Samadhi is the culmination of meditation in the yogic and mystic traditions Osho spoke on. He described it mostly by what it is not: not a thought, not an experience the mind can hold, not something words can carry. What he did describe in detail is the path towards it.
The passages below come from his discourses, several of them from Osho Live's own English translations of his Hindi talks.
Samadhi in Osho's Words
The threads that run through his talks on samadhi. The short notes are Osho Live's; the quoted passages are his own words, checked against the talk.
Beyond Words
Asked to describe the inner state of samadhi, Osho declined, and explained why.
Nothing can be said about samadhi. Samadhi lies beyond talk. Samadhi is an experience. I can tell you how samadhi can happen, but what is in samadhi, what happens in samadhi—I cannot tell; no one can. No one has ever told it, and no one ever will. Samadhi does not fit into words.
Samadhi across the years
When Osho spoke about samadhi: talks where it comes up at least 5 times, counted from 6,627 dated talks on Osho Live.
Where he speaks of it most: Es Dhammo Sanantano · Maha Geeta · Jin Sutra
| Year | Talks about it | Dated talks that year |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 2 | 13 |
| 1965 | 4 | 19 |
| 1966 | 1 | 7 |
| 1967 | 0 | 33 |
| 1968 | 6 | 30 |
| 1969 | 4 | 110 |
| 1970 | 19 | 131 |
| 1971 | 2 | 111 |
| 1972 | 13 | 223 |
| 1973 | 8 | 205 |
| 1974 | 19 | 271 |
| 1975 | 37 | 303 |
| 1976 | 49 | 700 |
| 1977 | 58 | 679 |
| 1978 | 55 | 702 |
| 1979 | 34 | 683 |
| 1980 | 21 | 674 |
| 1981 | 8 | 122 |
| 1984 | 0 | 63 |
| 1985 | 1 | 356 |
| 1986 | 5 | 369 |
| 1987 | 4 | 486 |
| 1988 | 4 | 276 |
| 1989 | 1 | 61 |
More in his words
When Duality Disappears
On Patanjali's definition of samadhi.
When the subject disappears in the object, when the object disappears in the subject, when there is nothing to look at and there is no looker-on, when simply the duality is not there, a tremendously potential silence prevails. You cannot say what exists, because there is nobody to say.
Even Purity Must Disappear
On the stages of samadhi.
You are impure; then you become pure. But if you start feeling that "I am pure," purity itself has become impurity. That too has to disappear.
Meditation Is Fire
How attention alone dissolves a thought and leaves emptiness.
Meditation is fire. It burns any thought. Try it and see. Take any thought—do not think about it; only look at it. Stand and watch, watch, watch. After a while, it will vanish—an empty space remains. That empty space is the solution.
From the discourses
Passages where Osho speaks on samadhi, each linked to the exact place in the talk.
Osho, the samadhi you speak of—an attainment of which body is it?
In truth, there are many kinds of samadhi. One samadhi happens between the fourth and the fifth bodies. And remember, samadhi always occurs between two bodies; it is a twilight. Samadhi is never the event of a single body—it's an event between two bodies; it is the dusk. If someone asks, “Is dusk an event of the day or of the night?” we would say: dusk is neither of the day nor of the night; it is the happening between day and night. In the same way, one samadhi—the first—happens between the fourth and the fifth bodies. From the samadhi that happens between the fourth and the fifth, self-realization (atma-jnana) becomes available. Another samadhi happens between the fifth and the sixth bodies. From the samadhi between the fifth and the sixth, God-realization (brahma-jnana) becomes available. Another samadhi occurs between the sixth and the seventh. From what happens between the sixth…
प्रश्न: ओशो, जिसे आप समाधि कहते हैं, वह किस शरीर की उपलब्धि है?
