Exactly like that, on the spiritual path, there are experiences which are very confirmatory. It is as if you are moving towards a beautiful garden you cannot see, but the closer you come to the garden, the cooler the breezes are that you can feel. The farther away you go, the more coolness disappears; the closer you come, the more the coolness appears again. The more close you come, the more the breeze is not only cool, but there is fragrance too, the fragrance of many flowers. The farther away you go, the more the fragrance disappears. The closer you come the more you can hear birds singing in the trees. The trees you cannot see, but the song of the birds... a distant call of a cuckoo... there must be a mango grove: you are coming closer. These are confirmatory experiences. Exactly the same happens when you move towards the inner garden, towards the inner source of life, of joy, of silence, of bliss. When you start moving towards the center a few things start disappearing and a few new things start appearing.

 ONE MUST NOT CONTENT ONESELF WITH SMALL DEMANDS BUT MUST RISE TO THE THOUGHT THAT ALL LIVING CREATURES HAVE TO BE REDEEMED.

 And remember, when confirmatory experiences start appearing, don't be satisfied too soon. The cool breeze has come, and you sit there and you think that you have arrived. The coolness is beautiful, the coolness is blissful, but you have to go far. Don't be satisfied with small things. Feel happy that they have started happening, take them as milestones, but they are not goals. Enjoy them, thank God, feel gratitude, but go on moving in the same direction from where the confirmatory experiences are coming.

 And don't be contented with small demands. For example: peacefulness is a small demand, it can be easily attained. The state of a non-tense mind can easily be attained; it is not very difficult. To be happy and cheerful can easily be attained, it is not much. To be at ease, unanxious, without anxiety is not something very great. Then what is great? And what should one keep in mind as the goal?

 ONE MUST RISE TO THE THOUGHT THAT ALL LIVING CREATURES HAVE TO BE REDEEMED.

 You will be surprised to know that this is the criterion, and this has always been the criterion. In Buddhism it is called 'the principle of Bodhisattvahood'. The closer you are coming to your own inner center, the more you will start feeling the suffering of all beings of the world. On the one hand you will feel very calm and quiet, and on the other hand you will start feeling a deep sympathy for all those who suffer. And there is suffering and suffering and suffering: the whole place is full of suffering. On the one hand you will feel great joy arising in you, and on the other hand a great sadness too that millions are suffering -- and ridiculously suffering, suffering for no reason! This is their birthright, to attain to this blissfulness that is coming to you. And don't become satisfied that you have become blissful, so all is finished. If you become blissful, all is not finished, really. Now the journey takes a new turn. When you have attained to Buddhahood, when you have come home, now the real work starts.

 Up to now it was only a dream. Now the real work starts: help others to come out of their dreams. When the disciple has attained, he has to become a Master.

 This is what in Christianity is called 'the principle of Christ-consciousness'. Christians have not really been able to understand it; they have misunderstood it. They think that Jesus is the only Christ.

 The word 'christ' comes from Krishna. It is a principle. The principle is that when you are redeemed, you have to redeem all. To be redeemed from misery is blissful, but nothing compared to when you start redeeming others from their misery. To redeem oneself from misery is still selfish, self-oriented. Something of the self still lingers, you are only concerned with yourself. And when the self disappears and you are redeemed, how is it possible to stop the journey? Now you have to redeem others. That's why Jesus is called 'the Redeemer'. But he is not the only Christ. There have been many before him, there have been many after him, there will be many in the future. Whoever becomes a Buddha has to become, OF NECESSITY, a redeemer of all.

 One's joy, one's peace, one's blessings are small things; don't be contented with them. Remember always that one day you have to share, one day you have to help others to be awakened. This seed must be planted deep in your heart, so that when your Buddhahood blooms you don't disappear from the world.

 Buddhists have two words; one is ARHAT. ARHAT means: the person who has become enlightened but thinks all is finished, his work is complete. He disappears. The other is called BODHISATTVA: he has become enlightened; he does not disappear, he insists on being here. He prolongs himself, to be here as long as it is possible.

