Love, Freedom, Aloneness: The Koan of Relationships [Paperback]

Osho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2002

In today's world, freedom is our basic condition, and until we learn to live with that freedom, and learn to live by ourselves and with ourselves, we are denying ourselves the possibility of finding love and happiness with someone else.

Love can only happen through freedom and in conjunction with a deep respect for ourselves and the other. Is it possible to be alone and not lonely? Where are the boundaries that define "lust" versus "love"...and can lust ever grow into love? In Love, Freedom, Aloneness you will find unique, radical, and intelligent perspectives on these and other essential questions. In our post-ideological world, where old moralities are out of date, we have a golden opportunity to redefine and revitalize the very foundations of our lives. We have the chance to start afresh with ourselves, our relationships to others, and to find fulfillment and success for the individual and for society as a whole.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first few chapters of self-styled guru Osho's spiritual insights on love, sex and meditation are infused with an idiosyncratic but reasonably mainstream flavor. As the book progresses, however, Osho's teachings veer sharply away from conventional spirituality. In a chapter entitled "It Takes a Village," Osho envisions a future in which communes replace the family, calling this "the most revolutionary step in human history." While Osho and the Osho Commune International are briefly profiled in endnotes, nowhere is it revealed that Osho was the Bhagwan Rajneesh the charismatic cult leader who fled the United States in 1987 and died in India three years later. Read in light of this knowledge, the book takes on a foreboding aspect. In view of the sexual practices at the Rajneeshi commune in Oregon, passages such as "Love always melts the self.... You love a woman, and at least in those few moments when there is real love for the woman, there is no self in you, no ego" seem rife with dangerous latencies. Also disconcerting is the knowledge that this collection has not been updated with Osho's later views, including the more conservative statements on sexuality that marked his much-scrutinized last years. Given the author's identity, readers might be tempted to dismiss these teachings as cult brainwashing and avoid them altogether, but there is much here to be taken seriously.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

These thoughts on love, sex, marriage, relationships, freedom, and enlightenment come from transcripts of the late teacher's lectures and question-and-answer sessions, and their casual, conversational tone makes them easy to read. Osho stresses the need for self-love, the effect of meditation on one's ability to love, the origins of jealousy, the social conditioning that shapes one's relationships, the reasons relationships often fail, and the difference between love and lust. He makes his points emphatically, often using humor to illustrate his thoughts. "I teach self-love," he says. "But remember, self-love does not mean egotistical pride, not at all. In fact it means just the opposite. The person who loves himself finds that there is no self in him. Love always melts the self--that is one of the alchemical secrets to be learned, understood, experienced." Regardless of one's feelings about Osho, who was controversial as a "sex guru," there is plenty of food for thought in his musings. Bonnie Johnston
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312291620
• ISBN-13: 978-0312291624
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Osho, known for his revolutionary contribution to the science of inner transformation, continues to inspire millions of people worldwide in their search to define a new approach to individual spirituality that is self-directed and responsive to the everyday challenges of contemporary life. The Sunday Times of London named him one of the '1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century,' and novelist Tom Robbins called him 'the most dangerous man since Jesus Christ.' For more information about Osho and his work, please visit osho.com.


Osho's teachings defy categorization, covering everything from the individual quest for meaning to the most urgent social and political issues facing individuals and society today.

His unique "Osho Active Meditations" are designed to first release the accumulated stresses of body and mind, so that it is easier to experience the thought-free and relaxed state of meditation. (Meditation -The First and Last Freedom, by Osho)

About his own work Osho has said that he is helping to create the conditions for the birth of a new kind of human being. He has often characterized this new human being as "Zorba the Buddha" -- capable both of enjoying the earthy pleasures of a Zorba the Greek and the silent serenity of a Gautam Buddha.

Running like a thread through all aspects of Osho's work is a vision that encompasses both the timeless wisdom of the East and the highest potential of Western science and technology.

Osho has been described by the Sunday Times in London as one of the "1000 Makers of the 20th Century" and by American author Tom Robbins as "the most dangerous man since Jesus Christ."

Biographical:
Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic, ST. MARTIN'S Press, New York, available in multiple languages.


Websites for more information:
http://www.OSHO.com
http://OSHO.com/resort
http://OSHO.com/magazine
http://OSHO.com/shop
http://www.youtube.com/OSHO
http://www.oshobytes.blogspot.com
http://www.Twitter.com/OSHOtimes
http://www.facebook.com/pages/OSHO.International

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Delight February 4, 2003

By zvozin

Format:Paperback

The book is beautiful, read it and delight in it. Don't take it seriously, rather drink it up. It is in prose (it is all transcribed talks), but leaves a distinct aftertaste of fine poetry. Besides, whatever Osho was, he was a genious in his knowledge of human psychology, and a master with words. It shows. $5 say anyone with a little attention will stumble across something eye-opening in this book.

