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way of living in the world: living in the world and yet not being of the world, remaining unattached and aloof; like a lotus flower in the pond, living in water and yet untouched by the water. When dewdrops gather on the lotus petals they look beautiful in the morning sun, like pearls, but yet they are not touching the flower at all and the flower is not touching them. So close and yet so far away...
"What kind of a man is a sannyasin?" -- Aristotle was philosophically interested. He was not the man to become a sannyasin, but he had asked Alexander to bring a sannyasin: "You will be bringing many things. For me, remember to bring a sannyasin." When Alexander was leaving the country he remembered. He had looted much, then he suddenly remembered, "What about a sannyasin?" He inquired at his last station in India. He inquired about a sannyasin and the people said, "Yes, we have a beautiful sannyasin, but it is almost impossible to take him."
Alexander said, "Leave it to me. Don't be worried. You don't know me. If I order the Himalayas to come with me they will have to come with me, so what about a sannyasin? Where is he? You just give me the address" -- and the address was given.
The sannyasin was a naked fakir living by the side of the river. Four strong men were sent with naked swords to bring the sannyasin to Alexander.
The sannyasin, seeing those four strong men with naked swords, started laughing. They said, "You don't understand -- this is an order from the great Alexander, that you have to be brought to his court. He is waiting for you."
And the sannyasin said, "I have stopped coming and going long ago. If he wants to see me I can oblige him; he can come. But I have stopped coming and going. That coming and going disappeared with my mind. Now there is nobody to come and nobody to go. I exist no more!"
Of course, those Greeks could not have understood. The Greeks are the polar opposite of the Hindus. The Hindus are basically illogical, and the Greeks are basically logical. The Hindus are poetic, intuitive; the Greeks are intellectuals. Those four soldiers said to him, "What nonsense are you talking? We can drag you!"
The
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