 The story is that when Buddha reached the doors of NIRVANA the doors were opened, celestial music was played, golden flowers showered, angels with garlands were ready to receive him, but he refused to enter. He turned his back to the door. The angels were surprised, they could not believe it. They asked him again and again, "What are you doing? Your whole life -- not only one but many lives -- you have been searching for THIS door. Now you have arrived, and you are turning your back to the door? And we have been waiting for you, and the whole paradise is full of joy -- one more person has become a Buddha. Come in! Let us celebrate your Buddhahood together." But Buddha said, "Unless all those who are in suffering are redeemed, I'm not going to enter. I will have to wait. I am going to be the last, let others move first." And the beautiful story says that he is still waiting at the door. The door is open because the angels cannot close it; any moment he may want to enter. That is his right, to enter, so the door is open. He's keeping the door open, and the celestial music continues, and the flowers are still being showered, and the angels are waiting with garlands... and he's standing outside the door. And he's calling people forth; he's calling, challenging, he's provoking. He's telling people, "The doors are open, don't miss this opportunity. Come in! And I am going to be the last. Now the doors shall never be closed. They will be closed only when everybody is redeemed and enlightened."

 This is just a parable, tremendously significant. Don't think of it as history, otherwise you will miss the point. There is no door, no angels, no garlands, no celestial music. And Buddha, the moment he became enlightened, has disappeared. How can he stand and keep his back to the door? Who is there to stand? But the principle...

 The energy that Buddha released into existence is still functioning. That energy is still available to those who are REALLY searching. The energy goes on and on working, and it will go on working for eternity.Jesus is no more, but his Christ-consciousness has entered into the new sphere. Mahavir is no more, but his consciousness has entered into this oceanic life. These people have become part of existence; they vibrate. That is the meaning of the parable: they still provoke you, and if you are ready to receive their message they are still ready to take you to the other shore.

 The moment a Master dies he becomes part of that infinite energy which Buddha has joined, Mahavir has joined, Zarathustra, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Mohammed. Whenever a Master dies, more energy is redeemed -- and it is becoming a tidal wave. So many enlightened people have existed; it is becoming a continuous tidal wave. You are fortunate. If you really long, if you really desire, this tidal wave can take you to the other shore.

 Keep it in your deepest heart: don't be satisfied with small things. Many things happen on the Way, many MIRACULOUS things happen on the Way, but don't be satisfied with anything. Remember, you have to become a Christ-consciousness. a bodhisattva -- less than that is not going to make you contented.

 This is divine discontent.

 ONE MUST NOT BE TRIVIAL AND IRRESPONSIBLE IN HEART, BUT MUST STRIVE TO MAKE DEEDS PROVE ONE'S WORDS.

 And the life of a seeker should not be that of trivia, because each small thing that you go on doing wastes time, energy, life. The seeker cannot waste. His whole life has to be devoted and dedicated to one single point. He cannot waste here and there: he cannot go and sit in the coffee-house and gossip unnecessarily. He cannot read that which is not going to help. He's not going to do a single thing which is not going to help his journey, and he's not going to collect a single thing that will become a burden later on and will have to be dropped. He remains simple. This simplicity has nothing to do with asceticism. This simplicity is simply scientific: he does not accumulate garbage because then you have to carry it. He remains unburdened. And the greatest garbage is that of knowledge, because all other garbage is outside you: knowledge gets inside. It makes your head very heavy, and the head should be very light.

 Have you watched, or have you seen a Japanese doll called daruma? Daruma is the -- Japanese name for Bodhidharma. The doll is beautiful. It represents the enlightened man -- the daruma doll. It's beauty is that you can throw it any way but it always sits back in full lotus posture. You throw it -- you cannot topple it -- it again comes back. Its bottom is heavy, its head is light, so you cannot put it upside-down. It is always rightside-up.

