Yesterday, I randomly opened a page in Osho’s book “The Book Of Man” and the title was fascinating – “The Beggar”. The question was beautiful – Why am I such a beggar for attention? What can I do about it?.
Here are some excerpts from Osho’s answer to that question.
“..It is one of the human weaknesses, one of the deep-rooted frailties, to seek attention. The reason one seeks attention is because one does not know oneself. It is only in other people’s eyes can one see his face, in their opinions, he can his personality. What they say matters immensely. If they neglect him, ignore him, he feels lost. If you pass by and nobody takes any attention, you will start losing what you have put together – your personality. It is something that you have put together. You have not discovered it, it is not natural. It is very artificial and very arbitrary.”
“… It is not only you who are a beggar for attention; almost everybody is. And the situation cannot change until you discover your authentic self – which does not depend on anybody’s opinion, attention, criticism, indifference, which does not have anything to do with anybody else. Because very few people have been able to discover their reality, the whole world is full of beggars.”
Social Media and Attention
A world full of beggars… trust the Master to point out the truth however unpalatable it may be. The success of social media and why it has become an intrinsic part of our lives is precisely because it gets us attention.
Till Facebook came about, no one knew what you wore on a given day, or what was your breakfast or whether you were happy or sad. Suddenly everyone knows who your aunt twice removed is and what jewellery she wore to a “kitty” party 🙄. My nephew made us open an Instagram account for ShikshaDaan and I got brave and opened a personal one. Can’t figure this one out … if someone has left a message for me on Instagram, you ain’t getting a reply ever :):). Call me if you wish to speak.
Another excerpt –
“.. Anything, howsoever stupid, is possible for man if it can bring attention to him. In Russia, before the revolution, there was a Christian sect, followers of which used to cut off their genitals publicly on a particular day each year – and they had thousands of followers. Their only qualification for being spiritual was that they had cut off their genitals.”
The above sect really does exist !!! Read – Meet The Skoptsy, The Russian Religious Zealots Who Castrated Themselves To Be Closer To God.
Osho says In Conclusion …
“…It is not only your problem, that you are a beggar for attention; it is a human reality. And the reason is that you depend on your personality – which is false, which has been created by society, and which can be taken away by society. Don’t depend on it. It is not in your power. That which is in your power is your own individuality. Discover it! And the name of the science to discover it is meditation.”
Thank You Master 🙏🏿❤️