According to Osho, preeti naturally and inevitably matures into bhakti—through sneh, prem, and shraddha—provided the ‘seed’ is sown in right conditions: purity, protection, and nourishment. The only real obstacle is ego and possessiveness (“mine”). When love is purified of jealousy, miserliness, and self-interest, it flowers effortlessly into devotion, revealing our intrinsic movement from human to divine.
Yes—love grows into devotion step by step when you drop the “mine” feeling and care for it like a seed that becomes a flowering tree.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, does preeti—passing through sneh (affection), prem (love), and shraddha (reverence/faith)—naturally transform into bhakti (devotion)?
Naturally and inevitably. If a seed is sown in the right season, in suitable soil, with water and sunlight, then naturally and inevitably it will sprout. If there are obstacles, it becomes difficult. If the soil is wrong—stony; if the sun is absent, the water lacking—the seed will not sprout. The full potential was there, but rocks fell across the path. If the seed sprouts, then naturally and inevitably it will become a tree. But there may be obstacles, accidents. An animal may come and graze it; if no fence is put up, no protection; a child may break it in play. So a fence will be needed. For a few days it will need protecting. Very soon the moment will come when the tree can stand in its own strength; then no fence is needed; not even a gardener is needed. And when there is a tree, and the…
Osho, is there any relationship between preeti (pure love) and desire?
Preeti is a pure state of feeling. Preeti means the divine. That is what Jesus has said: love is God. Preeti is a pure state—like light burning, pure in itself, not yet falling on anything; such is preeti. Then, when preeti falls on someone, on some object, its forms begin to appear. Just as when we pour water into a vessel, it takes the shape of the vessel, so too when pure preeti falls into some recipient, it takes the recipient’s shape. If it is toward the wife, it is prem (love); toward the son, it is sneh (affection); toward the master, it is shraddha (reverence). But all these are forms of the same preeti, and within them the same energy is in movement. Yet, whichever object it falls upon, the shadow of that object begins to fall upon it as well.
Osho, what is the real meaning of bhakti-bhava—the spirit of devotion?
Good sir! Ever fallen in love and such? Bhakti is simply the culmination of love. If you’ve never loved, I won’t be able to make you understand. If you have, the point can begin to land. These things are of experience; some taste in that direction is needed. A man once came to Nagarjuna and said, “Take me too on the journey to That.” He was a poor man. Nagarjuna asked, “Have you ever loved anyone?” He said, “Love? Well, why hide it from you—there’s a buffalo I own; it’s her that I love. I’m a poor man, I have nothing else, but I’m very attached to her. If she ever goes missing in the forest, it feels like my life is in danger. If she falls ill, I can’t find peace.” He must have been a simple, straightforward man—otherwise how could he have spoken so truly? People usually talk…
Osho, in the Gita there is, in many places, a call for a wisdom free of attachment and possessiveness for the attainment of the Supreme, and alongside it, a call for love and devotion as well. Are love and devotion possible without attachment and clinging?
Only then are they possible. If love carries attachment, it becomes moha—infatuation. If love is free of attachment, it becomes bhakti—devotion. Love stands between the two: moha and bhakti. If love falls into attachment, it turns into moha; if it is freed from attachment, it becomes bhakti. Love is in the middle. Understand it rightly: love is not a fixed state, it is a transition. If you do not move in time, love sinks downward and becomes moha. If you move swiftly, love rises and becomes bhakti. Love in itself is a journey; not a static condition, but a passage—the journey between moha and bhakti. And if you have loved anyone—anyone at all—you will have known both possibilities. If you have loved your son, if you are a mother and have loved your son; or you are a wife and have loved your husband; or a husband and have loved…
Osho, what is the definition of God?
Words are very small. If you say God is light, then what of darkness? The scriptures have said that God is light. Suppose we accept this as a definition—then what about darkness? Where will darkness go? Darkness is too; in fact it is far more than light. Light sometimes is and sometimes is not; darkness is always, eternal. Where will you place darkness? If you say God is light, darkness is left out. If you say God is darkness, then light is left out. If you say God is both darkness and light, a contradiction arises: they cannot be together. Try to have both darkness and light in the same room. If you bring in light, darkness disappears; if you preserve darkness, you cannot have light. Then how can both be together? That becomes an impossibility. So you cannot say “both” either. Then the fourth device is to say: it…