According to Osho, the dense darkness beneath the inner lamp is our unconscious forgetfulness of the ever-present soul. Because the soul is never absent and brings no fear, it goes unnoticed and lulls us into spiritual sleep, while we stay alert only for what can be lost. Thus, ignorance accumulates precisely where the light is constant—within our own being.
We forget the soul because it’s always there and feels safe, so we stop noticing it.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Question: Osho, In "Lamps on the Path" you have said: Osho, that darkness gathers beneath a clay lamp we can still understand; but we are completely unfamiliar with the dense darkness that lies beneath the inner lamp. What is it, why is it there, and how can it be removed? Kindly explain in detail. But the wealth of the soul you did not steal, nor did you grab it from anyone. It has always been yours. And there, no fear pervades; so why would you stay awake? Where there is no fear, why would you be alert? That’s why darkness gathers under the lamp. Third point: For that which is eternal, which always is and will always be—what is the hurry? For the fleeting, which is here now and gone the next moment—there is hurry, haste, scramble. Look at the difference between East and West.
Osho, you speak so much about the inner light, but my experience is different. Whenever my thoughts fall silent in meditation, a dense darkness descends within me, which feels cool and pleasant. Kindly explain what this is.
Psychologists say that in every human being’s unconscious that caveman’s experience is still there; it has not gone. It has become embedded in the body’s memory. Hence we fear the dark. Now there is no reason—one sits at home, electricity is at hand; press a button and there is light; there is no such hassle. In the country a “festival of discipline” is going on—no disturbances, no cause for fear. You are sitting in your room, and still you are panicking at the dark. That experience from twenty thousand years ago is in your every vein. You too are born from that same man; the chain is linked to him. It has not been forgotten; it is lodged very deep. So darkness seems frightening. Man becomes afraid of the dark. But the one who is afraid of the dark will never be able to go within. His inner journey will…
Osho, we have fled from suffering and are standing in darkness. And you are the representative of that supreme light which burns without wick or oil. Is a union between the two possible?
Union is not possible. That is the dilemma. Darkness and light never meet. They cannot, because light is, and darkness is not. So how can that which is meet that which is not? Darkness is only lack, absence, the non-presence of light. Darkness is nothing in itself. Therefore, if you want to do something directly with darkness, you will not be able to. A room is filled with darkness and you want to remove it—what will you do? Give it a push? Tie it up in bundles? Scoop it out and throw it away? What will you do? No, you can do nothing directly. If anything is to be done, you will have to light a lamp. Whatever is to be done must be done with light. With darkness you can do nothing. And if there is light and you want to bring darkness, what will you do? Can you…
Sometimes running here and there, talking, laughing, working, reading, writing and cleaning -- the fact is: when the door closes behind and the eyes are shut -- it is dark. Thoughts or no thoughts feelings or no feelings it is dark. Morning or night any time inside it is dark. Looking inside for the looker it is dark. Is 'I' darkness who is is writing this question?
So, remember it: whatsoever you know about light and darkness -- both have to be left behind. When you close your eyes, you have left the light outside; now you enter darkness. Love it. Sing? a song with it. Have a dance with it. Don't fight with it, don't be afraid of it, don't keep a distance from it. And don't go on looking for light. Forget about light. This darkness is there -- it has to be enjoyed; one has to be grateful to God for this darkness, this silence, this stillness, this velvety expanse. And then, one day, the observer and the observed are no more two. When you love something, the duality disappears. If you love darkness, you become darkness. And when there is no duality, there comes a luminousness of a totally different quality. It is not the light that comes from the sun, and it…
Osho, I am ignorant. All around me there is nothing but darkness. What is the path for me?
Music! Darkness is only proof that light can be. Darkness is only evidence that light is possible. So do not look at darkness with a negative outlook. Do not look with the eyes of an atheist; look with the eyes of a theist. Then even in darkness you will sense light hidden within it. Darkness is the womb of light. Do not be alarmed by darkness, nor afraid, nor anxious—be blissful, for the morning must be coming! And the denser the darkness, the nearer the dawn. Deep is this darkness; by the veils of selfishness we have been plundered. A wall of dead matter stands encircling, people speak as if turning their faces away; in this sky there is no sun, no moon, no star. An infinite ocean of imagination this, roaring as it girds the body, fierce— nothing is understood; where is the dusky shore? Beloved, give me that…