 Just the opposite is the case with human beings: they are upsidedown. Their heads are very heavy, they are top-heavy. They are standing on their heads. A man who is knowledgeable stands on his head. He is in a continuous sirshasana, a headstand.

 The man who has no knowledge in the head, whose head is empty, silent, is rightside-up. He is in a lotus posture, he is a daruma doll. You cannot topple him, there is no way; he will always come back. You cannot disturb him, there is no way; his undisturbedness remains continuous.

 ONE MUST NOT BE TRIVIAL AND IRRESPONSIBLE IN THE HEART...

 What is responsibility? Ordinarily the meaning of the word has become associated with wrong things. The real responsibility is towards God and towards nobody else; or, the real responsibility is towards your own nature, and to nobody else. You are not responsible to the society or to the church or to the state. You are not responsible to the family, to the community. You are responsible only to one thing: that is your original face, your original being. And in that responsibility all other responsibilities are covered automatically.

 Become natural. And the man who is natural is responsible -- because he responds. The man who is not natural never responds, he only reacts. Reactions mean being mechanical, response is non-mechanical, spontaneous.

 You see a beautiful flower and you suddenly say something: "It is beautiful." Watch whether it is a reaction or a response. Go deep into it, scrutinize it. What you have said -- that "The flower is beautiful" -- is it your spontaneous response this moment, herenow? Is this your experience, or are you simply repeating a cliche because you have heard others saying that flowers are beautiful. Go into it, watch: who has spoken through you? Maybe it is your mother.... You can remember the day, for the first time she had taken you to the garden, the public gardens, and she had told you, "Look at this rose. How beautiful it is!" And then the books that you have been reading, and the films that you have been seeing, the people you have been talking to -- and they all have been saying "Roses are beautiful." It has become a programmed thing in you. The moment you see the rose flower your program says "It is beautiful," not you. It is just a gramophone record, it is a tape. The rose outside triggers the tape and it simply repeats. It is reaction.

 What is response? Response is unprogrammed experiencing in the moment. You look at the flower, you really look at the flower, with no ideas covering your eyes. You look at THIS flower, the THISNESS of it! all knowledge put aside. Your heart responds, your mind reacts. Responsibility is of the heart. You may not say anything; in fact, there is no need to say, "This is beautiful."

 I have heard...

 Lao Tzu used to go for a morning walk. A neighbor wanted to be with him. Lao Tzu said, "But remember, don't be talkative. You can come along, but don't be talkative."

 Many times the man wanted to say something, but knowing Lao Tzu, looking at him, he controlled himself But when the sun started rising and it was so beautiful, the temptation was so much that he forgot all about what Lao Tzu had said. He said, "Look! What a beautiful morning!"

 And Lao Tzu said, "So, you have become talkative You are too talkative! You are here, I am here, the sun is here, the sun is rising -- so what is the point in saying to me 'The sun is beautiful'? Can't I see? Am I blind? What is the point of saying it? I am also here." In fact, the mall who said "The morning is beautiful" was not there. He w as repeating, it was a reaction.

 When you respond words may not be needed at all, or sometimes they may be needed. It will depend on the situation, but they will not necessarily be there; they may be, they may not be.

 Response is of the heart. Response is a feeling, not a thought. You are thrilled: seeing a rose flower something starts dancing in you, something is stirred at the deepest core of your being. Something starts opening inside you. The outer flower challenges the inner flower, and the inner flower responds: this is responsibility of the heart. And if you are not engaged in trivialities, you will have enough energy, abundant energy, to have this inner dance of the heart. When energy is dissipated in thoughts, your feelings are starved. Thoughts are parasites: they live on the energy which is really for the feelings, they exploit it.

 Thoughts are like leakages in your being: they take your energy out. Then you are like a pot with holes -- nothing can be contained in you, you remain poor. When there are no thoughts your energy is contained inside, its level starts rising higher and higher. You have a kind of fullness. In that fullness the heart responds. And then life is poetry, then life is music, and then only can you do the miracle of making deeds prove your words, not before it. Then you don't only say "I love you", your very existence proves the love. Then your words are not impotent words; they have a soul to them. And to live like that is the only life worth living: when your words and your deeds correspond, when your words and deeds are not opposites, when your words are full of your sincerity, when whatsoever you say you are.

