... Sex arises at the age of fourteen -- sexual maturity -- and the child is thrilled with something unknown and new. The child has got the wind of desire, a great passion and fire is arising in him. Now never again will he be that innocence that was there before this desire. He will never look at things with that innocence again.


OshO

... The vested interests are against the heart, hence they have put it aside. They have created a shortcut: your sexual energy moves directly to the head without passing through the heart. That's why your psychological age remains nearabout twelve, because that is the time when sexual maturity starts happening -- twelve, thirteen, fourteen. That is when you become sexually mature and that is where the society stops you, because once the energy is ready to move it starts moving it towards the head. That is the most important time in the life of a man, between twelve and fourteen. That is the time when either you move through the heart or you move through no-heart directly to the head. And every society takes care, before the energy starts working in the heart, to stop it -- to close that door completely, forever.


OshO

... Sex has been cut -- that is the root. He has lost joy in life. He has become guilty, he has become burdened with the idea of sin. And the more a person becomes burdened with the idea of sin -- and sex is the most sinful act -- then his psychology starts shrinking. And why twelve years? -- there must be some reason. Because it is nearabout between twelve and fourteen that your sex starts growing, you become sexually mature. So before that age of sexual maturity, fourteen, something must have been done to you so you never reach even sexual maturity, you remain immature. And you can see this immaturity all over the world. You can see it in your films, what people are going to see there. If there is no murder, no rape, no sexuality, no obscene scenes, the picture flops; otherwise the house is full.


OshO

... If the Child is only twelve... And these are the most important days of his life. If he does not change before fourteen then that will remain his style of life. Once the child's sexuality has become mature then things become difficult to change. So whatsoever he is at the time of sexual maturity he will remain; one tends to remain that. People's mental age remains near about fourteen. They never grow beyond that, very few grow beyond that. The body goes on growing; the mind stops. For all practical purposes nature no more helps you to grow. Nature's purpose is fulfilled by the time a child is ready biologically to produce; nature's interest is only in that. Once the child is ready to give birth to another child, nature is no more interested; nature's work is done. Now, if you want to grow you will have to go on your own. After the age of fourteen if somebody grows it is an individual growth, it is a spiritual growth. Up to fourteen it is biological growth... but millions of people remain near about fourteen. They never take on any other growth beyond that which nature gives them; they are simply stuck there.


OshO

... Man has done great harm to himself. The society makes a tremendous effort to create barriers, barriers so that people cannot flower. The society that has existed up to now is very afraid of flowering. It depends on immature persons, it requires immaturity -- because only immature persons can be turned into slaves, only immature persons are ready to be dominated. Not only are they ready to be dominated; they seek their tyrants. They cannot live without tyrants, they feel very alone. They need to depend on someone, they need father-figures, they need authorities. If somebody authoritative is there they feel at ease. If there is nobody who is authoritative they become very hesitant; they don't know what to do then. They always wait for orders and commandments. Because of this, the society does not allow people to mature. The average mental age of human beings is not more than twelve years; it is very close to the time of sexual immaturity. By the time a boy is sexually mature the society kills all possibilities of more maturity in him, of other kinds of maturities -- of intelligence, of love, of creativity, of freedom. That's why you see so many people without any flowers and without any of the fragrance of life. My work here is to help you grow, to destroy all the barriers that hinder growth, to undo all that the society has done. Once the barriers are removed, life energies start flowing of their own accord. Then nothing else has to be done: one has simply to trust one's own nature, and one day flowers are bound to happen.


OshO

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