What is the nature of consciousness and its relation to ego?

Osho, you said that because of evolved consciousness, because of thought, man has become disconnected from nature. Then you also said that through the expansion of this very consciousness one can again be joined to nature, to one’s own intrinsic nature, or to Tao. The same consciousness both severs and connects—this seems contradictory.

I have heard: a Jewish fakir was dying. He lay upon his bed. He had many devotees; they all gathered. The news had spread far and wide. Death was drawing near, and the devotees were singing their master’s praises. One said, such a wise one—neither has the earth seen his like before, nor will it see again. Every word of the scriptures was on his tongue; ask him anything from anywhere, he was never at a loss; the scriptures flowed like a stream. Another said, never have I seen such a compassionate man; his whole life was filled with compassion and service. Another said, what an ascetic! What a rigorous seeker! So disciplined with himself and so compassionate with others! So stern with himself and so kind with others! The discussion went on. The dying man, eyes closed, must have been listening. In the last moment he opened his eyes…

And whenever there is a man with a sincere enquiry the answer is not very far. In fact the answer is always hidden in the question itself; all that is needed is a sincere heart to enquire. When the question is authentic... Our questions also are not authentic, they come out of borrowed knowledge. For example if a Christian comes he will ask a question that no Hindu is ever going to ask. If a Hindu comes he will ask a question that no Mohammedan is ever going to ask. A Mohammedan asks a question which no Buddhist would ever ask. I have known all these people -- they come with different questions. I was puzzled, puzzled because if the question is real then it can't be that a Christian will not ask something and only a Hindu will ask it. If the question is real it is everybody's question.

Osho, is consciousness not matter?

No—no. In fact, if you understand what I mean: as I just said, there is something—when it is aroused it is called mind; when unaroused it is called soul. There is such a something; something is—there is no need for a name. Call it Brahman if you like, or call it something else—it makes no difference, because the trouble begins the moment you give it a name. There is something that appears to us in two forms—conscious and unconscious. There is a state where it is absolutely vibrationless; there it seems unconscious, it seems material. And there is another of its modes where it is filled with perfect vibration; there it appears conscious, it appears as consciousness. These are two different aspects of the same thing, two functions of the same reality. The conscious and the unconscious are not matter; rather, they are two functions of one and the same…

Osho, how does the cessation of this ego-sense happen? That is, witnessing is not something that is brought in, nor does one make oneself into a witness. It is only because we have become something else that the feeling of witnessing does not arise. So this ego-sense—the “made-ness” we are—how does it come to an end?

No, no—you cannot bring about its cessation. Because the very one who is asking, “How should I end it?”—that itself is the ego. You cannot end it. The ego is so subtle that when it asks, “How do I erase the ego?” it is the ego itself that is asking. The question is not coming from anywhere else. Beyond the ego there is no questioning at all; there, the ego is not. Ego belongs to the mind that asks; it is not part of the consciousness-state of being a witness. Understand it like this: there is water. The water asks, “How can I eliminate my fluidity?” Water can only be by being fluid. It cannot remove fluidity, because in the very definition of water, fluidity is included; it is part of it. We say to it, “Cool down below zero degrees,” or “Heat up to a hundred degrees.” If you…

Feel the consciousness of each person as your own consciousness. So, leaving aside concern for self, become each being.

THIS CONSCIOUSNESS EXISTS AS EACH BEING, AND NOTHING ELSE EXISTS. THIS CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE SPIRIT OF GUIDANCE OF EACH ONE. BE THIS ONE. Zen masters have used the sword as a technique for meditation, and they say in Japan that if two Zen masters, two meditative persons, are fighting with those swords, there can be no conclusion. No one can be defeated and no one is going to win, because both are not thinking.. The swords are just not in their hands, they are in the hands of their inner guide, the non-thinking inner guide, and before the other attacks, the guide knows and defends. You cannot think about it because there is no time. The other is aiming at your heart. In a flash of a moment the sword will penetrate to the heart. There is no time to think about it, about what to do. When the thought,…