Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy - Osho - Oshorajneesh.com

CHAPTER 17. DON’T IMITATE, JUST BE YOURSELF
Secondly I would like to emphasize that although Krishna’s philosophy, his vision of truth is significant
and useful, it is not to be imitated, followed. When I ask you not to imitate his life which is so rich and
dynamic, how can I ask you to imitate his ideas and thoughts, even his truth expressed in words?
No, you have only to understand them, not follow and imitate them.
Of course as you understand Krishna your own understanding and intelligence will grow and
deepen; it will enrich you in your own way, No ideas, no thoughts, no principles will help you; only
understanding will. Understanding is the key, the master key.
It is unfortunate that imitation has become the hallmark of our life; we imitate from the cradle to the
grave. We imitate others’ ways of living; we imitate their ideas and thoughts. We are nothing more
than imitators in every aspect of life.
Before I go into Krishna’s philosophy, it is necessary to warn you against imitation and following.
Don’t follow anyone, not even Krishna. I say so not because it is not possible today to play pranks
on your girlfriends or to run away with their clothes or to dance with them in the streets, Everything
is possible, there is no difficulty in it. And if dancing with girlfriends is difficult today, it was difficult
in Krishna’s time too. Playing a flute was as difficult then as it is now. There is no basic difference
between old and new times; the differences are minor. So it is not because of changed times that
I ask you not to imitate. Imitation itself is wrong, utterly wrong, and it is always wrong. Imitation is
suicidal. If you want to kill yourself, then only is imitation okay.
Krishna never imitates anyone. Buddha does not follow others. Can you name a person whom
Krishna or Buddha or Christ ever imitated? It is ironic that we imitate those who never imitated
others. It is so absurd. So the first thing to know about men like Krishna is that they never follow and
imitate others, howsoever great the others may be. Persons like Krishna, Buddha, and Christ, are
the exquisite flowerings of individuality; they are not carbon copies of others.
But we all try to imitate others. And imitation is dangerous. Playing the flute or loving a Radha is
not so dangerous. Even today one does not refrain from falling in love with somebody else’s wife. It
happens almost every day. The husband is afraid of his wife, the wife is afraid of her husband, and
yet extra marital relations happen everywhere. And it is no thing new, it has always been so. As long
as husbands and wives ate there, their fear of each other will be there. And to be without husbands
and wives is equally frightening. Man as he is is in fear. and this fear permeates his whole life.
Let us first understand this fear, and then we will go into the matter of truth and reality. You are not
afraid of imitating Krishna because of public opinion. Fear of imitation is more basic, and I would
like to go into it before I take up your question on philosophy and truth. I did not go into Krishna’s
personal life on my own, but because you had asked questions about it. And as you have raised
the question of the fear of imitating Krishna, I will deal with it first and then take up the rest of the
question.
The basic fear of imitation is quite different. Imitation in itself is unnatural and ugly and wrong. In this
whole world no two persons are alike, the same; they cannot be. Each person is different, unique
and incomparable. There is no way to compare you with any other person in the whole world. You
are like you; you are you. Never a person like you has happened in the long past of mankind, and
never one like you is going to happen again in the future. God is a creator; he is creativity itself; he
Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy 331 Osho