Zorba and Buddha

In a Catholic church I was once amazed to listen to a bishop mentioning a rather unorthodox reference to forgiveness. This was not from the Bible or a Christian text, but from Zorba the Greek, the famous novel byNikos Kazantzakis, made also into a very popular movie starring Anthony Quinn.

Zorba is a most vibrant and earthy old man incorporating the orgiastic spirit of Dionysus, the archetype of ecstasy, sensuality and exuberance. When I was an Osho sannyasin I often heard Osho talking about Zorba as the model of the new man and his unorthodox spirituality in contrast with ordinary religion. 

For Osho the new man is Zorba the Buddha, a combination between Zorba the Greek and Gautama the Buddha. “He will be Christ and Epicurus together. Religion failed because it was too other-worldly. It neglected this world. And you cannot neglect this world; to neglect this world is to neglect your own roots.” (Osho, The Times of India, 8 June 2004). Hence I was astonished to hear about Zorba in a bishop’s Catholic homely. 

The bishop quoted the following passage in which Zorba describes his idea about God:

"I think of God as being exactly like me. Only bigger, stronger, crazier. And immortal, into the bargain. He's sitting on a pile of soft sheepskins, and his hut's the sky. […] In his right hand he's holding not a knife or a pair of scales - those damned instruments are meant for butchers and grocers - no, he's holding a large sponge full of water, like a rain cloud. […] Here comes a soul; the poor little thing's quite naked, because it's lost its cloak - its body, I mean - and it's shivering. [...] The naked soul throws itself at God's feet. 'Mercy!' it cries. 'I have sinned.' And away it goes reciting its sins. It recites a whole rigmarole and there's no end to it. God thinks this is too much of a good thing. He yawns. 'For heaven's sake stop!' he shouts. 'I've heard enough of all that!' Flap! Slap! A wipe of the sponge, and he washes out all the sins. 'Away with you, clear out, run off to Paradise!' he says to the soul. […] Because God, you know, is a great lord, and that's what being a lord means: to forgive!"

http://astroshamanic.blogspot.com/2011/04/prodigal-son-revisited-blessings-and.html

Astroshamans features articles on various topics (please browse column below) and in particular on holistic awareness, sacred relationships, spiritual healing, experiential astrology, astroshamanism and holistic Christianity.

Astroshamanism is a holistic system of healing aimed at expanding human consciousness through the integration of shamanism with astrology, the mystery traditions and other paths of inner wisdom. Editor: Franco Santoro.