 Before that, you live in a kind of split: you say one thing, you do another. You remain schizophrenic. The whole humanity is schizophrenic unless one comes to this point where words and deeds are no more separate, but two aspects of the same phenomenon. You say what you feel, you feel what you say, you do what you say, you say what you do. One can simply watch you and will see the authenticity of your being.

 IF, WHEN THERE IS QUIET, THE SPIRIT HAS CONTINUOUSLY AND UNINTERRUPTEDLY A SENSE OF GREAT JOY AS IF INTOXICATED OR FRESHLY BATHED, IT IS A SIGN THAT THE LIGHT-PRINCIPLE IS HARMONIOUS IN THE WHOLE BODY; THEN THE GOLDEN FLOWER BEGINS TO BUD.

 "When there is quiet" -- a great confirmatory sign -- then "the spirit has continuously and uninterruptedly a sense of great joy". For no reason at all you suddenly feel yourself joyous. In ordinary life, if there is some reason you are joyful. You have met a beautiful woman and you are joyous, or you have got the money that you always wanted and you are joyous, or you have purchased the house with a beautiful garden and you are joyous -- but these joys cannot last long. They are momentary, they cannot remain continuous and uninterrupted.

 I have heard...

 Mulla Nasruddin was sitting, very sad, in front of his house. A neighbor asked, "Mulla, why are you looking so sad?"

 And Mulla said, "Look! Fifteen days ago my uncle died and he left me fifty thousand rupees."

 The neighbor said, "But this is no reason to be sad! You should be happy."

 Mulla said, "First you listen to the whole story. And seven days ago my other uncle died and left me seven thousand rupees. And now, nothing.... Nobody is dying, nothing is happening. The week is passing by, and I am really sad."

 If your joy is caused by something it will disappear, it will be momentary. It will soon leave you in deep sadness; all joys leave you in deep sadness. But there is a different kind of JOY that is a confirmatory sign: that you are suddenly JOYOUS for no reason at all. You cannot pinpoint why. If somebody asks, "Why are you JOYOUS?" YOU cannot answer.

 I cannot answer why I am JOYOUS. There is no reason. It's simply so. Now THIS joy cannot be disturbed. Now whatsoever happens, it will continue. It is there day in, day out. You may be young, you may be old, you may be alive, you may be dying -- it is always there. When you have found some joy that remains, circumstances change but it abides, then you are certainly coming closer to Buddhahood.

 This is a confirmatory sign. If joy comes and goes, that is not of much value; that is a worldly phenomenon. When joy abides, remains uninterrupted and continuous -- as if you are intoxicated, without any drug you are stoned; as if you have just taken a bath, fresh as morning dewdrops, fresh as new leaves in the spring, fresh as lotus leaves in the pond; as if you have just taken a bath -- when you remain continuously in that freshness that remains and remains and nothing disturbs it, know well you are coming closer to home.

 IT IS A SIGN THAT THE LIGHT-PRINCIPLE IS HARMONIOUS IN THE WHOLE BODY.

 Now your whole body is functioning as a harmonious unity, your whole body is in accord. You are no more split, you are no more fragmentary. This is individuation: you are one whole, all parts functioning and humming together, all parts functioning in an orchestra of being. Nothing is out of tune -- the body, the mind, the soul, the lowest and the highest, from sex to SAMADHI -- all IS functioning in a tremendous harmony and an incredible unity.

 ... THEN THE GOLDEN FLOWER BEGINS TO BUD. WHEN,,FURTHERMORE, ALL OPENINGS ARE QUIET, AND THE SILVER MOON STANDS IN THE MIDDLE OF HEAVEN, AND ONE HAS THE FEELING THAT THIS GREAT EARTH IS A WORLD OF LIGHT AND BRIGHTNESS, THAT IS A SIGN THAT THE BODY OF THE HEART OPENS ITSELF TO CLARITY. IT IS A SIGN THAT THE GOLDEN FLOWER IS OPENING.

