According to Osho, witnessing and the heart are not two; they are the same reality. Witnessing is non-identification with thoughts; the mind becomes the seen, and the seer is the heart. Approaching through love/devotion opens spontaneous witnessing; beginning with meditation opens the heart. Paths differ, goal is one—thus they can and do occur together as a single peak experience of centered awareness.
Yes—watching your thoughts without getting caught is the same as being in your loving heart; two doors, one room.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, would you please speak a little on witnessing and the heart. Can they be experienced simultaneously?
WITNESSING AND THE HEART ARE ONE AND THE same thing. Witnessing is not of the mind; mind can never be a witness. When you start witnessing, mind becomes the witnessed not the witness, it is the observed not the observer. You see your thoughts moving, your desires, your fantasies, your memories, your dreams -- just as you see things moving on the screen of a film. But you are not identified with them. That non-identification is what is meant by witnessing. Then who is the witness? Mind is being seen, then who is the seer? It is the heart. So the heart and witnessing are not two things. If you witness, you will be centered in the heart; or if you are centered in the heart, you will become a witness. These are two processes to reach the same goal. The lover, the devotee, never thinks of witnessing; he simply…
Beloved Osho, to be open and to be witnessing are two different things. Is it so, or is this a duality created by my mind?
Mind always creates duality; otherwise, to be open or to be witnessing are not two things. If you are open, you will be witnessing. Without being a witness, you cannot be open; or if you are a witness, you will be open -- because being a witness and yet remaining closed is impossible. So those are only two words. You can either start with witnessing -- then opening will come on its own accord; or you can start by opening your heart, all windows, all doors -- then witnessing will be found, coming on its own. But if you are simply thinking, without doing anything, then they look separate. Mind cannot think without duality. Duality is the way of thinking. In silence, all dualities disappear. Oneness is the experience of silence. For example, day and night are very clear dualities, but they are not two. There are animals who see…
Osho, practicing witnessing is difficult. Is there no other way to reach the divine besides witnessing?
There is. We speak of it every day. This very language of compassion, this way of grace, is the other means. Bhakti, devotion, is the other way. There are two ways: sakshi—sakshi means meditation; and bhakti—bhakti means feeling. Sakshi means: stay awake and watch. And bhakti means: drown—drop all watching, and the rest. Bhakti means: to sink into utter forgetfulness. To be so absorbed in prayer, in dance, in song, as if drunk; you forget; there is self-forgetfulness. Self-forgetfulness is one means; self-remembering is the other. The processes are different, but the end is one. The paths differ; the destination is one. Self-remembering means witnessing. Keep remembering yourself—do not forget for even a moment. Keep yourself separate, remain apart from everything. Whatever appears before you, remember: it is other than me. Do not let identification form. No matter what it is—even if the divine appears before the witness—the witness remains…
Osho, in Ashtavakra’s entire scripture there is no mention of love anywhere. But in your Mahageeta, alongside the witness there is always a stream of love flowing. Why is that? Is there an inner relationship between witnessing and love?
Certainly. Love is the music of the witness. Love is the fragrance of witnessing. Only when one becomes a witness does love begin to shower. And certainly Ashtavakra did not speak of this love—deliberately. Knowing well that what you call love, you might mistakenly take to be the same. So Ashtavakra spoke of witnessing and left love aside. He spoke of the seed and the tree, and left the fruit out—the fruit will come. You sow the seed, tend the tree, water it, keep gardening—the fruit will come. When it comes, it comes; why talk about it beforehand? Deliberately he left love aside because there has always been a danger in speaking of love: you also believe you love; you have known a certain kind of love. Hearing the word “love,” you might assume your love and Ashtavakra’s love are the same. To save you from this danger, Ashtavakra kept…
Where is the witness when the observer and the observed become one?
Anand Pravesh, the observer and the observed are two aspects of the witness. When they disappear into each other, when they melt into each other, when they are one, the witness for the first time arises in its totality. But this question arises in many people; the reason is that they think the witness is the observer. In their minds, the observer and the witness are synonymous. It is fallacious; the observer is not the witness, but only a part of it. And whenever the part thinks of itself as the whole, error arises. The observer means the subjective, and the observed means the objective. The observer means that which is outside the observed, and the observer also means that which is inside. The inside and the outside can't be separate; they are together, they can only be together. When this togetherness, or rather oneness, is experienced, the witness arises.…