असल में, बहुत तरह की समाधि हैं। इसलिए एक समाधि तो चौथे शरीर और पांचवें शरीर के बीच में घटेगी। और यह भी ध्यान रहे कि समाधि जो है, वह सदा दो शरीरों के बीच में घटती है; वह संध्याकाल है। समाधि जो है वह किसी एक शरीर की घटना नहीं है, दो शरीरों के बीच की घटना है; वह संध्याकाल है। जैसे अगर कोई पूछे कि संध्या, सांझ दिन की घटना है कि रात की? तो हम कहेंगे कि सांझ न दिन की घटना है, न रात की; रात और दिन के बीच की घटना है। ऐसे ही समाधि जो है, एक समाधि, पहली समाधि चौथे और पांचवें शरीर के बीच में घटती है। चौथे-पांचवें शरीर के बीच में जो समाधि घटती है, उसी से आत्मज्ञान उपलब्ध होता है। एक समाधि पांचवें और छठवें शरीर के बीच में घटती है। पांचवें और छठवें शरीर के बीच में जो समाधि घटती है, उससे ब्रह्मज्ञान उपलब्ध होता है। एक समाधि छठवें और सातवें के बीच में घटती है। छठवें और सातवें के बीच में जो घटती है, उससे निर्वाण उपलब्ध होता है। तो तीन समाधियां हैं साधारणतः। …
In which body is that obtained which you refer to as samadhi?
Actually there are many types of samadhi. One samadhi will take place between the fourth and the fifth body. Remember, samadhi is not a happening of one plane; it always happens between two planes, it is the twilight period. One may just as well ask whether twilight belongs to the day or the night. Twilight belongs neither to the day nor the night, it is a happening between day and night. So is samadhi. The first samadhi occurs between the fourth and the fifth planes. This samadhi leads to self-realization, atma gyan. One samadhi occurs between the fifth and the sixth planes; this in turn leads to brahma gyan -- cosmic knowing. The samadhi that occurs between the sixth and the seventh planes is the samadhi that leads to nirvana. So generally speaking there are these three samadhis that occur between the last three shariras, the last three bodies. There…
In experimenting with lsd I have experienced states which seem to be similar to descriptions I have read of samadhi. I could feel my kundalini rising and my chakras opening up. I felt a oneness with the whole cosmos. Were these genuine experiences of samadhi? Is permanent self-realization possible through the use of lsd? Is there any harm in using lsd as an aid to meditation?
I am not saying that there is no such thing as kundalini or chakras. I am not saying that no experiences happen; there are experiences but you must not know about them beforehand, otherwise you will project them. You must be completely unknowing, you must be ignorant: that is the basic condition to proceed further. Each thing must be known and experienced directly; it must not be taken for granted. Information should not be confused with knowledge. So throw away all information. Cease to know things and proceed as if in a vacuum, proceed in ignorance. You don't know, so everything will be a surprise. Everything must be a surprise. If it is not a surprise, if you say, "Yes, I have known this before, it has happened before," then you have not moved into the unknown, you have not moved into meditation. There is a great possibility of self-delusion.…
Osho, what is the first experience of samadhi like?
You will know only when it happens. It cannot be said; at most a few hints can be given. It is as if, in the dark, a lamp is suddenly lit. Or as if a dying patient, right at the edge of death, suddenly finds a medicine that works; life’s wave, life’s thrill spreads again—so it is. As if a corpse becomes alive—such is the first experience of samadhi. It is the taste of nectar. The experience of the ultimate music. But it will be only when it happens; and only then will you understand. You will not understand by my saying it. It is as with love. How can anyone explain it? To someone who has never loved, never known love, no matter how many explanations you offer—he will hear it all and still ask, “I haven’t understood; please explain a little more.” It is like explaining light to…
तीसरा प्रश्न: ओशो, समाधि का पहला अनुभव कैसा होता है?
होगा तो ही जानोगे। कहा जा सके, ऐसा नहीं है। कुछ-कुछ इशारे किये जा सकते हैं। जैसे अंधेरे में अचानक दीया जल जाये, ऐसा होता है। या जैसे बीमार मरता हो और अचानक कोई दवा लग जाये...मरते-मरते कोई दवा लग जाये; और जीवन की लहर, जीवन की पुलक फिर फैल जाये--ऐसा होता है। जैसे कोई मुर्दा जिंदा हो जाये--ऐसा होता है समाधि का पहला अनुभव। अमृत का अनुभव है। परम संगीत का अनुभव है। पर होगा तो ही होगा। और होगा तो ही तुम समझ पाओगे; मेरे कहने से समझ में न आ सकेगा। प्रेम में जैसा होता है। अब कोई किसी को कैसे समझाये? …
What is the first experience of samadhi like?
