Maturity: The Responsibility of Being Oneself

In a culture infatuated with youth, and determined to avoid old age at all costs, this book dares to raise a question that has been all but forgotten in the age of Viagra and cosmetic surgery. What benefits might lie in accepting the aging process as natural, rather than trying to hold on to youth and its pleasures all the way to the grave?

Osho takes us back to the roots of what it means to grow up rather than just to grow old. Both in our relationships with others, and in the fulfillment of our own individual destinies, he reminds us of the pleasures that only true maturity can bring.

He outlines the ten major growth cycles in human life, from the self-centered universe of the pre-schooler to the flowering of wisdom and compassion in old age.

A unique sense of humor runs like a thread through the book, along with a profound compassion and understanding of how easy it is to be distracted from the deeper meaning and purpose of our lives - which is, ultimately, to flower into our own individual uniqueness and maturity with an attitude of celebration and joy.

notes: Part of the Insights for a New Way of Living series.

time period of Osho's original talks/writings: (unknown)

number of discourses/chapters: 22

editions