Life Is Mystery – In Gita Verse 4.38 In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has become accomplished in the practice of devotional service enjoys this knowledge within himself in due course of time.
Krishna says that only the self-realized person who has transcended his knowledge to knowing can only know the mystery of life. He can only act by surrendering himself to the universe.
Life is not a riddle to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived…
Let me tell you a story: Once it happened, a great prime minister of a very great emperor died. The prime minister was rare, very intelligent, almost wise, very cunning, shrewd, a great diplomat, and it was very difficult to find a substitute. The whole kingdom was searched. All the ministers were sent to find at least three people; then the final decision will be taken and one of them will be chosen.
For months the search was on. The whole kingdom was searched; every nook and corner was searched. Then three people were found. One was a great scientist, a great mathematician. He could solve any mathematical problem, and mathematics is really the only positive science – all sciences are its branches – so he was at the root.
Another was a great philosopher, he was a great system-maker: out of nothing he could create all. Just out of words, he could create such beautiful systems – it is a miracle, only philosophers can do it. And the third one was a religious man, a man of faith, prayer, devotion. And the people who were searching for these three men must have been very wise, because they had found three.
These three represent the three dimensions of consciousness. These are the only possibilities: a man of science, a man of philosophy and a man of religion – The religious man is the man of experience, the scientist is the man of experiment, the philosopher is the man of thinking. The religious man is the man of experience, he looks at life as something to be lived. If there is any solution, it will come through experience, it will come through living. Nothing can be decided beforehand through logic, because life is greater than logic. Logic is just a bubble in the vast ocean of life, so it cannot explain it all. And experiments can be done only when you are detached, experiments can be done only with objects.
Life is not an object, it is the very core of subjectivity. When you experiment you are different; when you live you are one. So the religious man says, “Unless you are one with life, you can never know it.” How can you know it from the outside? You may go about and about, around and around, but you will never hit the target. So neither experiment, nor thinking, but experience; simple, trusting – a man of faith.
They searched and they found these three men, and then they were called to the capital for the final judgment. The king said, “For three days you rest and get ready. On the morning of the fourth day will be the examination, the final. One of you will be chosen and he will become my prime minister – the one who is proved to be the most wise.”
They started working in their own ways. Three days were not enough! The scientist had to think of many experiments, and work it out – who knows what type of examination there is going to be? The philosopher started thinking, many problems were to be solved: “Who knows what type of problem is going to be asked?” Only the religious man was at ease. He ate, and ate well. Only a religious man can eat well, because eating is an offering, it is something sacred. He slept well. He would pray, sit outside, go for a walk, look at the trees, and be thankful to God; because for a religious man there is no future and there is no final examination. Every moment is the examination, so how can you prepare for it? If something is in the future you can prepare; but if something is right now, here, how can you prepare for it? You have to face it. And there was no future.
Only the religious man was walking happily, singing. He could hear the birds in the trees, he could see the sun rising, he could see the sun rays on the dewdrops. His whole life was such a miracle. He was not worried because there was no examination – he would go and face the thing, he would simply go and see what happens.
They arrived. The emperor had made a very special device. They were taken into a room where he had fixed a lock, a mathematical puzzle. Many figures were on the lock, but there was no key. Those figures were to be fixed in a certain way: the secret was there, but one had to search for it and find it. If those figures were fixed in a certain way the door would open. The emperor took them in and said, “This is a mathematical puzzle, one of the greatest ever known. Now you have to find the clue – there is no key. If you can find the clue, the answer to this mathematical problem, the lock will open. And the person who comes out of this room first will be chosen.” So now start. He closed the door and went out.
Immediately the scientist started working out many experiments, many things, many problems on paper. He looked – observed the figures on the lock. There was no time to lose, it was a question of life and death. The philosopher closed his eyes, started thinking in mathematical terms what to do, how this puzzle can be solved. The puzzle was absolutely new.
That is the problem with the mind: if something is old the answer can be found, but if something is absolutely new, how can you work it out through the mind? The mind is quite efficient with the old, the known, the routine. Mind is absolutely inefficient when the unknown faces it.
The religious man never went to the lock, because what can he do? He does not know any mathematics, he does not know any experimental science. What can he do? He just sat in a corner. He sang a little, prayed to God, and closed his eyes. Those two others were thinking that he is not a competitor at all. “In a way it is good, because the thing has to be decided between us two.” Then suddenly they became aware that he had left the room, he was not there. The door was open.
The emperor came in and he said, “What are you doing now? It is finished. The third man is out.”
But they asked, “How?… because he never did anything.”
So they asked the religious man. He said, “I was just sitting. I prayed and I was just sitting and a voice said within me, ‘You fool. Just go and see. The door is not locked.’ And I just went to the door; it was not locked. There was no problem at all to be solved, so I went out.”
Life is not a problem. If you are trying to solve it you will miss it. The door is open, it has never been locked. If the door was locked, then scientists would find the solution. If the door was locked, then philosophers may find a system to open it. But the door is not locked, so only faith can go – without any solution, without any readymade answer. Push the door open and get out.
Life is not a riddle to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. It is a deep mystery, so trust and allow yourself to enter into it. No debate can be of any help – with somebody else, or with yourself inside the mind – no debate. All debates are futile and stupid.
Krishna says that the more you think, the more you experiment instead of experiencing you will not be able to transcend knowledge. All the three had the same information and knowledge but only religious people can act in total relaxation and solve the mystery. For him it was not a problem to solve but awareness of the present moment. In that he solves the problem, with the knowledge you will struggle, by transcending the knowledge you will find a way to act.
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