According to Osho, neither life nor death is the observer; both are events appearing to consciousness. Your real nature is the witnessing presence beyond all dualities—eternal, not merely immortal—passing through birth and death yet untouched, like a lotus in the pond. Recognize this 'original face' and fear dissolves; identification drops; serenity remains.
You're the quiet watcher, like the sky, while life and death are passing clouds.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Please explain. Is life an observer and death observed?
No, both are the observed -- life and death. Beyond both is the observer. You cannot call that observer 'life' because life contains death in it. You cannot call that observer 'death' because death presupposes life. That observer is just transcendence. That which you are is neither life nor death. You pass through life, you pass through death, but you are neither. You are just a witness to it all. You pass through happiness, you pass through misery, you pass through disease, you pass through health, you pass through success, you pass through failure -- but you are none of these. You remain the watcher, you remain the witness. That witnessing is beyond all dualities. So don't try to make it identified with one part of the polarity. Life is one part of the same circle in which the other half, death, exists. Death and life are not apart, they…
Osho, in the Chandogya Upanishad there is a sutra: na pashyato mṛtyuṁ pashyati na rogaṁ noto duḥkhatām, sarvaṁ ha paśyaḥ paśyati sarvam āpnoti sarvaśa iti. That is, the knower does not see death, nor disease, nor sorrow; he sees all as the Self and attains everything. You are a witness—does a buddha truly see even death, disease, and sorrow as the very Self? Kindly give us direction on this sutra.
Buddha uses nirvana in exactly this sense. When the flickering lamp of ego is extinguished, the whole sky is yours. The moons and stars are yours. When you are not, everything is yours. Understand this paradox well—here lies the secret of religion, the distilled essence of the mystics and seers. The sutra of the Chandogya is profound—very profound. Let the ego dissolve; you are no more; then all is yours. When you are not, nothing is “other.” It is the “I” that creates the “you,” the division. When the line of “I” disappears, the courtyard becomes the sky. Demolish the walls you have drawn around your yard—your courtyard is the open heavens. Na pashyato mṛtyum... To the knower death is not seen—he does not know death, he does not die—because whatever could die he let die in advance. Ego could die—and what is unreal alone can die. What is, is…
Osho, what is the essence of Gorakhnath’s teaching?
Very small, concise— Laugh, play, live in color. Do not keep company with lust and anger. Laugh, play, sing songs. Keep your heart-mind steady and firm. This is my teaching too: Laugh, play, live in color. Live in color! In delight, in merriment, in joy. So much has the Divine given—dance, hum, sing! A song of gratitude should rise from your heart; that is prayer. Laugh, play, live in color. Laugh. If you cannot laugh, understand that you can never be religious. Your so‑called sadhus and saints have forgotten how to laugh. They simply cannot; to laugh is a sin, a transgression. That’s why you can’t stay long with them. You go, quickly touch their feet, bow, and leave. If you stay a full day, you’ll see the difficulty—your own laughter will be snatched away. People become grave around sadhus and saints. They stiffen up—dry, solemn, ultra‑serious! Laughter will feel…
Someone asked Osho's views on death and dying.
There is nothing as sure as death. Where there is life, there is bound to be death. He who bears not this fact in mind, wastes life, whereas he who knows this truth, obtains that which is immortal. I do not feel depressed at anybody's death, because there is no need to feel anything about it. However, it is a matter of sorrow, no doubt, if I see a life wasted. We have not to grieve after a dead body, but over a wasted life. You know, King Janak was called 'videh', i.e., without or beyond the body. Once, a young minister of his asked him, 'Your Excellency! How can you be considered without a body, when you do have a physical body? The king smiled but said nothing. After a few days, however, the king invited the minister for lunch. Such an invitation from the king himself was a…
Osho, do you feel that life and death are just two moments of the same thing—the same aspect?
Such a person will be miserable, in pain, because what he wants is impossible. All dualities are linked; you cannot save the half. One who sees this attains bliss—because now there is no sorrow left, no pleasure left. Whatever comes is accepted; whatever does not come is also accepted. If a friend arrives—there is joy. If a friend departs—there is joy. Joy here means: in both situations he does not choose. He has become choiceless. There is no preference, no alternative; all is okay, all is okay. Even yes and no have become equal. As one slowly comes to this total acceptance, trust arises. A theist accepts even atheism—that things are such that someone may say, “God is not.” A supreme theist will not even quarrel with an atheist, because he will say, “Fine—this too can be, that a person may say God is not. Where there are those who…