Osho – How do you explain your charismatic effect on people?

Question: How do you explain your charismatic effect on people?
Osho – It’s very simple; because I am not a politician. The politician speaks whatever the people want to hear. I speak whatever is my experience. I don’t care whether you like it or you don’t like it.

When I am speaking, I am speaking with my whole heart, irrespective of your reaction. My simplicity, my honesty. I am not in any way trying to influence you. There is no desire to convert you. All that I am doing is, I am enjoying to share my experience. You will find in the world people who are all interested in you to convert. You will not find people who are not interested in converting you, who are simply interested in sharing their heart and their soul with you.

So I don’t know what charisma is, because I have never come across any charismatic personality in the whole world. I am not interested in influencing anybody. I am tremendously happy simply to share my vision with you. Perhaps my sincerity, my truth, my authority behind it, becomes a charismatic influence on you; and when I say my authority, I do not mean that I am an authoritative man. There is a vast difference which has to be remembered.

A authoritative man has always a borrowed authority. When people say, “Listen to me, because my word is God’s word,” this is the voice of the authoritative man. He is using God’s name to enforce his authority. When the Pope speaks, he is speaking in the name of Jesus Christ. He is authoritative.

I am not authoritative, because I am not speaking in anybody’s name. No God to support me, no holy Bible to support me. It is simply my own experience. That gives tremendous authority to me. Perhaps all these qualities together — the authority behind my word, my own experience, no desire to influence you, my sincerity to expose the truth, and my obligation to you, that you listen to me. You are not obliged by me. I am obliged by you, that you gave me a chance to unburden my heart; it is something like a raincloud when it is full of rainwater. It want to shower somewhere.

It is just like when a rose opens its petals it wants the breeze to come and take its flavor, its fragrance, to far away places. I am obliged to you. Perhaps that’s what is impresses you as charismatic. Otherwise I am a very simple man. I don’t do miracles, I don’t make wine out of water because I am not a criminal. That is a crime; to create drugs out of water. I don’t pretend to be the only begotten son of God. I don’t say that you have to believe in me; on the contrary I say that I provoke you to think, to doubt, to be sceptical. Because I know that if you doubt, if you inquire, you are bound to find truth, that I have found.

It is only the people who are afraid of their truth that force you to believe, that say “Have faith.” Because they are afraid if you inquire you may not find anything what they are saying. Their insistence on faith simply proves that they themselves don’t know. Otherwise, why be afraid of doubt and inquiry?

My invitation is to inquire; because I know whatever I am saying is there within you, just as it is within me.

Source – Osho Book “The Last Testament, Vol 5”