Mandala Meditation is a powerful, cathartic method from Osho that builds a circular current of energy, gathering the scattered forces of body and mind into a natural centering. Through four precisely timed stages, movement becomes a mandala—an orbit that draws you from the periphery toward the silent center.
Each 15-minute stage refines attention and energy: vigorous running to awaken vitality, supple swaying to collect it at the navel center, focused eye rotation to lift it to the third eye, and finally deep stillness to let it all settle in silence. The language is simple, the effect profound—dynamic presence transforming into effortless meditation.
Phase Instructions
First Stage: Running in Place
15 minutes with music. Keep your eyes open and run on the spot. Start slowly and gradually accelerate, getting faster and faster. Bring your knees up as high as possible. Breathe deeply and evenly throughout. Forget the mind, forget the body—just keep going, letting the rhythm take over.
Second Stage: Swaying Like a Reed
15 minutes with music. Sit down with eyes closed and the mouth open, jaw relaxed. Gently rotate your upper body from the waist, soft and fluid, like a reed blowing in the wind. Feel the wind moving you—side to side, back and forth, around and around—allowing the motion to gather your awakened energies at the navel center.
Third Stage: Eye Rotation
15 minutes with music. Lie on your back and open your eyes. Keep the head completely still while rotating the eyes in a clockwise circle. Sweep them fully around in the sockets as if following the second hand of a vast clock—move as fast as you can while staying smooth. Keep the mouth open and the jaw relaxed; let the breath be soft and even. This turns your centered energies toward the third eye.
Fourth Stage: Stillness and Silence
15 minutes in silence. Close your eyes and be perfectly still. Do nothing—simply rest and let everything settle into quiet awareness.
Core Benefits
- Builds a circular current of energy
- Gathers scattered forces of body and mind into a natural centering
- Transforms dynamic presence into effortless meditation
- Refines attention and energy through precisely timed stages
- Draws from the periphery toward the silent center
What Osho Said About This Technique
What is dynamic meditation?
In the second step so many things are possible -- something different will happen to each individual. One person will begin to dance, another person will begin to cry. One will become naked, another will begin to jump and yet another will begin to laugh. Anything is possible. Move from within, move totally, and then you can proceed to the third stage. The third stage is reached as a result of an inherent sequence. In the first stage, the body electricity, or you can call it Kundalini, is awakened. It begins to revolve and move. Only then can the body be in a total letgo, not before. Only when the inner movement has begun are outer movements possible. When the catharsis of the second stage is brought to a peak, to a climax, the third ten-minute stage begins. Begin to repeat vigorously the Sufi mantra: Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! The energy…Read the full discourse →
Thus, by meditation, they achieve the ultimate reality , which is unthinkable, unmanifest; the one of endless forms, the ever-auspicious, the peaceful, the immortal, the origin of the creator, the one without a beginning, a middle and an end; the only one, the non-dual, the all-pervading, the consciousness, the bliss, the formless, the wonderful.
To use a name as a repetition has its own difficulties. It is easy to throw out all else, but then it is difficult to throw out itself. If you have used "Rama" to throw out all other thoughts, it will become rooted in you, and then you cannot throw it out. It will be very difficult and very painful. Then something else will be needed to throw it out. As far as I am concerned, I never suggest this method. It is better to begin with no word. Then how to begin? Take the total energy of your body and mind as the beginning. Let you total body-mind energy be involved in it. Make it so active -- let your body energy, your mind energy becomes so active, so active at the peak -- that thoughts dissolve, because thoughts cannot exist at the peak. When your energy is moving…Read the full discourse →
SECOND STAGE Now we have to enter the second stage. Continue deep breathing, and let go of the body. Leave the body to do what it wishes to do. Let go of it. Let it take whatever asanas or postures it wants to take; let it form whatever mudras or gestures it likes. Leave it free to move and shake and whirl as it likes. If it wants to weep let it. Let go of the body completely. Continue deep breathing and let go of the body. Let the body fall down if it wants to fall down. And let it rise again if it wants to rise. And if it wants to dance allow it wholly. Let go of the body absolutely. Let it do whatever it wants to do. Leave it free. Don't impede it even in the least. Cooperate with the body. If it spins, let it.Read the full discourse →
In the cavity of the heart, which is situated in the body, dwells the unborn who is eternal.
THE EARTH IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE EARTH, BUT THE EARTH DOES NOT KNOW IT. WATER IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN WATER,BUT WATER DOES NOT KNOW IT. FIRE IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN FIRE BUTFIRE DOES NOT KNOW IT. AIR IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE AIR, BUT THE AIR DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE SKY IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN IT,BUT THE SKY DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE MIND IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE MIND, BUT THE MIND DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE INTELLECT IS ITS BODY. IT LIVES IN THE INTELLECT, BUT THE INTELLECT DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE EGO IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE EGO,BUT THE EGO DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE CONSCIOUSNESS IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS, BUT THE CONSCIOUSNESS DOES NOT KNOW IT. THE UNMANIFEST IS ITS BODY. IT DWELLS IN THE…Read the full discourse →
Osho, what is meditation?
The monk said, "You are even more stupid than the first man. My cow? A Buddhist monk possesses nothing. And why should I look for somebody else's cow? I don't possess any cow." The man looked really embarrassed, what to do? The third man thought, "Now, the only possibility is what I have said." He said, "I can see that you are meditating." The monk said, "Nonsense! Meditation is not some activity. One does not meditate, one is meditation. To tell you the truth so that all you fellows don't get confused, I am simply doing nothing. Standing here, doing nothing -- is it objectionable?" They said, "No, it is not objectionable, it just does not make sense to us -- standing here, doing nothing." "But," he said, "this is what meditation is: Sitting and doing nothing -- not with your body, not with your mind. Once you start doing…Read the full discourse →
Common Questions
The primary aim is to create a circular energy flow, centering the scattered forces of body and mind and transforming dynamic presence into effortless meditation.
Each stage in Mandala Meditation lasts 15 minutes.
The first stage involves vigorous running to awaken vitality.
Through focused eye rotation, the meditation lifts energy to the third eye, enhancing concentration.
The final stage is deep stillness, allowing the accumulated energy to settle in silence.