You will know only if it happens. It is not that it can be said. A few indications can be given. A lamp is suddenly alight in the dark - it is like this. Or like a sick man dying and suddenly the medicine works... nearing death the medicine works and suddenly ripples of life, the thrill of life spreads again -- it is just like this. Like a corpse has come to life -- the first experience of samadhi is like this. It is an experience of immortal nectar. It is an experience of the ultimate music. But it happens only when it happens. And only if it happens will you be able to understand. You will not be able to understand from my saying it. It is like being in love. Who can explain it to anyone? One who has not loved, one who does not know love,…
Osho, can there be a partial experience of samadhi?
Not partial; preliminary. There is a difference between the two. It is not a partial experience. And the experience of samadhi cannot be partial at all. But there can be a mental glimpse of it. The experience would be spiritual; the glimpse can be mental. For example, I climb a mountain and see the ocean. Certainly I have seen the ocean—but the ocean is very far away. I have not reached the shore; I have not touched the ocean; I have not tasted its water; I have not entered it; I have not bathed in it, drowned in it. I saw the ocean from the peak, and from that very peak I was pulled back. So would you call my experience a partial experience of the ocean? No, you cannot call it even partial, because I did not touch it—not even a little, not an inch, not a drop, I…
प्रश्न: ओशो, समाधि का आंशिक अनुभव भी हो सकता है?
आंशिक नहीं है, प्राथमिक है। इन दोनों में फर्क है। आंशिक अनुभव नहीं है यह। और समाधि का अनुभव आंशिक हो ही नहीं सकता। लेकिन समाधि की मानसिक झलक हो सकती है। अनुभव तो आध्यात्मिक होगा, झलक मानसिक हो सकती है। जैसे, मैं एक पहाड़ पर चढ़कर सागर को देख लूं। निश्चित ही मैंने सागर देखा, लेकिन सागर बहुत फासले पर है। मैं सागर के तट पर नहीं पहुंचा; मैंने सागर को छुआ भी नहीं; मैंने सागर का जल चखा भी नहीं; मैं सागर में उतरा भी नहीं; मैं नहाया भी नहीं, डूबा भी नहीं; मैंने एक पहाड़ की चोटी पर से सागर देखा और वापस चोटी से खींच लिया गया। तो मेरे अनुभव को सागर का आंशिक अनुभव कहोगे? नहीं, आंशिक भी नहीं कह सकते, क्योंकि मैंने छुआ भी नहीं--जरा भी नहीं छुआ, एक इंच भी नहीं छुआ, एक बूंद भी नहीं छुई, एक बूंद चखी भी नहीं।
Can there be a partial experience of samadhi?
Not partial but preliminary. There is a difference between the two. The experience of samadhi cannot be partial, but there can be a mental glimpse of samadhi. The experience is spiritual; the glimpse is mental. If I stand on the top of the mountain and see the sea, I will definitely see the sea but from a distance. I will not have stood at the shore; I will not have touched or tasted of its waters; I will not have dived into it or bathed in it. I have seen the sea from the top of the mountain. Would you call this experience partial? No. And in spite of the fact that I did not touch even a drop of the ocean, you cannot call my experience unauthentic. I have seen the ocean from the top of a mountain even though I have not become one with it. In the…
So in LSD the thing is sudden. It is so sudden that it overwhelms you. It shatters your total memory. All the tensions are non-existential for the moment. You are relaxed and the cosmic harmony is felt. The barriers are not there. You don't exist as an I; and the world and you have become one. This is so sudden and blissful that you will have a cherished memory of it afterwards. You must reach the door of Samadhi completely empty handed, naked, vacant, only then the authentic thing happens. Otherwise, you are meditating with the projections. You have been projecting in meditation, and you have been projecting in your LSD experiences. Both are projections. In LSD you go nowhere, you are just where you were. Something happens to you because of chemical changes; because your ordinary mind is not functioning. It has been defunctioned.
