According to Osho, being spoiled in childhood plants the seed of endless demand—an inner voice that keeps whispering, 'just a little bit more.' Indulgence strengthens ego, weakens awareness and responsibility, and confuses love with getting. As adults, the spoiled child becomes restless, entitled, and chronically dissatisfied, seeking outer gratifications instead of discovering the quiet sufficiency of being.
If you’re spoiled, you learn to always want more and never feel satisfied inside.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, how can children be made inward-looking?
And secondly, never try—by pressure, by insistence—to lead a child toward any “good” direction. That very thing will become the biggest wall against going in a good direction. It may happen that while he is small he obeys you—because he is weak and you are strong; you can frighten him, threaten him, even do violence to him. And never imagine that parents cannot be violent with their children! Parents have committed such immeasurable violence against children. It simply doesn’t look like violence. Whenever we press someone down, we are being violent. The child’s ego is wounded. But being weak, he bears it. Today or tomorrow, when he grows up and power comes to his hands, by then you will be old and weak—and he will take revenge. The mistreatment of elderly parents by their children has its cause in the parents themselves. What they did to the child in his…
Osho, why, in the first place, have people been distracted from their original self?
The brahmin said, "I am not leaving, I will come back, but I don't have time to convince you. The train will be missed -- the station is two miles away from my house. But nobody was listening to him, and I was provoking people: "Stop him, otherwise his wife, his children... you will have to look after them -- who is going to feed them?" They brought him back with his bags, and of course he was angry and threw his bag at his wife. His wife asked, "What have we done? Why are you...?" And I was there outside in the crowd He said, "Nobody has done anything. That boy told me there would be a reaction. The reason is that three days before, in the temple, I was teaching the philosophy of action and reaction and this boy was present there. Now he is teaching me." He…
Question: THE BUDDHA SAID: WHEN A MAN MAKES UTENSILS OUT OF A METAL WHICH HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY CLEANSED OF DROSS, THE UTENSILS WILL BE EXCELLENT. YOU MONKS, WHO WISH TO FOLLOW THE WAY, MAKE YOUR OWN HEARTS CLEAN FROM THE DIRT OF EVIL PASSIONS, AND YOUR CONDUCT WILL BE UNIMPEACHABLE. EVEN IF ONE ESCAPES FROM THE EVIL CREATIONS, IT IS ONE'S RARE FORTUNE TO BE BORN A HUMAN BEING. IF ONE BE BORN A MAN, IT IS ONE'S RARE FORTUNE TO BE PERFECT IN ALL THE SIX SENSES. EVEN IF HE BE PERFECT IN ALL THE SIX SENSES, IT IS HIS RARE FORTUNE TO BE BORN IN THE TIME OF A BUDDHA. EVEN IF HE BE BORN IN THE TIME OF A BUDDHA, IT IS HIS RARE FORTUNE TO SEE THE ENLIGHTENED.
Osho, such feelings arise that when I pick up the pen I don’t understand—how to write, what to write? Inside a storm has risen! When I come here, an unusual ecstasy descends. The same ecstasy also pervades at home. But because of it the children feel that their mother is becoming a little inattentive toward them. And sometimes I too feel that this is injustice toward the children; my ecstasy should not become an obstacle for them. Even understanding this, I cannot love them in totality. In this state a great restlessness arises—so what should I do? Please be kind enough to guide me.
Now this becomes dangerous! If poor people’s sons walk—and if the mother is so rich that her son has no need to walk, that the servants can carry him on a stretcher—this is dangerous. This is an exaggeration. But many mothers do such exaggerations. In our unconsciousness we do many exaggerations. No—be natural. Do not bring up the talk of the total. Total love will be for the divine. In that direction, Veena, the movement has begun. That is the ecstasy coming. That is the glimpse. But do not take my words to mean that I am saying to be harsh toward the children. I am not saying that you should neglect the children or become indifferent. A great balance is needed in life—neither excessive love nor neglect—the middle. The one who finds the middle finds the key to life. Like the acrobat who walks the tightrope—exactly in the middle,…
Beloved Osho, what is the difference between the emptiness of the child before the formation of the ego and the awakened childlikeness of a buddha?
Whether you are for it or against it doesn't matter -- your concern shows where your ego is hanging. And I will include the capitalist in it also: his whole concern is how to gather money, hoard money -- because money has power over matter. You can purchase any material thing through money. You cannot purchase anything spiritual, you cannot purchase anything that has any intrinsic value; you can purchase only things. If you want to purchase love, you cannot purchase; but you can purchase sex. Sex is the material part of love. Through money, matter can be purchased, possessed. Now you will be surprised: I include the communist and the capitalist both in the same category, and they are enemies, just as I include Charvaka and Mahatma Gandhi in the same category, and they are enemies. They are enemies, but their concern is the same. The capitalist is trying…