"Sexuality is available to everyone, love is not." - Osho
Osho was an Indian spiritual teacher. He was born in Kuchwada in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 1931. From early childhood, he was a rebellious and independent spirit who wanted to experience the truth for himself, not to pick up the knowledge and beliefs of other people.
Today we will dive into his thinking about love, which he described in the book From Death to Immortality.
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There are three levels in man: physiological - body, psychological - mind and his being - his eternal essence. Love can exist on all three levels, but its quality can vary. At the level of the body, it's just sex. You can call it love, because the word love sounds poetic and beautiful. 99 percent of people call sex love. Sex is biological, physical. Your chemistry, your hormones, everything material.
You fall in love with a woman or a man. Can you describe exactly why this person attracted you? You certainly cannot see its interior, its existence, because you do not yet know your own existence. You can't even identify her psyche as reading someone is not an easy task. So what did you find in this person?
There is something physically and chemically attracted to you, something in your hormones that is attracted to her female hormones, her chemistry. It's not about love, it's about chemistry.
Think again, the woman you fell in love with went to the doctor and changed her gender, now she's growing a beard. Will you still love her? Nothing has changed, just chemistry and hormones. Where is your love now?
Only 1 percent of people went a little deeper. They can feel the beauty of the Spirit, the sensitivity of the Heart, because they themselves live on this level.
Remember this as a general rule: you cannot see beyond where you reside. If you live in your body and think that you are only a body, then you can only be attracted to a body, a bodily level of love.
Some people do not think but feel because they live with the heart and can feel the heart of another person. This is often called love. It's rare, maybe 1 percent of the time, but it does happen occasionally.
Why don't the vast majority of people go to the second level where it's so beautiful? Well, here's the problem: it's all very beautiful, but it's also very delicate. It is not made of steel, but of very fragile glass. And when a mirror falls and breaks, it cannot be put back together. People are afraid of getting too deeply involved, lest they reach that fragile level of love. At this level, love is incredibly beautiful, but also incredibly changeable.
Feelings are not like rocks, they are like rose petals. Better to have plastic flowers, because they will always be there and you can wash them every day and they will always look fresh. You can also spray them with French perfume. If the color fades, you can repaint them. Plastic is one of the most indestructible things in this world, it is stable, durable. That is why people remain on the physical level of love. Although superficial, it is stable.
Sensitive souls can fall in love almost every day. Their love is like a rose. And while she is there, she is so fragrant, so alive, and in all her beauty she dances in the wind, the rain, the sun. But when the evening comes, it can pass, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. This deeper love of the heart is like a breath of wind that enters your room, brings freshness and leaves. And you can't hold the wind with your hand.
There are few who are brave enough to surrender to a life that changes every moment. They prefer to make a decision and fall in love in a safe way, in a way that they trust. I don't know what kind of love you know - probably the first kind, maybe the second kind. And you are afraid when you reach your own Being. What will happen to your love? It will definitely disappear, but you won't lose anything. A new kind of love will emerge, one that occurs in one in a million people. This love can be called "love fulfillment."
The first kind of love should be called "sex". Another one "love". And the third "filled with love" – this love that is not directed at anyone. She is not possessive and does not acknowledge that someone else has you. This love is so radical that it is hard to imagine.
At the very beginning, the man is told: "You are a man, not a woman. Act like a man. Women cry, you don't. Act like a man.” And so every man begins to reject his feminine qualities. In the end, only barbaric animals remain. Its only function is to make children. Women should not have male characteristics. If they want to climb a tree, they will immediately stop her: "It's for boys, not girls." Weird! If a girl wants to climb a tree, that in itself is enough to let her climb the tree.
All societies throughout history have developed wardrobes for men and women. This is not okay, because every man is also a woman. Because he came from two sources: from his father and mother. Both contributed to its existence. And every woman is also a man. We destroyed them both. Women lost their courage, adventure, judgment and logic because these were male traits. And men have lost charm, sensitivity, compassion and kindness. And both exist halfway. This is the biggest problem to solve - at least when it comes to people.
Your concern is justified. What you think is love will disappear, but what will take that place is vast and endless. You will love each other without commitment. You will be able to love many people, because if you love one person, you remain poor. You will be surprised that each person gives you a new feeling, a new composition, a new form of ecstasy. You don't have to be possessive, the desire to be possessive destroys love. And you don't have to let someone own you because that also destroys love.
All people deserve to be loved. You expect the impossible! But this can only happen if you discover your essence in your meditation. It's not about exercising, it's about discovering your being. With the discovery of one's own being, an impersonal "perfection with love" is created. Then you simply love. And this love is constantly expanding, first to people, then to animals, trees, mountains, stars. And the day will come when universal existence will be your mistress. This is your potential. And whoever does not achieve this, is wasting his life.
Yes, you will have to lose some things, but they are worthless. You will gain so much that you will never think about what you have lost!
