Drop it!

I am reminded of a great king, Prasenjita, who had come to see Gautama Buddha. As he was coming, he found in his garden a very beautiful lotus flower. He thought, ”It will be a good present to put at the feet of Gautama Buddha.”

But his wife said, ”It is better you bring out from your treasures.... You have the best diamond in the country – a flower is just momentary. And love for Buddha and respect for Buddha are like a diamond that is forever.”

So he said, ”I will take both.” 

And one of the most significant things happened. When Prasenjita offered the flower to Gautam Buddha, he said, ”Drop it!” 

There were ten thousand sannyasins present, in absolute silence, because it was a great meeting  a meeting between a great emperor and their master. And they could not understand why Buddha said, ”Drop it!”

Prasenjita thought, ”Perhaps my wife was right. A flower is, after all, just for a moment.” So he dropped the flower, and with the other hand he offered the best diamond of the country, thinking that it should be accepted now.

Buddha smiled and again said, ”Drop it!” This was too much; but because Buddha was saying ‘drop it’ – it was his most precious diamond – still, because of Buddha and ten thousand people watching, he dropped it on the ground. Then he was standing with empty hands, and Buddha said a third time, ”Will you listen to me or not? Drop it!”

He looked at his hands. He had nothing to drop. The flower is dropped, the diamond is dropped. One of Buddha’s very intimate disciples, Mahakashyapa, said, ”Prasenjita, you have not understood what he is saying. He is not concerned with the flower, he is not concerned with the diamond. He is concerned with you. Drop yourself.” 

Unless you drop yourself, nothing is dropped. And the moment you drop yourself, the ego, the idea of ”I,” all the doors of existence open to you.

Devageet, drop the mind and start functioning from the heart. And whenever there is a question of choice, the heart has to be chosen. The mind is very rational; the heart knows nothing of reason. But I am saying choose the heart, because the heart is just in between the mind and your being. Without passing through the heart you cannot reach to your own center.

The Rebellious Spirit 

Osho