 Then, furthermore, when all openings, all senses are quiet, not only the mind... Mind is your inner sense; that has to be made silent first. Then there are five senses which are mindfeeders: your eyes, your ears, your nose, all the senses. They continuously bring information from the outside and they go on pooling the information inside, in the mind. When they are also quiet, not bringing anything, they are utterly silent, passive -- eyes look but don't bring anything in, ears hear but don't cling to anything heard, the tongue tastes but hankers not for the taste; when all your senses are quiet and the silver moon stands in the middle of heaven -- the silver moon represents the feminine principle; when the silver moon stands in the middle of heaven, when all senses are passive, mind is passive and quiet, that means you have attained to the feminine principle of passivity, awaiting. You have become a womb.

 It is a full moon night. All is cool and silent and passive. Nothing stirs. The joy is infinite!

 ... AND ONE HAS THE FEELING THAT THIS GREAT EARTH IS A WORLD OF LIGHT AND BRIGHTNESS...

 And it is not only that you feel it within. When it is within, you immediately start feeling it without too -- that this whole earth is a world of light and brightness.

 ... THAT IS A SIGN THAT THE BODY OF THE HEART OPENS ITSELF TO CLARITY.

 You are becoming transparent, clear, clean, perceptive. The feminine principle brings clarity because it is a passive principle. It brings rest, utter rest. You are simply there doing nothing, all is clear, all clouds gone. You can see through and through into reality. Inwards there is silence and joy, and outwards there is silence and joy.

 IT IS A SIGN THAT THE GOLDEN FLOWER IS OPENING.

 First, it was just beginning to bud; now it is opening. One more step has been taken.

 FURTHERMORE, THE WHOLE BODY FEELS STRONG AND FIRM SO THAT IT FEARS NEITHER STORM NOR FROST.

 As your silence and joy deepen, you start feeling that there is no death for you. In death only the persona dies, the personality; the essence never dies. When you know something abiding in you, something that never changes -- the joy that continues irrespective of conditions -- then you know for the first time that something is deathless in you, something in you is eternal. And that moment is the moment of strength, potentiality, fearlessness. Then one is not afraid. Then trembling disappears. For the first time you look into reality without fear. Otherwise your so-called gods are just out of fear: you have created them to console yourself, you have created them as props for your fear, as protection, as armor. You are afraid; you need somebody to cling to. These are false gods, these are not true gods. Out of fear how can you find the true God?

 And the so-called religious people are known as God-fearing. The real religious person has no fear, neither of the world nor of God. In fearlessness a totally different vision of God arises.

 THINGS BY WHICH OTHER MEN ARE DISPLEASED WHEN I MEET THEM, CANNOT BECLOUD THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE SEED OF THE SPIRIT.

 Now nothing clouds, nothing can overwhelm you and distort your clarity. Your vision remains intact. Somebody insults you but it doesn't become a cloud. Somebody is angry, you can see through and through: you really feel compassion for the angry person because he's unnecessarily burning in a fire. You shower your bliss, your peace, your love on him. He is a fool, he needs all compassion.

 YELLOW GOLD FILLS THE HOUSE; THE STEPS ARE OF WHITE JADE. ROTTEN AND STINKING THINGS ON EARTH THAT COME IN CONTACT WITH ONE BREATH OF THE TRUE ENERGY WILL IMMEDIATELY LIVE AGAIN.

 And if you can come in contact with such a man whose inner steps are of white jade, whose inner sky is full of the moon, and whose inner house is full of yellow gold; if you can come in contact with such a man, even if you are dead, you will immediately revive. That is the meaning of the story of Lazarus: Jesus calling Lazarus forth out of his grave. All Buddhas have been calling people forth out of their graves.

