Best Of

“When a Sufi mystic went to his master, renouncing the world, his family and friends, the family and the friends and the whole village came to see him go. Perhaps they might not see him again – he was going on a long pilgrimage to find a master. Their eyes were full of tears.
He tried to console them and he said to them, ”Now you should go back. This is the boundary of our town, the river. Now let me be alone. Don’t delay me.”
He reached the mountains and when he entered the hut of his master, the master looked at him and said, ”You can come in, but alone.” He looked to both sides; there was nobody else. He said, ”I am alone.”
The master said, ”Don’t look sideways. Look inside. I can see a crowd, a crowd of your friends, your relatives, your family, your neighbors – full of tears in their eyes. Just leave them outside. Until you are alone, don’t enter, because I can deal only with individuals, not with mobs, not with crowds.”
The man closed his eyes and was surprised. All the people that he had left far behind, were still there in the mind – their memories, their images. He went out and had to remain outside for three months, just sitting by the side of the door where people used to leave their shoes. Having nothing else to do, he would polish their shoes while they were meeting with the master.
But his desire and longing were sincere. Polishing the shoes of the visitors for three months, slowly, slowly, the crowd dispersed. And one day, the master came out, took his hand in his hands, and invited him in. The master said, ”Now there is no need to wait outside. You are alone and our work can begin.””
— Sufi story told by Osho