Evolution of Love 2

Discourse and Dialogue

A large lotus was growing in a pond. A wanderer passed by, who had never before seen a flower of this kind. Struck by its beauty, he stopped to admire it.
He noticed that a frog and fish were swimming in the water just below the lotus. "What is that wonderful plant right above you?" he asked the frog.
"Well," was the answer, "what should it be? It is nothing very special, just an ordinary thing," and he turned away to hunt for insects.
Disappointed, the man addressed the fish, who replied "Have you not heard what my friend the frog told you? It is just a common everyday thing, nothing special." At that moment, the wayfarer saw a bee flying swiftly towards the lotus. He tried to stop it in order to find out more, but the bee cut him short, "I have got no time right now, wait a bit."
So saying, the bee plunged right into the heart of the blossom, drinking its nectar for a long time. Then he flew over to the man again: "Now you can talk to me." The wanderer repeated his question and added: "tell me, what were you doing there for so long?" "Don't you know?" said the bee joyfully, "this is a marvellous flower, full of delicious nectar which I have been drinking so that I now feel completely refreshed."
It is possible to live for a long time in close proximity to sadhus and mahatmas, sages and saints, without being able to recognise their true quality. Whereas one who is inwardly prepared and ready for such a contact, may come from a great distance and within a minute know the great and holy for what they really are, it depends on one's capacity to penetrate to the essence of things.

Question: We listen to so much that is beautiful.
Answer: Beautiful? As long as you make a distinction between beautiful and ugly, you have not listened.

Question: . . . and some we understand .
Answer: "We understand" that is useless, for he who understands and what is understood have remained separate.

Question: . . . and some we forget .
Answer: Forget? Forget the forgetting; death must die.

Question: . . . and some we remember . .
Answer: remember? That means you keep it in your mind. Throw it away; lay it at His feet. What I say is: keep satsang. Satsang in reality means the realisation of What Is. Remain in the shade of "trees" trees meaning Mahatmas, seekers after Truth, those who do not call anyone, or send anyone away.
Listen to them.
Who can tell when you will learn how to "listen" and when you will hear the Eternal Sound, so that there will be no more listener and no listening.

A similar thing holds good for what is called "darshan," - the blessing of presence. People come, have "darshan" and go away again.
But real darshan means that one can never again be apart from the vision.