Osho says adoring who you are is dangerous, but it creates responsibility
I love me.” How can you say thatIJ Are you so selfish that you only love yourself and nobody elseIJ Are you so conceited that you think you are better than othersIJ
We are very afraid of these reactions from our relatives and friends. And so we hardly ever make this statement about loving ourselves.So even if we really love ourselves for what we are or what we have achieved, we do not declare our love or admiration for ourselves. Such is the fear of friends, relatives, priests, politicians or the public at large. That’s why we do not publicise this love.
learning to love oneself is not difficult nor unnatural. If you have learnt how to love others without loving yourself, then you have done the almost impossible.
You have to tell yourself, “It is only a question of understanding, a simple understanding, that I am to love myself; or I will miss the meaning of life. I will never grow up. I will simply grow old. I will not have any individuality. I will not be really human, dignified, integrated.”
If you cannot love yourself, you cannot love anybody else. Many mental problems arise in today’s world, because you have distanced yourself from yourself. The priests keep on hammering into your brain to sacrifice yourself for others, to offer service, money and charity for others.
Politicians keep pushing you to sacrifice for a cause, sacrifice for society, sacrifice for country, sacrifice, sacrifice... For doing this ‘self sacrifice’ or selfless service, you are rewarded with honours, medals and privileges. In this rat race for recognition and honours, you move away from yourself and forget loving yourself. If you do not love others more than yourself, you are unworthy, selfish and self-centered. But being self-centered is the key. Once you come to your centre and start loving yourself for what you are without feeling guilty for any shortcomings, you come near your core.
You are coming home to yourself. Soon you will start loving yourself. Then you discover your love for yourself is the basic foundation for growth. Hence Osho declares, “I teach you to be selfish which is natural.”
Yes, be selfish without being guilty. No wonder Osho is dubbed ‘the guru of the guiltless!’ Just think if Prince Siddhartha had not become selfish to start on his inner journey for himself, would he become enlightened as BuddhaIJ
It is the same with all other spiritual masters who became enlightened and later guided many others. It’s not just them who became selfish. It is also the disciples who must become selfish to follow their master, by leaving other ways of spending time and energy. WhyIJ Because they love themselves. loving yourself is dangerous. But it is the only way to become responsible. To grow. To become enlightened. Do you have the courage to declare, “I love meIJ”
courtesy Oshoworld