St. Augustine is asked to give a gist of his message

1001 Tales told by the Master

Osho relates a story attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 CE). The answer is: “Just love.”

St. Augustine

Somebody asked Augustine of Hippo:

”I am a very uneducated man and I cannot read scriptures and great theology books. You just give me a small message. I’m very foolish and my memory is also not good, so you just give me a gist, so I can remember it and follow it.”

Augustine was a great philosopher, a great saint, and he had delivered great sermons, but nobody had asked for just a gist. He closed his eyes, he meditated for hours, it is said.

And the man said, ”Please, if you have found, just tell me so I can go, because I have been waiting for hours.”

Augustine said, ”I cannot find anything else except this: love, and everything else is permitted to you. Just love.”

Osho, Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega – Discourses on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Vol 10, Ch 10, Q 4 (excerpt)

Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales

Comments are closed.