What is Love According to Osho?
The word ‘love’ conjures a myriad of images for most people. Some define it as a relationship, others as desire, and some as an intense emotion felt for a specific person. But is all of this truly love? Osho, a mystic and thinker, challenged our traditional understanding of love, viewing it from a completely new dimension. According to him, what we often perceive as love is frequently a mask for need, fear, possession, and attachment.
So, what is love for Osho? And how can we understand and experience true love in our lives?
Osho’s True Definition of Love
Osho states that love is not an emotion, but a state of consciousness. It is not something you ‘do’ to someone, but a state in which you ‘live’. Love is not a commodity to be bought or sold, nor is it a transaction. It is a natural expansion of your being when you are internally complete and peaceful.
Love is Inner Completeness
Osho believed that when a person feels empty or incomplete within, they turn love into a necessity. They expect the other person to fill their void. However, true love is only possible when you are complete in yourself. When you are full within, love does not become a burden; it flows naturally.
Love is Freedom, Not Bondage
In society, love is often seen as a bond, where two people become tied to each other. Osho, conversely, believed it to be the greatest freedom. It does not bind you; it liberates you. True love involves no possession, no control, only unconditional acceptance and respect.
Love is a Meditation
Awareness and meditation are at the root of almost all of Osho’s teachings. He said that love can be blind without awareness. When you are conscious, you can see the other person in their truth, accepting both their limitations and their beauty. This awareness makes love deep and meaningful.
The Difference Between Love and Attachment: Osho’s Clarification
Osho clearly distinguished between love and attachment, a crucial understanding for recognizing true love. In most relationships, we confuse love with attachment, leading to suffering and disappointment.
Signs of Attachment
- Desire for Gain: Attachment means wanting something from someone. It is often based on fear, insecurity, and selfishness.
- Fear: Attachment involves the fear of loss, of being alone, of rejection.
- Possessiveness: You start considering the other person your property and try to control them.
- Expectations: Attachment always involves expectations from the other person – love, attention, security, happiness. When these expectations are not met, suffering arises.
- Dependence: You become dependent on the other person for your happiness and completeness.
- Jealousy: When the other person pays attention to someone else, the attached person feels jealousy.
Signs of True Love
- Giving Without Expectation: Love means giving without wanting anything in return. It is based on freedom, acceptance, and joy.
- Freedom: True love grants the other person complete freedom and does not try to bind them.
- Acceptance: You accept the other person as they are, without trying to change them.
- Unconditional Giving: Love involves no expectations. You simply give, without expecting anything back.
- Joy: Love brings an inner happiness and peace that is not dependent on any external source.
- Expansion: Love does not make you narrow; it expands your being, making you more inclusive.
Love is Not a Need, But Inner Completeness
Osho repeatedly emphasized that love is not a need to be fulfilled externally. When we feel empty inside, we often try to find our completeness in another person. We think that ‘he’ or ‘she’ will complete us, make us happy. But this is an illusion. No other person can complete us, because completeness lies within us, not outside.
True love manifests only when you are complete in yourself, when you do not need anyone else. When you are happy and content even when alone, only then can you offer love to another person without any conditions or expectations. This love is like a flowing river, which flows on its own, not to fill someone, but in its natural course.
The Deep Connection Between Love and Meditation
According to Osho, love and meditation are two sides of the same coin. Meditation helps you go within, understand your consciousness, and connect with your true nature. When you find peace and stillness within through meditation, love naturally begins to blossom from within you.
A calm and focused mind can love without fear or expectation. Meditation teaches you to live in the present moment, allowing you to be fully present with your partner. It helps you understand the other’s feelings and build a deeper connection with them. Awareness is what shows us the way out of the web of attachment and towards true love.
How to Experience True Love in Your Life
Understanding Osho’s ideas is one thing, and implementing them in your life is another. Here are some practical steps to experience true love:
- Increase Self-Awareness: Begin to understand your thoughts, feelings, and motivations. What are you seeking in a relationship? Is it love or a need? Meditation and self-reflection can be helpful.
- Let Go of Expectations: Do not have unrealistic expectations from the other person. Everyone is on their own journey. Do not try to change them; accept them as they are.
- Free Yourself from Possessiveness: Do not consider your partner your property. Give them their freedom and space. True love gives freedom, it does not bind.
- Learn to Give Unconditionally: Start giving love without expecting anything in return. This can be in any form – giving time, support, understanding.
- Work on Your Inner Completeness: Do not depend on others for your happiness. Develop your hobbies, work on your goals, and find your inner peace. When you are complete in yourself, your love becomes purer and more powerful.
- Live in the Present: Do not get entangled in past grievances or future worries. Be fully present with your partner in the current moment.
According to Osho, love is not a goal to be achieved, but a journey, a continuously evolving process. It transforms you from within, making you more human and divine.
Vivek Bhai’s Advice
Look, yaar, Osho’s talks might sound a bit complex, but their core message is very simple: ‘First, love yourself, make yourself complete, only then can you give true love to someone else.’ In modern relationships, we often mistake ‘neediness’ for ‘love’. If you expect your partner to fill all your empty spaces, that’s dependence, not love. Try to spend some time alone, understand what truly makes you happy, build your own hobbies, and become a whole person by yourself. When you are happy in yourself, your love will become a gift, not a burden. And yes, try a little meditation; it really helps in clearing the mind and seeing things as they are. Trust me, it works!
