i was not aware of my poor outer appearance

i entered the taj hotel to be asked to meet the manager in the lobby
he asked me to sit and enquired why i had come to the hotel

i asked him why this question
i could go to the restaurant or the coffee shop or wherever
what was his reason for this strange question
it then dawned upon me he was thinking i was a beggar

he saw my mannerisms and heard me speak fluent english and was silent

i said that i had come to meet my sister and family staying at the taj
who were they he asked and i said shona and ramesh jhunjhunwala
his mouth opened in shock… suddenly becoming polite and welcoming
the jhunjhunwala family…shona is your sister

he dialled their room and soon shona rushed to the lobby
upon seeing me she was in tears…what have you done to yourself
what happened to your clothes…you have become so thin…impoverished

i looked at my sister…in diamonds and expensive wedding clothes
i told her i felt ashamed as in my eyes she appeared poor and i a rich man

the manager stared at us both…what a world this was
what a strange brother and sister…such a contrast
in the middle of the taj mahal hotel

she gave me enough money so that i could manage the next few months
it was strange to meet my sister and her family in these new circumstances
and i left for poona without attending the wedding

one month had passed…i could hear him call

this was to be my way with bhagwan from now onwards
twenty one days prepare deeply
seven days go on a liquid diet
peak and see bhagwan on the full moon night

his name bhagwan shree rajneesh and my name rajneesh
truth has a beauty…a poetry…grace
the full moon meeting the crescent moon

i decided to go to bombay
i remember reaching 16 september
he is speaking and i went to arrange the week pass
then strangely on 17 he again goes into silence

18 is the full moon
he begins again…great…my first full moon darshan

my path of devotion is growing deeper
his dancing arrivals reveal more to me
he is happy with my progress
my silence and focus on the truth and reaching
i am steady and mature…able to keep the great secret

much more remains unsaid
than can ever be said

the mysterious universe of a master and disciple relationship
as the disciple grows…the master reveals
it is an endless journey…a beginning with no end
growing deeper and deeper…vaster and vaster

the master is willing to go all the way
he is already open and knows infinitely more

the disciple has to remain open…surrendered and vunerable
always open to all and everything…never deciding where is the end
there is more as each horizon is crossed
infinitely more possibilities

haiku rajneesh 1986

all night no sleep
                            on moonbeams
                                                      a vibrant ecstasy

heart vibrating
                 ecstasy
                                                  echoes the silence !

an overflowing heart
                 cry crickets
        into the nightfall

daylight explodes
                    a heart dancing
                                                     million goldbeams echo ecstasy !

        under a lemon tree
        a heart…
                         the sky !!

the moon above
                                  hovering beneath…
                                                     the heart a sky

from across the seas
                    the master descended…
                                           morning dewdrops !!

dewdrops
                          on petals
                                                the heart opened !

teardrops
     smiling
                     a cup of tea

a rainfall of tears
                            laughter a thunder
it’s the mystic rose !!

                                                                                                       haiku rajneesh 1986