According to Osho, yes: combine depth with intensity—deep and fast—so all your energy fuses with the breath. This total engagement deprives the mind of any other task, dissolving thought-activity. Whatever faint residue of mind remains can then be turned toward the inquiry “Who am I?”, making the meditation swift and penetrating.
Breathe big and strong, quickly, so your whole mind stays with the breath; then use the tiny leftover attention to ask, “Who am I?”
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
A friend has asked whether the breath should be both deep and intense at the same time?
If both are together, the result will be greater. Let it be deep and also intense—deep and also fast. What I want is that all your energy be put into the breath itself, so that the mind has no other work left to do. Not even a trace of mind should be left over; let it be wholly engaged in the breath. Whatever little still remains—this is why later we put even that onto the inquiry, “Who am I?”
A friend has asked: Should the breath be deep or fast?
Keep the focus on intensity; if depth happens on its own, that is another matter. Do not worry about depth. Attend only to intensity, to speed—as forcefully, as fast as you can! Fast, so that there can be an impact. That sleeping energy within can be roused and awakened. For hammering—so a hammer-like blow can fall on the Kundalini—therefore keep speed in mind. The second thing you have asked: Must the breath be taken only through the nose, or can it be taken through the mouth as well? As far as possible, inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose. If someone finds it difficult, then inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. If there is a cold or nasal congestion and nose-breathing is not possible, in that condition you may inhale and exhale through the mouth. The third thing you have asked: Throughout the meditation a…
Osho: No, no, not at their expense. Tell them about this method. They themselves will feel it. They will certainly feel the change, the transformation. Let them practise it--just as an experiment with their disturbed mind, their doubts. Let them experiment, just as an experiment. If 'something' happens, then the practice goes by itself. There is no need to convince them. And, the anarchy that is within must be exploded. It should not be stilled or cramped down. It must be expressed in total intensity. The calmness, the serenity, the Nirvana comes not by stilling the mind but by explosion. Then the stillness comes but it is not a cultivated composure. Express what you are, totally. Of course that means madness, because we are mad. So, if you express it, the madness will come out. Even you yourself will feel strange about it, unknown to yourself.
Osho, you have spoken of the four steps of meditation; please explain the full meaning of all four.
First, understand this clearly: three are only steps, not meditation; meditation is the fourth. The gateway is the fourth; the first three are only steps. Steps are not the door; they lead to the door. The fourth alone is the door—rest, pause, emptiness, surrender, dying, dissolving—that is the door. And the three steps lead you to that door. The fundamental basis of those three steps is one: if you want to enter rest, it becomes very easy after going into total tension. Just as a person who labors all day can sleep at night. The more the labor, the deeper the sleep. Someone may ask, “But labor and sleep are opposites; how can labor lead to sleep? The one who has worked all day should not be able to sleep!” And the one who has lazed on the bed all day should sleep! But the one who stayed in bed…
Another friend has asked: Can the intense breathing be continued across all three stages?
It depends on you. In the first stage it is to be maintained—this is a must. For those ten minutes do not drop it. After that it depends on you. If it feels comfortable, you can continue it in the remaining two stages, or in one of them. In the fourth stage it is not to be continued—this is a must-not. In the first stage you must continue it; in the fourth stage you must not. In the other two stages it is a matter of your personal convenience. If you feel you can keep deep breathing along with dancing, jumping, shouting—keep it. If you can keep it while asking “Who am I?”—keep it. But in the second stage the emphasis will be on jumping, dancing, crying and shouting; the breath will be secondary, not primary. In the third stage the inquiry “Who am I?” will be primary; the breath…