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to one of his latter-day colleagues, that his patient's physical complaints were in all probability serving as a mask for deep-seated emotional stress and depression.
Suddenly, an inspired idea came to him. He said to the old man that Joseph Grimaldi, perhaps the greatest clown of all times, was in town for a performance that very evening, and he told the whole story which I have just told you. The physician shrugged his shoulders about his inability to arrive at a diagnosis and suggested to the patient, "Why don't you go to see Grimaldi tonight?"
A distressed and disappointed expression suddenly played across the old man's face, and he exclaimed, "Oh, but you don't understand. I AM Grimaldi!"
It has happened that in the company of a pseudo Master somebody has become enlightened; in a situation where no Master was present, just a natural accident, and somebody has become enlightened.
Lao Tzu became enlightened through seeing a dead leaf falling from a tree. He was sitting under a tree meditating for years, and nothing was happening -- and he had been to great Masters. Something was missing. He was trying too hard to grasp the truth; that very effort was the barrier. That early spring morning, the birds singing, the trees swaying, the sun shining, the fragrance of the flowers... he forgot all about enlightenment.
Once in a while it is very good to forget all about enlightenment, otherwise it can drive you nuts -- more than anything else! Money will not drive you so crazy, nor will politics, because they are all graspable. If you try hard you can get as much money as you want; just a little effort, a little cunningness, a little calculativeness -- something Jewish in your blood -- and you can manage. Something of the insane in you and you can become a politician.
When Adolf Hitler started, nobody ever thought that he would become one of the greatest historical figures of this century. Two friends, a great psychologist and a great theologian, heard him speak for the first time and both agreed that this insane man would never be able to make his name in any possible way. Both agreed on it; one was an expert in psychological
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