“To think oneself a rooster is madness; to think oneself a human being is a greater madness, because you don’t belong to any form.”
You have come to me. You have taken a dangerous step. It is a risk because near me you can be lost forever. To come closer will mean death and cannot mean anything else. I am just like an abyss. Come closer to me and you will fall into me. For this, the invitation has been given to you. You have heard it and you have come. […]
I have heard that it happened once, in some ancient time, in some unknown country, that a prince suddenly went mad. The king was desperate – the prince was the only son, the only heir to the kingdom. All the magicians were called, miracle makers, medical men were summoned, every effort was made, but in vain. Nobody could help the young prince, he remained mad.
The day he went crazy he threw off his clothes, became naked, and started to live under a big table. He thought that he had become a rooster. Ultimately the king had to accept the fact that the prince could not be reclaimed. He had gone insane permanently; all the experts had failed.
But one day again hope dawned. A sage – a Sufi, a mystic – knocked on the palace door, and said, “Give me one opportunity to cure the prince.”
But the king felt suspicious, because this man looked crazy himself, more crazy than the prince. But the mystic said, “Only I can cure him. To cure a madman a greater madman is needed. And your somebodies, your miracle makers, your medical experts, all have failed because they don’t know the abc of madness. They have never traveled the path.”
It seemed logical, and the king thought, “There is no harm in it, why not try?” So the opportunity was given to him.
The moment the king said, “Okay, you try,” this mystic threw off his clothes, jumped under the table and crowed like a rooster.
The prince became suspicious, and he said, “Who are you? And what do you think you are doing?”
The old man said, “I am a rooster, more experienced than you. You are nothing, you are just a newcomer, at the most an apprentice.”
The prince said, “Then it is okay if you are also a rooster, but you look like a human being.”
The old man said, “Don’t go on appearances, look at my spirit, at my soul. I am a rooster like you.”
They became friends. They promised each other that they would always live together and that this whole world was against them.
A few days passed. One day the old man suddenly started dressing. He put on his shirt. The prince said, “What are you doing, have you gone crazy, a rooster trying to put on human dress?”
The old man said, “I am just trying to deceive these fools, these human beings. And remember that even if I am dressed, nothing is changed. My roosterness remains, nobody can change it. Just by dressing like a human being do you think I am changed?” The prince had to concede.
A few days afterwards the old man persuaded the prince to dress because winter was approaching and it was becoming so cold.
Then one day suddenly he ordered food from the palace. The prince became very alert and said, “Wretch, what are you doing? Are you going to eat like those human beings, like them? We are roosters and we have to eat like roosters.”
The old man said, “Nothing makes any difference as far as this rooster is concerned. You can eat anything and you can enjoy everything. You can live like a human being and remain true to your roosterness.”
By and by the old man persuaded the prince to come back to the world of humanity. He became absolutely normal.
The same is the case with you and me. And remember you are just initiates, beginners. You may think that you are a rooster but you are just learning the alphabet. I am an old hand, and only I can help you. All the experts have failed, that’s why you are here. You have knocked on many doors, for many lives you have been in search – nothing has been of help to you.
But I say I can help you because I am not an expert, I am not an outsider. I have traveled the same path, the same insanity, the same madness. I have passed through the same – the same misery, the anguish, the same nightmares. And whatsoever I do is nothing but to persuade – to persuade you to come out of your madness.
To think oneself a rooster is crazy; to think oneself a body is also crazy, even crazier. To think oneself a rooster is madness; to think oneself a human being is a greater madness, because you don’t belong to any form. Whether the form is that of a rooster or of a human being is irrelevant – you belong to the formless, you belong to the total, the whole. So whatsoever form you think you are, you are mad. You are formless. You don’t belong to any body, you don’t belong to any caste, religion, creed; you don’t belong to any name. And unless you become formless, nameless, you will never be sane.
Sanity means coming to that which is natural, coming to that which is ultimate in you, coming to that which is hidden behind you. Much effort is needed because to cut form, to drop, eliminate form, is very difficult. You have become so attached and identified with it.
Osho, The Empty Boat, Ch 1
Series compiled by Shanti
All excerpts of this series can be found in: 1001 Tales
Photo by Niclas Dehmel on Unsplash
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