Speaking of who Osho was, it pays to do research (I'm aiming at the editorial reviews here, naturally). He didn't flee the US - he got deported on fabricated INS charges, and there were no orgies at Rajneeshpuram. However, libel sticks. This story (a thoroughly fascinating one - how the Reigan administration got so afraid of a little Indian man that they broke a couple dozen of American laws trying to shut him down and force him out) is still awaiting an unbiased teller.

Osho belonged to the venerable tradition that says: human beings are basically consciousness. Everything else, including our bodies, and our lives, is minute circumstance. The only purpose is to help the consciousness become aware of itself (aka enlightenment), the only path there - meditation. Anything else is only used to help the people meditate, as needed. Osho spent the majority of his life promoting the cause, and certainly sacrificed lifetime for it - he died prematurely even considering his rather ill health (he was asthmatic, diabetic, and had back problems, but granted the very high level of care afforded him, the above shouldn't have killed a 59-old man).

For everything else, read the man himself. This lovely book is as good a place to start as any.

55 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful period now begins of your reading and seeking. January 15, 2004

By stephen Luff

Format:Paperback

If you are new to Osho then you are in for the most beautiful period of your reading and seeking. Although this seems a bold statement, I feel it is understated. In this one book one will learn a lifestyle that is natural and flowing. There are no rules, no golden gems of a 10 point plan. What you get is how to balance a lifestyle of meditation and love. The polarities. Aloneness and relationships. To seemlessly dance between the two. The style is very flowing like a conversation. This is no accident. The book is put together from talks that Osho has given. Some 5000 hours of recordings have been taken. If you loved Eckhart Tolle's the power of now and wish for more reading of that quality, you will find Osho books equally as good. I've read the full 6 books of the insight series. All are brilliant. I recommend Sex matters highly as well. Osho Zen and Osho Tao are also brilliant. However, if I was asked to recommend one essential book for someone new to Osho it would be Love, Freedom and Aloneness. It's hard to really review Osho because you are not quite sure what's really going on. Just by reading you feel something is happening. That something is a resounding "A-ha" to it. I've read carlos Castaneda all of them, I've read most of Stuart Wilde's books which I thought could not be surpassed yet Osho has done this with ease. With Osho there is no fighting within. You start with were you are and remove things very gently. He loves to bring a gentleness to the way you treat life and especially yourself. I've never thought of brushing teeth violently. However, when you compare that to brushing teeth gently, you begin to understand how you treat yourself. A small violence, but still it is there. Osho takes you on a journey of Man, politics and religion, he unravels the contradictions and the subtle cunning under-current of our politicians and religious leaders. He cannot unravel the mystery of life, he embraces the mystery and uncertainty. What I have noticed when reading is the fluidity of the words, sentences and chapters. You know that there is no-one there. Osho stepped aside many years ago. The words are straight from the great unknown, without filters, pure and brilliant. He was a truely brilliant, intelligent man and yet highly evolved in his spirituality or religiousness[not in the sense that we normally associate with this word. Uncluttered with religious dogma.] as he liked to often use. Once you read his biography you will come to know why you perhaps have not heard much about this man. What he has to say in his books, if understood and applied, will make each person a tower of immortal strength that no force on earth will be able to control. That's why the man was banned from so many developed countries towards the end of his life. His words are all there to lead you to becoming enlightened without an intermediatory. This would be a state of such peace tranquility and blissfulness, that the thought of becoming enlightened doesn't scare me any more.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopeless romantic? Try not to read this book...... February 16, 2006

By Ayam

Format:Paperback

I haven't finished reading this book (3/4 of the way), but i decided to give back to the community that has assisted me so much with my choice of books..... that and Amazon have a new 'bullying' system of getting reviews out of customers. Anyway, this book is really an eye opener. All the ideas of love that i got from books, films and even my parents now seem so silly and strange- like, where did they get them from? Osho explores what the general public see as love (romantic love), and another love that gives the impression of being a religious love at the get-go (i say that because i've always seen 'unconditional love' as something for the saints and celibates only), but is actually the most important love that we actually need in our lives. A selfish love that is actually unselfish. I wonder how relationships would be if we all possessed this type of love for ourselves..... would we even waste our time on relationships? Probably, not if they're the type that bring attachment. Osho discusses why most relationships and marriages are doomed from the beginning. "Let there be spaces in your togetherness"- very deep quote. He does not bring an authoritarian tone to any aspect of love; all he wants us to have is understanding..... understand the laws of existence and then do what you want.

His views on sex are amazing, just like his views on religion. I suspect both views were responisble for most of the controversy surrounding him- Increase sexual freedom while reducing religion (especially Christianity)? I think Bush and a few teleevangelists would probably not think twice about killing him on live tv if they got the chance. But he's dead so they can't. And his words live on.........

I'm probably a poor reviewer, but do not let that stop you from reading this book, if you ever wondered if there is more to love, or if you want understanding on why people still risk all for love even though it never seems to last (with one partner)

this is definitely the book for you. Just remember to soak everything in before putting on your worn out rationalization cap. Logic is not everything.