| |
of a great Sufi mystic, Bayazid:
One day, some people came to Sheikh Bayazid's door and knocked. He opened his upstairs window and looked out saying, "What do you want?"
"Oh," they said, "we are looking for Bayazid."
He said, "Well, I have been looking for Bayazid for ten years now, and I have not found him yet!" and closed the window.
This is what meditation is all about: trying to find oneself.
And the other most important thing is love. Love means trying to find oneself reflected in the other. Love is a mirror. Meditation is a search without a mirror; love is nothing but seeing yourself in the eyes of the other you love, reflected in his being, and a way of enjoying the togetherness.
We ARE alone, but we are not alone in the sense that we exist alone. We are alone, but there are other people around us -- who are ALSO alone! We exist with many people who are alone. Bridges have to be made. Love is the meeting of two alonenesses. One aloneness is immensely beautiful -- what to say about when two alonenesses meet and merge? A great flowering happens, life becomes more mysterious, more joyous.
And then one learns the rhythm: sometimes be alone, enjoy yourself; sometimes be together, enjoy love, friendship. When tired of togetherness, escape into yom innermost being; when tired of your aloneness, escape into the being of the other.
It is like walking on a tightrope: sometimes you lean towards the left, and then you know that if you lean any more you will fall, so you start leaning towards the right. Then again a point comes when you know that if you lean more towards the right you will fall, and you start leaning towards the left. That balance, the balance of the tightrope-walker, is the balance that gives richness to man. Walk between love and meditation, balancing each other. Become rich with meditation and love.
But, remember, the first thing is meditation. If you don't know who you are, you will not be able to love either. If you don't know inner blissfulness you will not be able to share it with anybody else either.
But people don't go in; they are running hither and thither -- they are running
|
|
|