Is there something like a subtle body within the body?

Osho, is there something like a subtle body within the body, or not?

There is only one way: while you are alive, the body and the body’s consciousness can separate. At the time of death it happens anyway. But then we have no means left to know it. The only means we have is that, while living, a person can experience being outside the body. This experience often happens accidentally—and to many people. It is a fairly common experience; it is not very unusual. Many people have it happen accidentally—during some grave illness, sometimes when a severe injury occurs...

Osho, you have said before that if a seeker in his experiment should make an intense resolve that he would like to die, that he would like to return to his own center, in a few days his life energy will begin to contract from within and the seeker will be able to see his body as dead -- first from within, and then from without. Consequently, his fear of death will disappear forever. So the question is: in this condition, does one need to make any special preparation or take any extra precaution so that the subtle body may return safely to the physical body? Or, does the return of the subtle bo

You will find that with this resolve, sitting in the car even for half an hour did not prove to be worthless. You will come out with the feeling that you have gained something, that you are richer than you were a half hour ago. So the question is not where you experiment, or what means are used for that purpose. I just gave you an example. The point is, you may follow any experiment that will help you strengthen your will-power. It would be good if you carried on with the small ones. If a man is asked to go in meditation for forty minutes by simply closing his eyes, he can't do it; he opens his eyes frequently and looks around. Now this man is without a will, he is not centered. There are great advantages in closing the eyes, it causes no harm. But this man can't…

Osho, what other place in the body can it be gathered?

In truth, the very moment you separate from the senses, you immediately separate from the body. That event does not happen inside the body. Otherwise it would be another matter. That event simply does not take place within the body. In fact, what we call the body is nothing but a network of the senses—the outward- and inward-going nerves. If we understand rightly, the body is merely the sum total of the senses, nothing else. There is nothing else in the body; it is the aggregate of the senses. It is like a telephone. You pick it up and make a call. The handset you see is not the whole phone. The entire wiring system is also part of it. You see? All of that belongs to it. The exchange too is part of it. It is a whole network. When you see with the eyes, it is not only…

Osho, in yesterday’s talk you said that a seeker should first be concerned with becoming a vessel, and should not go about begging from place to place. But the very meaning of a seeker is that he has obstacles in practice. He doesn’t know how to become a vessel, how to prepare. So if he does not go asking, what should he do? How difficult it is to meet the right guide!

But searching and begging are two different things. In fact, the one who does not want to search is the one who begs. Searching and begging are not the same; they are opposites. He who wants to avoid searching begs; a seeker never begs. And the processes of searching and begging are entirely different. In begging you have to keep your attention on the other—the one who will give. In searching you have to keep your attention on yourself—the one who is to receive. It is true that there are obstacles on the path of the seeker. But if we understand rightly, saying there are obstacles on the path of the seeker means the obstacles are within the seeker; the path too is within. And to understand one’s obstacles is not very difficult. So we will have to speak a little more extensively on what the obstacles are and how…

You said we have seven bodies: an etheric body, a mental body and so on. Sometimes it is difficult to adjust the indian language to the terms of western psychology. We have no theory for this in the west, so how can we translate these different bodies into our language? The spiritual is no problem, but the etheric? The astral?

Begin from the physical. Then every other step opens for you. The moment you work on the first body, you have glimpses of the second. So begin from the physical. Be aware of it moment to moment. And not only outwardly aware. You can become aware of your body from the inside also. I can become aware of my hand as I have seen it from the outside, but there is an inner feeling to it too. When I close my eyes the hand is not seen, but there is still an inner feeling of something being there. So do not be aware of your body as seen from the outside. This cannot lead you inward. The inner feeling is quite different. When you feel the body from within, you will know for the first time what it is to be inside the body. When you see it only from…