Avoiding the void

[Guest guest]

Osho:<br> The more you possess, the less you can

love. And love is the door. Or, the less you can

love,<br> the more you start possessing things. Things

become a substitute. <br> Let us try to understand it. A

child is born. If the mother loves him¡Kpsychoanalysts

have been<br> studying, much research has been done ¡X

if the mother loves him, the child never drinks

too<br> much milk; never, because he knows, it is a tacit

understanding, that the mother is always<br> available and

she¡¦s always ready to share. So what is the fear? If

the mother loves the child,<br> the child will drink

only as much milk as is needed. If the child is loved,

you will never see a<br> big belly in the child. <br>

The child will be proportionate. In fact the mother

will be constantly worried that the child is not

eating or drinking or taking as much food as needed. But

the child has understood that<br> whenever the need

arises, the mother is there. He can rely on love. <br>

But if the mother does not love the child, then he is

afraid for the future. Love is not there, the<br> tacit

understanding is not there, so whenever he gets the opportunity

he will eat as much as he<br> can, he will drink as

much milk as he can. Now he is already becoming a

miser; he has already<br> started accumulating things ¡X

in the body. He¡¦s afraid. Who knows about tomorrow?

This<br> mother is not reliable; he has to accumulate for

emergencies. So he will accumulate fat, eat<br> more. <br>

People who have not been loved in their childhood

continue to eat more. No dieting can help<br> unless love

arises. They will eat; eating has become a substitute for

love. If somebody loves<br> them, they will immediately

see that their overeating has stopped. <br> Love and

food both come from the mother¡¦s breast. The first

experience of love is from the<br> mother¡¦s breast and the

first experience of food is also from the mother¡¦s

breast. So love and<br> food become associated. If there

is less love, it has to be substituted for by more

food. <br> If love is enough, you can afford not to eat

much. There is no need. Have you watched it?<br>

Whenever you fall in deep love, hunger disappears. You

don¡¦t feel hungry. Love fulfills so<br> deeply that you

feel full. Then one starts eating less and less. <br>

One woman was talking to me. She was very puzzled.

Her husband had died and she told me,<br> ¡§One thing

I have been keeping a secret. I have not told it to

anybody because nobody will<br> understand. But you may

understand, so I¡¦m telling you. And I will be unburdened

whether<br> you understand or not. But please don¡¦t tell

this to anybody.¡¨ <br> I said, ¡§What has happened?¡¨

<br> She said, ¡§When my husband died, at night I felt

so hungry. The corpse was lying in the<br> house.

¡¥What will people think if I go to eat?¡¦ The whole

family was awake, relatives had<br> come and many

friends were there together. And I felt such a deep

hunger, such as I have never felt.¡¨ <br> So she had to

go in her own kitchen like a thief! In the darkness,

she ate. And now, since then,<br> she has been

feeling guilty. ¡§My husband had died. Was that the time

to feel hungry? His<br> corpse was lying there. I

was like a thief, eating in darkness in my kitchen.¡¨

She asked me, <br> ¡§What happened?¡¨ <br> I said,

¡§It is a simple fact. The person you loved died.

Immediately, you felt empty. Now that<br> emptiness had to be

filled by something.¡¨ <br> Since then I have been

talking to many people and I have come to the conclusion

that whenever you are sad, you eat more. Whenever you

are in a deep sorrow, you feel more hungry.<br>

Whenever you are happy, flowing, cheerful and loving, and

love is showering on you, who<br> bothers to eat much?

Even a small amount of food is enough nourishment

then, because love is<br> giving so much nourishment.

<br> People who can¡¦t love will always become misers:

possessive, accumulators of things. <br><br> Come Follow To

You