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Osho on What should I do to cultivate single-mindedness?

What should I do to cultivate single-mindedness?

Relax deeply enough to dissolve inner conflict, and in that silence, trust the messages that arise; your being already knows the way.

— Osho
According to Osho, cultivate single-mindedness by relaxing so deeply that inner conflict dissolves—what he calls no-mind. Trust messages that surface from the silence right after sleep or in meditative trance (tandra); your being already knows. Attend to those first morning glimpses, then live them without division. Meditation and love deepen this relaxation, ending dreams and unifying you into one, undistracted presence.

Relax, hear the first clear message when you wake or meditate, and follow it without inner arguing.

In His Own Words

From the Discourses

Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.

Finger Pointing To The Moon · Discourse 8Question 1 1972-10-17 Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, India English

The root of this division is mind. If there is no mind, there is no division. Therefore, concentrate your mind on the universal consciousness which is your interiority.

KNOWING THAT YOU ARE THE PERPETUALLY BLISSFUL SOUL, ALWAYS REJOICE IN THIS BLISS WITHIN AND WITHOUT YOUR VERY SOUL. THE FRUIT OF DETACHMENT IS KNOWLEDGE, THE FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE IS RELAXEDNESS, AND THE PEACE THAT DESCENDS FROM EXPERIENCING THE SELF-BLISS IS THE VERY FRUIT OF RELAXEDNESS. IF EACH ONE OF THE AFORESAID DOES NOT HAPPEN IN SUCCESSION, KNOW THAT THE PREVIOUS ONE HAS GONE FRUITLESS. ABSTENTION FROM THE SENSE-OBJECTS IS IN ITSELF THE SUPREME CONTENTMENT AND INCOMPARABLE BLISS. THE ROOT OF THIS DIVISION IS MIND. IF THERE IS NO MIND, THERE IS NO DIVISION. THEREFORE, CONCENTRATE YOUR MIND ON THE UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS. And then came the monk who gave a hit on the head. The flow of thinking had stopped, the dozing had set in, the monk gave a hit on your head -- for a moment the dozing was broken. In that single moment a glimpse of meditation happens.…
Adhyatam Upanishad · Discourse 8Para 24 1972-10-17 Mount Abu Hindi
For one who thinks with the mind, this claim seems valid. But these truths were never discovered by mind—there lies the crux. Whether they were found five thousand years back or fifty thousand years back, or five thousand years hence—they were not found by mind. And what is not found by mind does not change; there is no way for it to change. Because when mind is dropped, we enter that world which is eternal, beginningless—where nothing ever changes; where all is immutable; where time has stopped; where there is no movement in time; where time is frozen. These truths will always remain true. If they have been discovered beyond mind, no change in the world can bring change into them. If they, too, were found within mind, then the world’s changes would keep changing them.
Jin Sutra · Discourse 59Question 1 1976-08-06 Pune Hindi

Osho, for a few days my heart settles into meditation; then for a few days worship and bhajans flow. But I cannot concentrate anywhere. I am troubled by this state. Kindly guide and train me.

About three years later he was found in Paris learning painting. Reduced to a beggar’s state. His friends rushed there. “What have you done? You had everything—everything was fine.” He said, “That was the obstacle—everything was fine. But there was no exhilaration. Nowhere any surge. Everything ran fine, and I ran it fine—but no stream of rasa was flowing. “All my life I longed to be a painter. I never wanted to be a broker. That success was accidental. Now I am happy. I have nothing. I paint; if paintings sell, I manage food and clothes. I have not even a roof of my own. I live in a friend’s room. But I am not going back. I am happy.” And the friends saw that the man was filled with a strange energy, a strange aura. His body had thinned, but there was a light. He said, “Tell my wife…
The Invitation · Discourse 7Question 1 1987-08-24 Chuang Tzu Auditorium English

Beloved Osho, how are one-pointedness, concentration and meditation related to each other?

Prem Dinesh, one-pointedness, concentration and meditation are not related to each other at all. This is one of the confusions prevalent all over the world. One-pointedness is another name for concentration, but meditation is just the opposite of concentration. But in most of the books, in most of the dictionaries, and by the so-called teachers, they are used as if they are synonymous. Concentration simply means one-pointedness. It is something of the mind. Mind can be a chaos, a crowd. Mind can be many voices, many directions. Mind can be a crossroads. Ordinarily, that's what mind is, a crowd. But if the mind is a chaos, you cannot think rationally, you cannot think scientifically. To think rationally and scientifically, you have to be concentrated on the object of your study. Whatever the object is, the one thing necessary is that you are pouring your whole mental energy onto that object.…
Many people say the ability to concentrate the mind is essential if one aspires to the realization of God, but I say that once God is realized the mind will then have the necessary concentration. People say the mind has to be kept fixed so that God can be realized, but I say that where God is realized is the point where the mind becomes still, where the mind comes to rest. The mind rushes naturally towards what ever promises it pleasure and never towards something that may cause it pain, but the moment the prospect of pleasure disappears the mind drops its objective and veers off towards something else. This is why you will never find the mind focused on any one object in particular. For example, get ten thousand rupees together.