Question: Through the ages, incarnations like Jesus and Buddha have accepted to come and help humanity. If life is no more than a joke, why do they take the trouble?
Osho : That too is part of this great cosmic joke. Buddha and Christ — they are part of this great game, this play, this LEELA. Don’t take them seriously, they are not serious people. They are playing a game. It is all a joke. When I say ‘It is all a joke’ I simply mean don’t take it seriously and don’t take it sadly. Let it be fun.
Nobody is a saviour — neither Buddha nor Jesus — nobody is a saviour. I am included in it. Nobody is a saviour. Then what is a Buddha? A Buddha is just a salvation. Not a saviour, a salvation. If you understand him, if you look into him, if you partake of him, your life is no longer a misery. It is a bliss.
Not that Buddha saves you, not that Jesus saves you. Nobody can save anybody. Only you can save yourself. But they are salvations. And the secret of salvation is: be joyful, don’t be sad. The secret of salvation is: don’t go on creating misery. And the serious face, the long face, is the unreligious face.
That’s why I say, ‘This life is a cosmic joke.’ It is not to disparage it, it is not disrespectful. It is the greatest respect that I can show to it — that it is a play. That’s why Hindus call it LEELA, a play. Be playful, and in that playfulness is your salvation. And it is you and only you who can save yourself. I can make my heart available to you. I’m not a saviour, I am a salvation.