 I am calling you out of your graves, because the way you have lived is not the true Way. You have become concerned with trivia and you have forgotten the essential. You are just collecting seashells and colored stones on the sea beach and you have forgotten all about the diamonds which are very close by. You are collecting rubbish which will be taken away by death.

 I am calling you forth to attain to treasures which no death can take away from you.

 Lazarus! Come out of your grave!

 And the one who listens becomes a disciple. The one who listens becomes a sannyasin. The one who listens starts moving into the inner world. His journey is totally different from other people's journey: he may live in the world, but he's no longer there. His concern is utterly different.

 RED BLOOD BECOMES MILK.

 This is the meaning of the famous parable about Mahavir. It is said that a snake, a very dangerous snake, attacked Mahavir, bit his foot; but instead of blood, milk started flowing. Now Jains take it literally, and then they become a laughing stock. It is not a literal message, it is a parable: red blood represents violence and milk represents love.

 The moment the child is born, the mother's breasts become full of milk -- out of love, out of feeling for the newborn babe. Suddenly her blood starts changing to milk. Suddenly a miracle starts happening in the chemistry of the mother: up to now she had been just a woman, now she is a mother. When a child is born, two persons are born -- on the one hand, the child, on the other hand, the mother. The mother has a different chemistry from the woman. The miracle has happened: out of love, blood starts turning into milk. It is symbolic: blood is violence, milk is love.

 When a person reaches to this state, all violence disappears. He's all love, love and nothing else.

 THE FRAGILE BODY OF THE FLESH IS SHEER GOLD AND DIAMONDS.

 And those who can see, those who have eyes to see, will be able to see in the body of the Buddha not fragile flesh, but sheer gold and diamonds. That's why disciples are not believed by others. Others think the disciples have become hypnotized because they start seeing things which nobody else can see, which are available only to the close disciples. They start seeing, in the ordinary physical body, something else -- another body, the body of gold and diamonds, the body of eternity. This body of flesh is the body of time. Hidden behind it is the body of eternity... but for that one needs eyes to see... and only love and surrender can give you the eyes to see.

 THAT IS A SIGN THAT THE GOLDEN FLOWER IS CRYSTALLIZED.

 But when one is moving in this inner journey and one can see one's own body as gold and diamonds, then one can be certain that the Golden Flower is crystallized.

 First it was just budding, then it was opening, now it is crystallized.

 THE BRILLIANCY OF THE LIGHT GRADUALLY CRYSTALLIZES. HENCE A GREAT TERRACE ARISES, AND UPON IT, IN THE COURSE OF TIME, THE BUDDHA APPEARS.

 Now you can be certain that the Buddha is not far away, the dawn is close by, the night is over. On the terrace of this vision of gold and diamonds, of the eternal body... as this brilliance crystallizes a terrace arises... in the course of time, the Buddha appears.

 One cannot do anything beyond this point. When the Golden Flower has crystallized, when the lotus has crystallized, you cannot do anything beyond that point. Now one has simply to wait: sitting silently, doing nothing, and the spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

 One moment -- IN THE COURSE OF TIME -- when the spring comes -- BUDDHA APPEARS. WHEN THE GOLDEN BEING APPEARS WHO SHOULD IT BE BUT THE BUDDHA?

 In the East we have called it Buddha, in the West you have called it Christ -- it is the same principle.

 FOR THE BUDDHA IS THE GOLDEN HOLY MAN OF THE GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT. THIS IS A GREAT CONFIRMATORY EXPERIENCE.

 And when you have seen within yourself a terrace of brilliancy, a crystallized light, and on the terrace of it Buddha appearing; when you have seen the Golden Flower open, bloomed, and on the golden lotus Buddha appearing, you have come home.

 This is the ultimate goal. This has to be found. This can be found. This is your birthright. If you miss, only you will be responsible, nobody else. Risk ALL, but don't miss it! Sacrifice ALL, but don't miss it!