I have been proclaiming the new man as Zorba the Buddha
Hence, I have been proclaiming the new man as Zorba the Buddha -- which is a meeting of East and West, which is a meeting of science and religion, which is a meeting of logic and love, which is a meeting of the outer and the inner. Only in these meetings will you find peace; otherwise, you will remain a battlefield. If you are miserable, remember that the misery is arising out of an inner battle that goes on day in, day out.
There have been great Zorbas in the world. "Eat, drink and be merry" is their simple philosophy. "There is no life beyond death. God is nothing but an invention of cunning priests. Don't waste your time on unnecessary things; life is short."
In India we have a whole philosophy, the system of the charvakas. Perhaps a charvaka is the most articulate Zorba, and if you try to understand him he is very convincing: "There is no evidence, no eye-witness of any God or of any life after death. There is no evidence or proof that you have an immortal soul. Don't get caught in these words, which have been created just to create a conflict in you so you can become Christians, Hindus, Jainas, Buddhists, Mohammedans."
India has also known great Buddhas. They say the world is illusory; all that is true is inner, and all that is untrue is outside. So don't waste your time in desires, in ambitions; they are nothing but the same stuff as dreams are made of. Use the small time that you have in your hands to go as deep inside as possible so that you can find the temple of God -- your godliness.
If you listen to the Buddhas, they seem to be convincing. If you listen to the Zorbas, they seem to be convincing -- and then you are in trouble, because you have both within you.
I want you to be a peacemaker, not a battlefield.
Let there be a deep friendship between your reason and your passion, so that you can enjoy what is available on the outside... and much is available. It is not illusory, the actions of the Buddhas prove it. They need food -- it does not grow inside. They need water -- they have to seek and find it outside. And still they go on saying, "All that is outside is illusory."
And the Zorbas, although they say that they are only living on the outside, are simply unreasonable -- because the outside can exist only if there is an inside. They are inseparable. Have you seen anything which has only outside and no inside? Have you seen a coin which has only one side? Howsoever thin you make it, both sides will remain together.
The first step to understand is: The most significant approach is to relax and be in love with your body, with your heart. Don't create any conflict, bring them closer -- because centuries have made them so unbridgeable. And as they come closer and become one you will not be just a Zorba or just a Buddha, you will be Zorba the Buddha. You will be a total man. And in your totality is beauty, is bliss, is truth.
-Osho, "The Messiah, Vol 2, #3"