From “I love You” Say “I Love Me” and Rejoice

Two thousand years ago, the great Greek philosopher, Socrates says, ‘Know thyself’, Buddha says: ‘Love thyself’. Osho says, “And Buddha is far truer, because unless you love yourself you will never know yourself – knowing comes only later on, love prepares the ground. Love is the possibility of knowing oneself. Love is the right way to know onesel

Photo Credit : happyho,

By Swami Anand Kul Bhushan

 “I love you.”

We say these three words thousands, if not millions, of times in our lives.

But have we said, “I love me?”

Hardly ever. Why?

Because we always look outwards at others, not inwards at ourselves. Isn’t it time we looked at ourselves and told ourselves how much we love us?

Over 2,500 years ago, Gautama Buddha said, “Love yourself….and watch.” Now that is pure meditation; loving and then watching yourself. First, you must love yourself. And then watch yourself. Love yourself and watch — today, tomorrow, always. Then you find a change in yourself.

Two thousand years ago, the great Greek philosopher, Socrates says, ‘Know thyself’, Buddha says: ‘Love thyself’. Osho says, “And Buddha is far truer, because unless you love yourself you will never know yourself – knowing comes only later on, love prepares the ground. Love is the possibility of knowing oneself. Love is the right way to know oneself.”

“Love and respect yourself and never compromise for anything. And then you will be surprised how much growth starts happening of its own accord… as if rocks have been removed and the river has started flowing, adds Osho.

How to love yourself?

After your shower, get fresh with your fragrance and get ready with smart wear. Stand in front of a full-length mirror and tell yourself how well dressed you are, how the colours match or contrast, how your fragrance enchants you, and how full of energy you are.

Now repeat:

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

I love me.

Yes, say it loud ten times. Feel the energy, the self-assurance and the glow it all brings to you. Even if you are not going out, you are well-dressed and ready to face the day and take it all on. Now you can easily say, “I love you” to your dear ones.

If you are incapable of loving yourself, how can you love others? You will never be able to love anybody, no matter how sincerely you repeat, “I love you”. It is hollow because it looks outward while you have no love for yourself.

If you go to You Tube and look for a song, ‘I love me’ by Meghan Trainor, you will see it has 1.1 million views. Eve better is Hailee Steinfeld with the song, ‘Love Myself’ that has a whopping 11.9 million views!  So, loving yourself is not out of fashion!

“To make you spiritually weak, they have found a sure method, one hundred percent guaranteed, and that is to teach you not to love yourself – because if a man cannot love himself, he cannot love anybody else either,” warns Osho. “The teaching is very tricky. They say: ‘Love others’; because they know if you cannot love yourself, you cannot love at all. But they go on saying: ‘Love others’, love humanity, love God, love nature, love your wife, your husband, your children and your parents, but don’t love yourself, because to love oneself is selfish according to them.

“They condemn self-love as they condemn nothing else – and they have made their teaching look very logical. They say: If you love yourself you will become an egoist, if you love yourself you will become narcissistic. It is not true. A man who loves himself finds that there is no ego in him. It is in loving others without loving yourself, in trying to love others that the ego arises,” says Osho.

Don’t let your ego arise. Love yourself by starting the simple daily exercise presented here. Before you say, “I love you,” say, “I love me.” And do let me know what happens to your being at: [email protected].