Feel the presence of the ever-living existence

What the Method Is

The core instruction for this method is: “Feel the cosmos as a translucent ever-living presence.” This technique is explicitly concerned with light and the perception of all existence as being permeated by it. It encourages the practitioner to perceive the universe not as a collection of separate objects, but as a living, glowing, and unified entity.

How It Is Done

To practise this method, you should:

  • Posture and Focus: While the specific posture isn’t detailed for this technique, it’s generally implied that one should sit comfortably, possibly with eyes closed initially to facilitate inner visualisation. However, the instruction “Look at it!” suggests that the practice can also involve open-eyed observation of the external world.
  • Perceive the Universe as Light: Begin by understanding that “Everywhere light is – in many, many shapes, forms, light is happening everywhere”. The world isn’t just matter; it’s fundamentally composed of light, a concept also affirmed by Tantra.
  • Observational Practice: Look at objects around you, such as “a leaf or a flower or a rock”. The instruction is to look with patience and without hurry, allowing your perception to deepen until you start to “feel rays coming out of it”. This is not about active imagination but about waiting silently for this subtle perception to emerge. Rushing will make you “dull” and prevent the revelation.
  • Cultivate Sensitivity: To enhance the effectiveness of this practice, Osho recommends engaging in “other sensitivity training”. This includes:
    • Physical Touch: Take someone’s hand, close your eyes, and feel the life in the other person, allowing it to move towards you, and your own life towards them. Similarly, touch the bark of a tree and feel the life arising within it, observing how you change immediately.
    • Body Awareness: Consciously feel every drop of water while showering, noting its touch, coldness, or warmth. Feel your own body all over, touching it in a loving way, as this increases sensitivity. Massage (with a friend) can also enhance sensitivity.
    • Breath Awareness: Simply feel the breath – its movement within and its exit – without mental labelling.
  • Consistent Practice: Practice this method for at least three months to experience a significant transformation in your perception of the world.
  • Non-Interference: Do not impose interpretations or expectations. Just wait silently and allow the phenomenon to unfold.
Commentaries and Insights
  • World’s True Nature (LSD Analogy): Osho highlights that the world is inherently “a rainbow of colors – a mystery of colors and translucent light”. The reason we don’t perceive it this way is because our senses have become dull. He uses the analogy of LSD, stating that drugs don’t create this colourful world but merely temporarily remove the dullness of perception, revealing the world as it already is.
  • Impact on Mind and Being: As you “feel the presence of the ever-living existence,” your mind will become completely silent. This deep silence leads to a feeling of being “just a part in it, just a note in the great symphony”. In this state, there’s “No burden, no tension…the drop has fallen into the ocean”. This is connected to the state of ‘no-mind’, where conscious thought ceases, and one experiences deep inner peace.
  • Physiological Transformation: This method isn’t just mental; by feeling the world as filled with light and life, you actively change your body chemistry. This initiates a chain reaction: the altered body chemistry allows you to perceive the world as more alive, which further enhances the body’s changes, leading to a continuous transformation.
  • Preparation for Sudden Enlightenment: While the visible process of this meditation is gradual, it serves to prepare you for a sudden, non-causal spiritual explosion (samadhi). The techniques don’t cause enlightenment but make you ready for it to happen, much like death is a sudden, not gradual, event.
  • Beyond Duality and Ego: Perceiving the cosmos as a translucent, ever-living presence helps transcend the ego, which is seen as the main barrier to experiencing reality. When the ego dissolves, there is no longer a separate “I” but a feeling of oneness with the cosmos, leading to omnipresence – where “the center is everywhere” or “nowhere”. This acceptance of unity is a core tenet of Tantra.
  • Tantra as Science, not Philosophy: Osho clarifies that Tantra is a “science,” a methodology focused on “how” to attain truth through experience, rather than “why” questions or philosophical doctrines. This technique embodies that scientific, experimental approach.
  • The Power of Simple Techniques: Despite its seeming simplicity, Osho stresses that this method is profoundly powerful because it touches fundamental realities of existence. The ego tends to dismiss simple practices in favour of arduous ones that provide a sense of achievement, but true transformation often comes from embracing the simple.
  • Connection to Other Concepts: This technique resonates with the awakening of the third eye, which, when unblocked, allows for a vision of “light without a source”. It also facilitates heightened awareness, enabling one to become “awake” even in dreams. The ultimate state involves an “inner rebirth” where the self becomes identified as light.
  • Total Acceptance: The practice aligns with Tantra’s foundational principle of total acceptance – accepting existence as it is, without struggle or judgment. This acceptance frees up vital energy, redirecting it inwards for transformation.