Osho,
You have said that if a seeker goes into the experiment of “I want to die, I want to return back to my center,” with an intense resolve, then in just a few days his life energy will start shrinking back within himself and he will be able to see his body lying down dead – first from within, and then from without. Consequently, his fear of death will disappear forever. So my question is: Does one need to make any special preparation or take any extra precaution so that the subtle body may return safely to the physical body? Or, does the return of the subtle body happen on its own? Please explain.

Man’s life, in many ways, is the life of his mind. What we think of as a physical phenomenon is deep down only a mental phenomenon. All bodily manifestations have their roots in the mind. Let me explain a few things in this regard, then it will be easy to understand the answer to your question.

Until fifty years ago, all human illnesses were considered to be illnesses of the body. In the last fifty years, the more we have learned about illnesses, the more the proportion of physical illnesses has decreased while that of the psychological illnesses has increased. Even the greatest of physiologists is ready to admit today that more than fifty percent of all human ailments are psychological. More that half of the sicknesses, which are otherwise considered as physical, are caused by the mind. Mind is the very substratum of man’s being, his existence. It is the source of our life, it is the source of our illness, and it is the very source of our death. That’s why so much importance is given to the will.

If you have ever witnessed an experiment in hypnosis, there are a few things about it worth keeping in mind. A hypnotized person is simply one whose conscious mind is asleep and whose unconscious mind is awake. When the conscious mind goes to sleep, the person stops doubting, because all doubts and misgivings are limited to the conscious mind.

If we divide the human mind into ten parts, it will appear that one part of it is conscious while the remaining nine are unconscious. Nine parts are in the dark unconscious; only a small portion – one tenth of the mind – is awake. It is this conscious mind that doubts, thinks, ponders. If this conscious mind were to sleep, then the remaining nine parts below would stay totally receptive. There, no questions are asked, no doubts are raised.

In the state of hypnosis, the doubting mind is put to sleep and the undoubting, receptive mind comes into effect. In that state, if you were to place a small piece of rock on the hand of the hypnotized person and tell him it is a hot coal, he will cry out in pain as if his hand had been burned. He will at once throw the rock away – just as he would if a real hot coal had been placed on his hand.

Up to this point one may assume that just an idea in his mind must have caused this to happen. But the astonishing thing is that blisters appear on his hand – the same as it would have if a hot coal had been placed there. So apparently, although you had placed an ordinary piece of rock, the person’s mind totally accepted your word that it was a hot coal. And the body has no means of denying the mind, so it acts accordingly. Remember well, if the mind accepts totally, the body will have to follow it.