Spontaneity

Sit Silently

Sit by the side of the tree, look at the rose, and don’t utter words, out or in. Just be present. Let the rose open in your presence, and let your presence shower on the rose. Let there be a meeting with no language. As the rose is silent, so you be silent; the rose is not saying anything about you, so please, don’t say anything about the rose. The rose is not saying how beautiful a man you are. The rose is not saying you are man or woman, black or white. The rose is not saying anything; the rose is in tremendous silence, pulsating in silence. So should you pulsate. Sit by the side, look into the rose, just watch. Don’t let language arise. If words come, put them aside. Just remain indifferent to words. They will come; they are your old habit, they will not leave you so easily. You have been using them so much, exploiting them so much, you have been so dependent on them that they will not leave you so easily; they will hover around, they will buzz around, they will bug you. They will come and say, “Beautiful rose…” Remain indifferent, don’t cooperate. I am not saying start fighting, simply don’t cooperate – that will do. Fighting never helps. The moment you fight you are getting into the mess, the confusion.

If you fight with a word, you will need another word to fight it with, remember. You cannot fight with a word without words. A word comes and you say, “I am not supposed to have any words. Not even, ‘Sit silently.’” These are all words. Or you say, “Don’t you know I am meditating? Don’t come to me.” But this meditation is again a word.

You can fight only with words. To fight with words you will need more words, and you will get into the whole rut again. No, no need; let the words pass, let them float; it’s okay. Be indifferent; be neutral. They will buzz around for a few days, and then by and by they will feel they are neglected. By and by they will feel you are no longer interested; by and by they will feel that they are not welcome. And when words start feeling they are not welcome, when thoughts start feeling that they are not welcome, they start disappearing. You are no longer a host to them.

One day suddenly you will be surprised: a few moments have passed – the rose has been there, the sun has been there, the green trees have been there, you have been there – and not a single word has crossed. You have tasted, for the first time, what meditation is. You have tasted Tao. You had a glimpse into the being of Kabir and Krishna and Christ. You have come to see something of tremendous import, for the first time; and once tasted, you will welcome it more and more. Whenever you find time, you will sit silently. And there is no need to go to a rosebush; you can sit silently in your room – the walls are as beautiful.

It is said about Bodhidharma that for nine years he sat facing the wall – doing nothing, just facing the wall. Sometimes sit facing the wall; just look at the wall, the plain white wall – nothing to distract, nothing much to say. You can create the interval, the gap anywhere. When two thoughts have a gap between them, in that gap take a jump, dive in.

Language is society, language is civilization, language is communism, language is Islam, language is Hinduism, language is Christianity; and in the gap is Christ, in the gap is Mohammed, in that gap is Krishna and in the gap arises the Bhagavad Gita.