Imagine the whole world burning

What the method is

“Imagine the whole world burning” is presented as a meditation method. While a specific sutra is not provided for this exact technique, the instruction itself serves as the core guidance: to visualize the entire world engulfed in flames. This method is listed within the broader context of meditations aimed at moving “From Death to Deathlessness”.

How it is done

Although explicit step-by-step instructions for “Imagine the whole world burning” are not detailed in the provided excerpts, Osho’s discussions on similar “death-oriented” or “imagination-based” techniques imply the following general approach:

  • Embrace Imagination and Feeling: The practice begins with imagination, but it must be rooted in deep feeling, not just intellectual thought. It’s not enough to simply think about it; one must strive to feel the reality of the visualization. If the feeling is authentic, it can lead to profound internal changes.
  • Total Immersion: Engage with the visualization fully. For similar techniques, Osho emphasizes being totally involved and allowing the phenomenon to unfold without holding back or resisting. This means letting the imagination of the world burning permeate one’s entire being, body and mind, as if it were truly happening.
  • Witnessing and Detachment: While being immersed, cultivate the state of witnessing or observing. This means experiencing the “burning world” without identifying with it or being disturbed by it. The goal is to look at the phenomenon as if you are a detached onlooker, separate from the experience.
  • Letting Go of Control: Similar to other powerful practices, the process should ideally become effortless and spontaneous. One should “drop as a whole” and “not arrange it,” letting the experience happen to you rather than actively doing it.
Commentaries and Insights
  • Purpose: Transcending Death and Realizing Deathlessness: The primary aim of this meditation, situated in the chapter “From Death to Deathlessness,” is to confront and transcend the fear of death. By intensely imagining the destruction of the world (a form of death or an end to perceived reality), one can paradoxically arrive at the realization of their own deathless and eternal nature. Osho states that experiencing a “death-like state” is a direct path to knowing “I cannot die”.
  • The Mind’s Role in Suffering: The mind creates problems and clings to the future, including the concept of death, leading to anxiety. This technique aims to bring the mind into the present moment, as the mind cannot function in the immediate present in the same way it does when dwelling on the past or future. When the mind is perceived as absent or dead (as when confronting death), a state of transcendence becomes possible.
  • Transformation through Experience: Tantra emphasizes existential experience over intellectual understanding or philosophical concepts. This meditation is not about theoretical knowledge, but about a direct, felt experience of “death” that ultimately leads to inner transformation and liberation. The transformation is a direct consequence of understanding, not forced renunciation.
  • The Power of Imagination: Osho clarifies that in Tantra, imagination is not merely fantasy. When one’s attention is focused at the third eye, imagination becomes potent and can manifest phenomena, blurring the line between imagined and actual reality. This suggests that a deeply felt visualization of the world burning can trigger profound inner shifts.
  • Fear and Acceptance: This meditation directly confronts the primal fear of death that underlies all other fears. By fully facing this ultimate fear and allowing it to be, without escape or suppression, the fear dissolves. It aligns with Tantra’s emphasis on total acceptance of “what is” as the foundation for spiritual practice. Accepting a state of “death” (even imagined) allows for the dissolution of the ego and the perception of the true self as boundless emptiness.
  • Connection to Other Techniques: This method resonates with other techniques like “Lie down as dead” and “Imagine yourself losing all energy”, all of which aim to bring the body and mind to a “death-like” state to transcend identification with them. It also aligns with the broader Tantric principle of using a phenomenon (like a strong emotion, or in this case, the dissolution of the world) to move inwards to the source.
  • Warnings: Osho stresses that such powerful techniques should not be approached lightly. One must be ready to “die in the spiritual sense” and to accept becoming “not”. If the intensity becomes unbearable or creates strong fear, it might not be the right method for the individual, and one should consider stopping or seeking a master’s guidance. The mind’s tendency to postpone or intellectualize can be a significant barrier to authentic practice.