you prove the existence of God
– then only the secondary question arises; then we will discuss it.” And Jesus would have been at a
loss to answer and the crucifixion would have been easily avoided.
But Judaism is God-oriented, Mohammedanism is God-oriented, hence Mohammed becomes His
messenger. And somebody has to be the messenger, otherwise how is there going to be any kind
of communication between God and His creation? – a mediator is absolutely needed. It appears
logical.
The people in the Arabian countries believed in God, so they could not raise the basic question.
They only argued that”You are not the right messenger.” But how can you prove who is the right
messenger and who is the wrong messenger? You are fighting on very secondary issues. The real
fight has to be on the primary issue.
In Jainism there is no possibility of a messiah. Nobody can declare that ”I am a messiah;” people will
simply laugh and say that you have gone mad. Nobody can declare that ”I am a messenger of God;”
he will be just a laughingstock, people will just joke around. He cannot say, ”I am an incarnation of
God,” because God does not exist. From where are you getting this incarnation – an incarnation of
nobody?
So in Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Confucianism, no problem arises about the messiahs,
messengers. And then how can you have popes and bishops and priests? This is the whole ladder.
If you accept the highest rung on the ladder you will have to accept the ladder. But if the ladder is
going nowhere, if it is just standing on the ground and leading nowhere, reaching nowhere, all the
rungs on the ladder will become meaningless.
I have denied the idea of God.
And with God disappears all messiahhood.
You cannot declare me a messiah even when I am dead.
You cannot declare me an incarnation, even when I am dead.
You cannot declare me a messenger.
Do you see the simple fact?that even when I am dead you cannot go against me. How can you
create a cult? – because all the necessary ingredients for a cult I am denying. I am saying there is
no messenger. I am saying there is no avatara.
But although Mahavira saved Jainism from the priesthood, he could not save it from becoming a
cult, because he brought in a new concept – the tirthankara.
You have to understand: that concept is totally different from a messiah. A messiah is one who
comes from God; that’s the exact meaning of avatara. Literally it means descendance – coming
down from above. Tirthankara means growing up from below. It is man who has blossomed to his
From Ignorance to Innocence 265 Osho