Old Age: A New Beginning
TrackSermons in Stones
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"The problem of the elderly has arisen because man is living longer than he used to live before.
"All the old skeletons found in India, in China and other ancient countries prove one thing: that..."
"All the old skeletons found in India, in China and other ancient countries prove one thing: that..."
"The problem of the elderly has arisen because man is living longer than he used to live before.
"All the old skeletons found in India, in China and other ancient countries prove one thing: that..."
Osho continues:
"All the old skeletons found in India, in China and other ancient countries prove one thing: that..."
"And in a few special places, because of their food, their climate and their genetics, a few people have reached the age of one hundred and eighty. And they are still young, they are working just like anybody else.
"But the problem for the society is that employment is limited. The population growth is tremendous. New people are coming in such great numbers that we have to vacate places for them, we have to retire people. And as time passes, we will have to retire people even earlier than we are retiring them now. Now in a few countries it is sixty years, in a few countries fifty-five years, but soon this will not be possible. People will have to retire by the age of around forty-five – because the pressure of the new people coming will be so great that if you don't give them opportunities they will create chaos.
"But to retire somebody at the age of forty-five is dangerous, it creates many psychological problems.
"First, a person needs some work, some creativity, to feel that he is needed. This is one of the most essential psychological needs of man – to be needed. The moment you feel you are no more needed, suddenly something starts dying within you, shrinking within you – as if the will to live has lost all its power, energy, hope. Tomorrow is nothing but darkness.
"And the person who has become useless to the society – that's what retirement is…. We make it as beautiful as we can by giving a beautiful pocket watch, celebrating it – it is just a cover-up. The reality is, we are throwing the person in the junkyard: 'You are no longer needed, your work is finished. Now younger people, more educated, better educated, who know the latest scientific developments, are going to replace you. You are out of date.'
"Suddenly, you have become a posthumous person.
"You will go on living, breathing, eating, but it will be just like an appendix to a book – the book is finished, and nobody reads the appendix. One starts losing dignity, self-respect; one starts feeling out of place everywhere – one is no longer connected with the society, with who is now in power; a great gap has arisen."
"But the problem for the society is that employment is limited. The population growth is tremendous. New people are coming in such great numbers that we have to vacate places for them, we have to retire people. And as time passes, we will have to retire people even earlier than we are retiring them now. Now in a few countries it is sixty years, in a few countries fifty-five years, but soon this will not be possible. People will have to retire by the age of around forty-five – because the pressure of the new people coming will be so great that if you don't give them opportunities they will create chaos.
"But to retire somebody at the age of forty-five is dangerous, it creates many psychological problems.
"First, a person needs some work, some creativity, to feel that he is needed. This is one of the most essential psychological needs of man – to be needed. The moment you feel you are no more needed, suddenly something starts dying within you, shrinking within you – as if the will to live has lost all its power, energy, hope. Tomorrow is nothing but darkness.
"And the person who has become useless to the society – that's what retirement is…. We make it as beautiful as we can by giving a beautiful pocket watch, celebrating it – it is just a cover-up. The reality is, we are throwing the person in the junkyard: 'You are no longer needed, your work is finished. Now younger people, more educated, better educated, who know the latest scientific developments, are going to replace you. You are out of date.'
"Suddenly, you have become a posthumous person.
"You will go on living, breathing, eating, but it will be just like an appendix to a book – the book is finished, and nobody reads the appendix. One starts losing dignity, self-respect; one starts feeling out of place everywhere – one is no longer connected with the society, with who is now in power; a great gap has arisen."
| Publisher | Osho International |
|---|---|
| Duration of Talk | 130 mins |
| File Size | 29.42 MB |
| Type | Conversa Individual |
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