What happens when the experience of light occurs in meditation?

Osho, in meditation the sounds one hears, the fragrance that arises, or the light that appears—don’t these become obstacles?

If you mistake all this for spiritual attainment, it will become a hindrance. If you think, “I have found it—fragrance is coming, the inner sound resounds, light is appearing—now everything is achieved,” you miss. The stone that could have become a step now becomes a wall. You get stuck badly. You were safer with the gross, because there the risk of confusing it with the spiritual was small; here the risk is great. Out there it was collective. Others would say, “What spirituality? That’s just a house. That’s the sound of a sitar. That’s electric light. That’s the scent of a flower.” You had critics. Now you are utterly alone. There is no one else there, so it is easy to trust yourself—and easy to deceive yourself. There is no critic now. Only you hear that sound; no one else hears it. Only you see that light; no one else…

Bhante! On 7 July 1977, at midday, for the first time I came to know that one can see even without eyes. My eyes were closed; I was aware, in complete relaxation. I saw that suddenly there was only a wondrous light everywhere, and in that light even the things behind my back were visible. At that time I did not raise any argument about what was happening; I was simply a witness to whatever was happening. In kaivalya, does the witness also merge with the light?

Asked by Shubhakaran Pungaliya. Auspicious, Shubhakaran! True it is. And this feeling, this question that has arisen in the mind—whether in kaivalya even the witness merges into the light—is precious. In that final moment, duality does not remain. Who is the witness? Witness of whom? In that final moment, devotee and God do not remain. Who is the devotee? Who is God? What is the seen? Who is the seer? There only one remains. Neither the seen remains nor the seer; only seeing remains. Neither the knower nor the known remains; only the energy of knowing remains. Only light remains; the witness does not. As long as the witness is, however deep the experience, the final experience has not happened. As long as the one who sees is present, what you see is separate from you, other than you. That is not self-experience. You are the seer and something is…

Question: MASTER LU-TSU SAID: NOW THERE ARE THREE CONFIRMATORY EXPERIENCES WHICH CAN BE TESTED. THE FIRST IS THAT, WHEN ONE HAS ENTERED THE STATE OF MEDITATION, THE GODS ARE IN THE VALLEY. MEN ARE HEARD TALKING AS THOUGH AT A DISTANCE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED PACES, EACH ONE QUITE CLEAR. BUT THE SOUNDS ARE ALL LIKE AN ECHO IN A VALLEY. ONE CAN ALWAYS HEAR THEM, BUT NEVER ONESELF. THIS IS CALLED: 'THE PRESENCE OF THE GODS IN THE VALLEY.' AT TIMES THE FOLLOWING CAN BE EXPERIENCED: AS SOON AS ONE IS QUIET, THE LIGHT OF THE EYES BEGINS TO BLAZE UP, SO THAT EVERYTHING BEFORE ONE BECOMES QUITE BRIGHT AS IF ONE WERE IN A CLOUD. IF ONE OPENS ONE'S EYES AND SEEKS THE BODY, IT IS NOT TO BE FOUND ANY MORE. THIS IS CALLED: 'IN THE EMPTY CHAMBER IT GROWS LIGHT'. INSIDE AND OUTSIDE, EVERYTHING IS EQUALLY LIGHT.

Osho, when one experiences different forms of light and colours in meditation -- such as red, yellow, blue, ochre, etc. -- how can one know to which layers of being they belong? Is there any gradual sequence of colour and light experiences before reaching the ultimate light experience?

There is a Sufi sect which uses black -- black clothes for their fakirs. Black is also very, very meaningful. It shows absence of color, everything absent. It is just the contrary of white. Sufis say that unless we become totally absent, the God cannot be present to us. So one must be like black -- absolutely absent, a nonentity, a nonbeing, just a nothingness. They have chosen black. Colors are meaningful. So with whatsoever you choose you show much. Even your clothes indicate much. Nothing is just accidental. If you have chosen a particular color for your clothes, it is not accidental. You may not be aware why you have chosen it, but science is aware -- and it shows much. Your clothes show much because they belong to your mind, and your mind chooses. You cannot choose without your mind having certain leanings, certain tendencies. So the sequence…

Osho, the one who sees all and dwells within everyone—why does he still not come to be known? How does that Seer and Witness of all come to be known? Please explain.

Only such a light, subtle sensing will be there—a faint intimation. But you will not be able to see it. You cannot hold it in your hand. It is inexorably the Seer and cannot become the seen. So what to do? Then what to do? Only one thing can be done: bid farewell to the seen. Whatever is seen, let it be dismissed. Let no scene remain upon the screen. Have you ever noticed? You go to the cinema to watch a film. It begins—the play of light and shadow starts upon a blank white screen—and you become absorbed. When you are completely absorbed in watching, when the story grips your very life, you lose awareness of yourself—you forget that you are the watcher. The seen becomes everything; the Seer becomes null. The Seer is forgotten; the scenes become all in all. If the scene is tragic, tears stream from…