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Chapter 19 - At the maximum you disappear
than God, because the impressions in the dust were exactly the same as had been described in the ancient scriptures; exactly how the feet of God would make an impression.
With tears in his eyes, he ran inside and made all the priests wake up. And he said "You did not listen to me -- it was not clouds thundering in the sky, it was the chariot of God. And it was not the wind knocking at the doors it was God himself who knocked. But now it is too late."
This beautiful poem has immense significance. God comes to every heart -- because that is the temple, the only temple -- and knocks on the heart. But you go on rationalizing, and your doors are closed.
Zareen, you are asking, "As I walk to discourse each morning, this thought comes before me -- what have I done to deserve this blissful experience of sitting at your feet?" Just to be, and just to be nobody is all that one needs, to deserve. No other virtues, no other qualities but just a simple and loving heart -- a heart that is open and ready to receive the guest.
"... Joyfully, sometimes tearfully, awaiting your glance upon me, and then longing for the next day to dawn and bring with it yet one more opportunity of being in your presence...
Beloved Master, is this not also a type of greed?" No. Greed is violent, greed is demanding.
It is simply a loving, longing, waiting. And how can one avoid the waiting and longing?
The difference between greed and longing is very clear: greed is aggressive, it has to be so; it is a demand and an expectation, and then it becomes ugly. But if your heart is simply waiting, with no demand, then there is no question of greed.
The people who know the secret of the open heart, the secret of being nobody, are the most deserving of all that is beautiful, of all that is divine, of all that transcends our mundane existence. Nothing else is needed... just that you should
be absent, a pure space, and you are ready to receive the guest.
But man has believed in God in as ugly a way as possible, because his God is nothing but all his desires, all his demands. It is not a humble prayer, a humble invitation.
A man is sight-seeing in the mountains and is marveling at the wondrous beauty of nature.
At one point he gets so absorbed in the beautiful view of the mountains that he forgets what he is doing and walks over the cliff. As he is falling, he sees a branch sticking out from the wall of the cliff. He reaches out and manages to grab the branch. As he hangs there he begins to pray, "Oh, Lord, please help me. I'm losing my strength and I can't hold on much longer.
Please God, save me."
Suddenly the heavens part, and a voice comes booming down, "I am the Lord!" "Oh Lord," cries the man, "please save me!"
"I will save you," booms the voice. "All you have to do is prove your faith in me by letting go of the branch."
The man looks down at the two-hundred-foot drop below him, thinks for a moment, then says, "Is there anybody else up there I can talk to?"
Our so-called idea of God is just a means to serve us. You may not have ever thought about it, that your God is nothing but a servant. He has to do this, he has to do that. The true religious man is a servant to God; he has no demand. He has only one longing: that God may use him for His purposes. He wants to become nothing but a hollow bamboo flute, so God can Osho - The Hidden Splendor
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