Product Description

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 In our post-ideological world, where old moralities are out of date, we have a golden opportunity to redefine and revitalize the very foundations of our lives.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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50593 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312291624
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

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

About the Author
Osho is one of the best-known and most provocative spiritual teachers of our time. Beginning in the 1970s, he captured the attention of young people in the West who wanted to experience meditation and transformation. More than a decade after his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.

Customer Reviews

Pure Delight
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.

Hopeless romantic? Try not to read this book......
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.

WOW! Something real
The unusual title caught my attention. Who would connect these three words...in this sequence. I have read several books by Osho but the subject of relationship and everything connected to the issue is very well presented in this new title. Rather than the usual 'how to fix your relationship'I found real insights into the problematic. Each page has so many impacting statements, things which make you really wonder. This is a book I will give to many friends.