Osho, Patanjali and all the enlightened ones have spoken of samadhi. But Krishnamurti speaks of understanding. From samadhi it seems understanding can flower; but how can samadhi flower from understanding? Can the state of buddhahood be attained by understanding alone? Osho, please explain this properly.
Krishnamurti says there is no need to meditate separately. He is right. Those who said “do it separately” also know there is no real need to separate it. But they do not expect that you can be aware for twenty-four hours yet. Krishnamurti trusted you a little too much; Patanjali doesn’t trust you that much. Therefore Patanjali managed to take some of you to samadhi; Krishnamurti perhaps almost no one. He trusted you too much. You were crawling on your knees; Krishnamurti assumed you could run. Krishnamurti said what he had to say from his own standpoint; he did not take care of you. Patanjali speaks with your welfare in view—lifting you one step at a time. Patanjali has placed stairs; Krishnamurti speaks of a leap. You cannot gather the courage even to climb steps—what leap will you take! And it often happens that those who cannot muster the courage…
अंतिम प्रश्न: ओशो, पतंजलि और सारे बुद्धपुरुषों ने कहा है, समाधि। परंतु कृष्णमूर्ति कहते हैं, समझ। समाधि से तो लगता है समझ फलित हो सकती है, परंतु समझ से समाधि कैसे फलित हो सकती है? क्या केवल समझ से बुद्धत्व की स्थिति प्राप्त की जा सकती है? ओशो, इसे ठीक से समझाएं।
कृष्णमूर्ति कहते हैं, अलग से ध्यान करने की कोई जरूरत नहीं। ठीक ही कहते हैं। जिन्होंने अलग से करने को कहा है वे भी जानते हैं कि अलग से करने की कोई जरूरत नहीं। लेकिन अभी तुम चौबीस घंटे कर सकोगे, इतनी अपेक्षा वे नहीं करते। कृष्णमूर्ति ने तुम पर ज्यादा भरोसा कर लिया। पतंजलि उतना भरोसा तुम पर नहीं करते। और इसलिए पतंजलि ने तो तुम में से कुछ को समाधि तक पहुंचा दिया, कृष्णमूर्ति न के बराबर किसी को पहुंचा पाए हों। तुम पर जरा ज्यादा भरोसा कर लिया। तुम घुटने से सरक-सरककर चलते थे। कृष्णमूर्ति ने मान लिया कि तुम दौड़कर चल सकते हो। कृष्णमूर्ति ने जो बात कही है, अपने हिसाब से कह दी, तुम्हारी चिंता नहीं की। पतंजलि ने जो बात कही है उसमें तुम्हारी चिंता है। और एक-एक कदम तुम्हें उठाने की बात है। …
During samadhi, the objects of the experiences are not separate from the soul, hence they are not experienced. But these glorified experiences of the seeker who has come out of samadhi are inferred through recollections of the mind.
IN THIS BEGINNINGLESS WORLD, MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF KARMA, ACTION-IMPRESSIONS, ARE ACCUMULATED. THEY ARE ALL DESTROYED BY THIS SAMADHI AND PURE DHARMA, THE SELF-NATURE, GROWS. THE KNOWERS OF YOGA CALL IT DHARMAMEGHA -- THE RAINCLOUD OF DHARMA -- SAMADHI, BECAUSE IT SHOWERS A THOUSAND NECTAR-STREAMS OF DHARMA, THE SELF-NATURE, LIKE A RAINCLOUD. IN THIS SAMADHI, THE NETWORK OF DESIRES DISSOLVES COMPLETELY AND THE THICKETS OF ACCUMULATED KARMA CALLED VIRTUE AND SIN ARE ALL UPROOTED AT THEIR VERY SOURCE. AT FIRST, THIS BOUNDLESS STATEMENT -- TATTVAMASI, THAT ART THOU -- BEING TRUE, IS ONLY REALIZED INDIRECTLY; THEN THE DIRECT KNOWLEDGE, LIKE A MYROBALAN FRUIT KEPT ON ONE'S OWN PALM, IS BORN. ... Dharmamegha is a lovely word. Clouds we have seen. When Ashadh, the first month of monsoon comes, clouds gather in the sky. But we are not aware of the whole phenomenon. Those clouds gather in the sky in Ashadh, and
Even though I did not understand what was happening, I have had enlightening experiences through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. I know that lsd is false, but what is, if any, the truth about mushrooms?
