Osho has given his unique commentaries on various enlightened masters and mystics born in India during the last 5,000 years. Many readers have been wondering which are Osho’s most favourite mystics. It happened once the great Hindi poet, Sumitranandan Pant, asked, who are the 12 brightest shining stars in India? Osho gave him the list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Nagarjuna, Shankara, Gorakh, Kabir, Nanak, Meera, Ramakrishna and Krishnamurti.
The poet further asked Osho, “Could you just give me seven names?” Osho gave him seven names: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Shankara, Gorakh and Kabir. The poet requested again to shorten the list and asked, “If you had to make a list of five?” Osho gave him the list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira and Gorakh.
The poet was surprised that Gorakh was not being dropped from the list and asked Osho to give a reason. Osho replied: “Because Kabir is merged into Gorakh. Gorakh is the root. Gorakh cannot be left out.”
Then the poet said: “One more time... if only four are to be kept?”
Osho made the final list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha and Gorakh...
The poet requested: “Just one more time... please choose three.”
Osho replied: “Now it is impossible. I cannot drop any of these four.”
These four individualities are like the four directions. These four are like the four dimensions of time and space. These four arms are like the four-armed aspects of God. In fact, there is only one, but that one has four arms.
The poet wondered why Gorakh was not dropped. Osho remarked: “Gorakh cannot be dropped because Gorakh became a new beginning for this country... Gorakh is the first link of a chain. Through him a new type of religion was born. Without Gorakh, there could be no Kabir, no Nanak, no Dadu, no Vajid, no Farid, no Meera — without Gorakh none of these are possible. The basic root of all of them is in Gorakh. Since then the temple has been built high. On this temple many golden spires have been raised... but the foundation stone is the foundation stone.”
He concluded: “India’s mystic tradition — those innumerable devotees of love — is indebted to Gorakh. Just as without Patanjali there would be no possibility of yoga in India; as without Buddha the foundation stone of meditation would be uprooted; just as without Krishna the path of love would not find expression — similarly, without Gorakh the search that began for methods and techniques of sadhana, of spiritual practice to attain the ultimate truth, would not have been possible. Gorakh made many discoveries within man for the inner search, more perhaps than anyone else has made. He has given so many methods, that in terms of methods Gorakh is the greatest inventor... Gorakh had a rare individuality, similar to Einstein. Einstein gave such penetrating methods for investigating the truth of the universe, as no one before him had given. Yes, now they can be further developed, now a finer edge can be put on them. But Einstein has done the primary work. Those who follow will be secondary. Now they cannot be first. The road was first broken by Einstein. Many will come who improve this road: ones who build it up, ones who place the milestones, ones who beautify it and make it comfortable. Many people will come, but no one can take Einstein’s place. In the inner world the same situation exists with Gorakh.”
