Surrendering to the birds

Prem Prabhati, the birds are far more intelligent than the so-called people. The birds are never stupid – they cannot be, because they don’t have schools, colleges, universities. The birds are never mediocre – they cannot be, because they are not part of any church, any religion, any sect, any belief, any dogma. They are free of all nonsense; they are very sensitive, they are not foolish. It is only man who falls from Tao.

The whole existence moves according to Tao, except man. And why does man fall? – for the simple reason that man is the only conscious being; it is his privilege to be conscious. Now, consciousness is a double-edged sword. If you use it rightly you will enjoy Tao far more deeply than any bird, than any tree, than any river, than any star. But if you are not conscious you will fall from Tao; you will be miserable – more miserable than any bird, than any tree, than any river, than any star.

The birds are not miserable – they cannot be, because they cannot go against Tao. They have no egos, they simply follow the Tao; it is a natural phenomenon. They cannot understand it, they cannot be conscious of it. Their bliss is unconscious.

Man is conscious hence either he will be very miserable or he will be very consciously blissful. Either he will become an idiot or he will become a Buddha. And you have to choose between the two, you cannot simply remain in between. You cannot say, “Why can’t I remain just like a bird or a flower or a river or a mountain?” You cannot. Either you will be an idiot or you will be a Buddha. Either you have to fall below nature or you have to rise above nature. The birds are really in a beautiful space. You can also be in the same space – and in a far better way, in a far deeper way.

Surrender to nature, that’s the lesson. Surrendering to nature means surrendering to Tao.

Osho, Tao: The Golden Gate, Vol 1, Ch 8, Q 5