A Sufi need not be a
Mohammedan. A Sufi can exist anywhere,
in any form because Sufism is the
essential core of all religions. It has
nothing to do with Islam in particular.
Sufism can exist without Islam; Islam cannot
exist without Sufism. Without Sufism, Islam
is a corpse. Only with Sufism does it become
alive.
Whenever a religion is alive it is because of
Sufism. Sufism simply means a love affair
with God, with the ultimate, a love affair
with the whole. It means that one is ready
to dissolve into the whole, that one is ready
to invite the whole to come into ones heart.
It knows no formality. It is not confined by
any dogma, doctrine, creed or church. Christ
is a Sufi, so is Mohammed. Krishna is a Sufi,
so is Buddha. This is the first thing I would
like you to remember: that Sufism is the
innermost core as Zen is, as Hassidism is.
These are only different names of the same
ultimate relationship with God....osho