Was Osho a philosopher?

Osho, formally known as Rajneesh, was an Indian godman and founder of the Rajneesh movement. During his lifetime he was viewed as being a controversial new religious movement leader and mystic. He championed and believed very heavily in meditation, mindfulness, celebration, courage, love, and creativity. He had once been asked if he thought of himself as a philosopher.

He answered by claiming that he did not believe in philosophy because he was a very spiritual man. However, religion is a part of philosophy. Also, Rajneesh's teachings have had a noticeable impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity has accelerated since his death. One example is the influence he has had on the great German philosopher, Peter Sloterdijk. It is both interesting and unfortunate that despite his influence, Rajneesh's teachings have never been presented in an academic setting.

If you can try and make frantic efforts to know many things about Osho, then you will know Osho was just an opposite to everything philosophy stands for, although he was at a particular time a professor of philosophy. Osho had maintained on several occasions that his life and principles are not based on the philosophy and that he should be seen as an anti-philosophic person. Osho believed philosophy is just a game of the mind; a mental engagement based on speculation and shadow chasing.

He believed most of the philosophical beliefs are just there without a purpose. Although Osho was a spiritual leader, he believed if there was no mind, then there wouldn't be anything called philosophy. Osho made it clear that the majority of the religions are only striving because they can be nurtured in people's minds. Osho's approach to spiritual things was basically about what could be seen and not things that could only be thought about.