According to Osho, Bulleh Shah’s “being tightly closed” points to man’s contracted state between animal and buddha—heart-mind shut by fear and regress, clinging to the familiar. Then “the non-existent appearing before the eyes” is the illusion born of forgetfulness—intoxications, memories and returns that seem real though time cannot go back. Open up, move forward toward your buddha-nature; only then does the real reveal itself.
When we stay closed, we mistake dreams and old habits for reality; open your heart and move ahead to see what’s truly real.