My beloved ones, a few questions have been asked, seeking clarification of certain points which I discussed in last night’s talk.

A friend has asked:

Osho,
If a man and a woman create an opportunity for the soul to take birth in the womb, then does it mean there are many separate souls and not one universal soul? Also, on many occasions you have said there is only one truth, one godliness, one soul. Aren’t these statements contradictory?

There is no contradiction. Of course, godliness is one. The soul is essentially one too, but the body is of two types. One is the gross body which we can see, and the other is the subtle body which we cannot see. At the moment of death, the gross body falls away, but the subtle body remains intact.

The soul resides within two bodies – the subtle body and the gross body. At the time of death the gross body dies. The body which is made of earth and water, the body which consists of flesh, bones and marrow, drops, dies. Subsequently, the body comprised of subtle thoughts, subtle feelings, subtle vibrations, subtle filaments, remains. This body, formed of all these subtle things, along with the soul, once again proceeds on a journey, and again enters a gross body for a new birth. When a new soul enters the mother’s womb, it means this subtle body enters.

In the event of death only the gross body disintegrates, not the subtle body. But with the occurrence of the ultimate death, what we call moksha, the subtle body disintegrates along with the gross body as well. Then there is no more birth for the soul. Then the soul becomes one with the whole. This happens only once. It is like a drop merging into the ocean.

Three things have to be understood. First, there is the element of the soul. When the two types of bodies – the gross and the subtle – come in contact with this element of the soul, both become active. We are familiar with the gross, the physical body; a yogi is familiar with the subtle body, and those who go beyond yoga are familiar with the soul.

Ordinary eyes are able to see the gross body. The yogic eye is able to see the subtle body. But that which is beyond yoga, that which exists beyond the subtle body, is experienced only in samadhi. One who goes beyond meditation attains samadhi, and it is in the state of samadhi that one experiences the divine. The ordinary man has the experience of the physical body, the ordinary yogi has the experience of the subtle body, the enlightened yogi has the experience of the divine. Godliness is one, but there are countless subtle bodies and there are countless gross bodies.