Mahatma Gandhi was staying with Rabindranath Tagore in Shanti Niketan. And look at their different approaches! Gandhi’s nonviolence was a mind affair. He was always reasoning about it, rational about it. He thought about it, he struggled over it, he pondered, contemplated, and then he concluded; he experimented, then he concluded. If you have read his autobiography, you will recall that he has named the book, EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH. The very word EXPERIMENTS is scientific, of reason – a lab word. He was staying with Rabindranath the poet, and they both went for a walk in the gardens. The land was green, alive, so Gandhi said to Rabindranath, ”Come out to the lawn.” Rabindranath said, ”That is impossible. I cannot walk over the lawn. Every blade is as much alive as I am. I cannot step over so alive a phenomenon.” And Rabindranath was not a preacher of nonviolence – not at all. He never talked about nonviolence, but his approach was through the heart. He feels the grass. Gandhi pondered over what he said, and then answered, ”You are right.” This is a mind approach. Be loving. Even with things, be loving. If you are sitting on a chair, be loving. Feel the chair; have a feeling of gratitude. The chair is giving comfort to you. Feel the touch, love it, have a loving feeling. The chair itself is not important. If you are eating, eat lovingly. Indians say that food is divine. The meaning is that when you are eating, the food is giving you life, energy, vitality. Be grateful, be loving to it. OSHO
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 00:39:15 +0000