The Golden Flower Is Opening
You see a beautiful flower and you suddenly say something: “It is beautiful.” Watch whether it is a reaction or a response. Go deep into it, scrutinize it. What you have said – that “The flower is beautiful” – is it your spontaneous response this moment, herenow? Is this your experience, or are you simply repeating a cliché because you have heard others saying that flowers are beautiful? Go into it, watch: who has spoken through you? Maybe it is your mother.. You can remember the day, for the first time she had taken you to the garden, the public gardens, and she had told you, “Look at this rose. How beautiful it is!” And then the books that you have been reading, and the films that you have been seeing, and the people you have been talking to – and they all have been saying “Roses are beautiful.” It has become a programmed thing in you. The moment you see the rose flower your program says “It is beautiful,” not you. It is just a gramophone record, it is a tape. The rose outside triggers the tape and it simply repeats. It is reaction.
What is response? Response is unprogrammed: experiencing in the moment. You look at the flower, you really look at the flower, with no ideas covering your eyes. You look at this flower, the thisness of it; all knowledge put aside, your heart responds. Your mind reacts. Responsibility is of the heart. You may not say anything; in fact, there is no need to say, “This is beautiful.”
I have heard..
Lao Tzu used to go for a morning walk. A neighbor wanted to be with him. Lao Tzu said, “But remember, don’t be talkative. You can come along, but don’t be talkative.”
Many times the man wanted to say something, but knowing Lao Tzu, looking at him, he controlled himself. But when the sun started rising and it was so beautiful, the temptation was so much that he forgot all about what Lao Tzu had said and he said, “Look! What a beautiful morning!”
And Lao Tzu said, “So, you have become talkative. You are too talkative! You are here, I am here, the sun is here, the sun is rising – so what is the point of saying to me ‘The sun is beautiful’? Can’t I see? Am I blind? What is the point of saying it? I am also here.”
In fact, the man who said “The morning is beautiful” was not there. He was repeating, it was a reaction.
When you respond, words may not be needed at all or sometimes they may be needed – it will depend on the situation. But they will not necessarily be there: they may be, they may not be.
Response is of the heart. Response is a feeling, not a thought. You are thrilled: seeing a rose flower something starts dancing in you, something is stirred at the deepest core of your being, something starts opening inside you. The outer flower challenges the inner flower, and the inner flower responds – this is response-ability of the heart. And if you are not engaged in trivialities, you will have enough energy, abundant energy, to have this inner dance of the heart. When energy is dissipated in thoughts, your feelings are starved.
Excerpted From The Secret Of Secrets CH: 19
