Look lovingly at an object

What the Method Is

The core instruction for this meditation method is: “Look lovingly on some object. Do not go on to another object. Here in the middle of this object – the blessing.”. This technique is presented as the sixth method for centering, and it emphasizes love as the key to experiencing deep inner transformation.

How It Is Done

To practice this method, you should:

  • Choose an object: Select any object, preferably one you are naturally drawn to or love, as this will make the practice easier. While a roseflower is suggested as an example, Zen masters have even used rocks for this purpose.
  • Look lovingly: The instruction “lovingly” is crucial. This is distinct from looking lustfully, which is described as diametrically opposite. This means approaching the object with an attitude of deep care and affection.
  • Forget yourself completely: When looking at the object, allow yourself to become completely absent. The aim is to dissolve the ego entirely into the act of loving.
  • Allow the object to be: Let the object simply be, without imposing your thoughts or judgments upon it. Refrain from verbalizing or interpreting what you see, such as saying “This flower is beautiful,” as words act as barriers to direct experience.
  • Be filled with the object: Let your consciousness be entirely filled with the chosen object, to the exclusion of all other thoughts or external distractions. This includes forgetting all other similar objects (e.g., all other roses).
  • Feel deep love flowing: As you focus, cultivate a feeling of deep love flowing from your consciousness towards the object. Be concerned solely with the object’s essence, rather than your own pleasure or gratification.
  • Embrace helplessness: If you try to actively do something to make the object blissful, you may feel helpless. In this feeling of helplessness, the mind stops, and surrender occurs, creating an inner emptiness.
  • Practice in stages (optional, but recommended for deeper penetration):
    1. Object-feeling: For a few days or weeks, focus solely on cultivating the object-feeling, allowing yourself to be completely filled by the object until you feel “I am the flower”.
    2. Withdraw the object-feeling: Once deeply attuned, close your eyes and gently withdraw your sight from the outer object, allowing only the inner image to remain.
    3. Withdraw the thought/image: Then, slowly withdraw your thought or the inner image itself, becoming indifferent to it. This leads to an absolute vacuum where pure subjectivity remains.
Commentaries and Insights
  • Love as the Deepest Meditation: Osho states that love can become a deep meditation – the deepest possible. It is considered a natural method of transformation. If one can truly love, no other meditation methods are needed, as love itself becomes a total fulfillment.
  • Transformation of Love: Tantra views love not merely as an emotion but as a powerful vehicle for spiritual growth. Sex is seen as the seed and love as its flowering. The teaching emphasizes that sex must be transformed into love, and love, in turn, must be transformed into a meditative experience, ultimately leading to light and mystic peaks. This process transcends the ordinary horizontal dimension of existence, enabling one to face eternity.
  • Ego Dissolution: This method facilitates the dissolution of the ego. By becoming deeply immersed in the act of loving (e.g., becoming the “caress” or the “kiss” rather than the “kisser”), the actor (ego) disappears. This self-forgetfulness allows for a direct experience of “pure existence without any egos”.
  • Love as a State of Being: True love is not an act you do for a certain period but a state of being, much like breathing, which is a continuous, effortless process. It’s about being in a loving state of mind rather than focusing love exclusively on one person. This state transcends time, existing in the eternal “now”.
  • Paradox of Centering: By being totally concerned with the other and forgetting oneself, one paradoxically becomes filled with bliss and becomes centered. This happens because when the mind is fully absorbed in the other, it becomes “mindless within,” creating a vacant inner space where thoughts cease.
  • Simplicity vs. Ego’s Resistance: The method appears simple, but the mind, driven by the ego, often resists simple techniques. The ego is attracted to difficult challenges because conquering them provides a sense of fulfillment. However, Osho emphasizes that spiritual growth is not about difficulty; these simple methods touch fundamental realities and allow for immediate transformation.
  • Beyond Duality and Illusion: The mind is inherently dualistic, creating divisions like good/bad or pure/impure. Civilization often reinforces this by training individuals to live in “words” and “ideals,” which creates an unreal existence. This technique helps to move beyond these mental constructs by directly engaging with reality without interpretation or projection. By staying alert and observing without judgment, one sees the world as illusory and can penetrate to its underlying substance.
  • Centering to Samadhi: The act of centering, which this technique facilitates, is the path to samadhi. When one becomes deeply centered through such practices, it can lead to an inner “explosion” where the individual center dissolves, resulting in a state of cosmic consciousness or omnipresence. This is a journey from the “wave” (individual ego) to the “ocean” (universal existence).
  • Acceptance as Foundation: Tantra promotes total acceptance of everything as it is, including one’s experiences and desires, as the fundamental framework for spiritual practice. This approach fosters understanding, and through understanding, transformation naturally occurs, rather than through suppression or forced change.