Lao Tzu says, "The journey of ten thousand miles starts in the first step." The first step is a great moment. Just thing: the larva becomes the caterpillar... a great moment, because the larva was static, and the caterpillar moves, crawls. The caterpillar is not yet a butterfly. It knows nothing of flying, it knows nothing of flowers, it is not yet a winged thing, but the journey has started. The journey of ten thousand miles -- the first step has been taken. it has started crawling. If crawling is possible, then one day flying will also be possible. The larva cannot become the butterfly, only the caterpillar can become the butterfly. The worldly man cannot arrive in his being, only a sannyasin can arrive. The sannyasin is between the larva and the butterfly, the link. So a sannyasin is both the beginning of a journey and a process; it…
Osho, please say something about this news item: the indian express of 18th august reports that the rajneesh film won't reflect the real image of india. The union information minister, l.k. Advani said in the parliament, 'foreign television and film units have been refused permission to document the activities of the rajneesh ashram, as it is felt that a film on the activities of the ashram would not reflect favourably on india's image abroad.'
If this country is going to be destroyed one day, the reason will be these people who are in power today. India cannot have one language. And if it can have one language, that language has to be neutral; either it will be English or Esperanto, but not Hindi, not Gujarati, not Marathi, not Bengali, not Tamil. It will have to be a neutral language. English is neutral; it is nobody's mother tongue in India. And English is international too, so it is perfectly good. I support a two-language formula: English as the national language, because it is also international and as the second language, the mother tongue. Each child should be taught two languages. Forget all about Hindi, and forget all about creating one monolith in this country of variety, of multiplicity. And they are trying to do the same thing with religion too, in the same way. They…
Questions put to Osho about samadhi
Each opens the talk at the moment the question was asked.
- Osho, the samadhi you speak of—an attainment of which body is it? Jin Khoja Tin Paiyan · Discourse 18 · 1970-07-11
- In which body is that obtained which you refer to as samadhi? In Search Of The Miraculous Vol 2 · Discourse 8 · 1970-07-11
- In experimenting with lsd I have experienced states which seem to be similar to descriptions I have read of samadhi. I could feel my kundalini rising and my chakras opening up. I felt a... The Great Challenge · Discourse 4 · 1970-10-25
- Osho, what is the first experience of samadhi like? Mare He Jogi Maro · Discourse 2 · 1979-11-12
- What is the first experience of samadhi like? Death Is Divine · Discourse 2 · 1978-10-02
- Osho, can there be a partial experience of samadhi? Jin Khoja Tin Paiyan · Discourse 11 · 1970-07-04
- Can there be a partial experience of samadhi? In Search Of The Miraculous Vol 2 · Discourse 1 · 1970-07-04
- Osho, Patanjali and all the enlightened ones have spoken of samadhi. But Krishnamurti speaks of understanding. From samadhi it seems understanding can flower; but how can samadhi flower... Es Dhammo Sanantano · Discourse 16 · 1975-12-06
- During samadhi, the objects of the experiences are not separate from the soul, hence they are not experienced. But these glorified experiences of the seeker who has come out of samadhi... Finger Pointing To The Moon · Discourse 11 · 1972-10-18
- Even though I did not understand what was happening, I have had enlightening experiences through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. I know that lsd is false, but what is, if any, the truth... The Wisdom Of The Sands Vol 1 · Discourse 5 · 1978-02-25
- Osho, please say something about this news item: the indian express of 18th august reports that the rajneesh film won't reflect the real image of india. The union information minister,... The Secret Of Secrets Vol 1 · Discourse 10 · 1978-08-20
Frequently asked
Short answers by Osho Live, based on the passages above.
What is samadhi according to Osho?
The state in which the division between the one who looks and what is looked at disappears, leaving a profound silence. Osho said it cannot be described in words.
Can samadhi be explained?
Osho said he could explain how samadhi can happen but not what happens in it: it is a wordless, timeless experience.
How does meditation lead towards samadhi?
Through attention: watching a thought without thinking about it until it vanishes and leaves an empty space. Osho called meditation a fire that burns every thought.