Osho – The only way to really be a Christian is to know the art of love. One does not become a Christian by becoming a follower of Christ, because the follower is an imitator; he remains false. You can only be yourself, you can never be anybody else. If you try to be your life will become schizophrenic. All followers are schizophrenic because they are one thing and they are trying to be somebody else. And existence never repeats — that’s one of the fundamental laws. There is no way to escape from that ultimate law.
A man like Jesus happens only once, and it is not so only with Jesus, it is so with everybody else; there has been no person like you before and there will never be another person like you again. Hence following is basically wrong, it is betraying yourself. And how can you be healthy and whole if you betray yourself?
One does not become a Christian by becoming a member of a church — one becomes a Christian only by love. Jesus defines god as love, so all those who know what love is are Christians, but they are not followers of Christ. Christ was never a follower of anybody else; if he had been a follower the Jews would not have killed him — he was authentically himself. Buddha was not a follower of anybody; he was authentically himself. Lao Tzu was not a follower of anybody.
If one wants to be really whole, sane, blissful, then one has to continuously remember not to fall into the trap of following. My sannyasins are not my followers — just my lovers, my friends. They are companions, fellow travellers, but not followers. You are not to imitate me — that will make you pseudo. You are just to learn love.
Love is the secret of all the religions. It not only makes you a Christian, it also makes you a Mohammedan, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Jaina, a Jew. The moment you love,,you know that all these authentic people — Moses and Jesus and Mohammed and Mahavira and Krishna — were lovers, great lovers of existence, unconditional lovers.
Love is the essential core of religion. So I don’t give you any dogma, any doctrine; I simply help you to discover your loving qualities. They are already there, they just have to be uncovered. They are like buds: they just have to open and become flowers. And then there is great fragrance and great joy and for the first time life becomes a dance, a celebration, a festivity.
Source – Osho Book “Going All The Way”