Divine Flowers.

On a bumpy village road filled with pebbles and potholes, a noisy bus dashed through blowing dust behind it and shaking all passengers seated and some standing.

An old man was sitting with a bunch of fresh flowers in his hand. The fragrance of those lovely flowers was spreading around making the uncomfortable journey bearable.

The old man noticed that a young lady sitting across him was continuously staring at the bouquet of flowers.

His destination arrived, the bus stopped, and the old man got up from his seat. Unexpectedly, he kept the flower bouquet in that lady’s lap and said, “I can see that you love these flowers, and you would be happy to have them.” The lady smiled in affirmation. Old man continued, “As such I was taking them for my wife, but perhaps she also would be happy if the flowers were with you. I will tell my wife that I have given them to you. Please keep them.” The young lady was overwhelmed and grateful to this old man for his unexpectedly kind gesture.

As the old man alighted from the bus, the lady saw him opening a small wooden gate to a graveyard.
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“I had a beautiful garden — I have always had a beautiful garden wherever I have been — and there were two temples nearby, and the worshipers in those temples would simply come into my garden and start picking flowers to worship a god.

In India it is absolutely impossible to prevent somebody when they are picking flowers to worship gods. I had to put a notice in front of my garden that – ‘Except for religious people, everybody was allowed to pick the flowers.‘

Those worshipers were very shocked. As a group they brought what was almost a deputation, saying, “What kind of man are you? Religious people are not prevented from picking flowers anywhere else, because those flowers are going to be offered to a god.”

I said to them, “Those flowers in this garden are already offered to God, and I will not allow flowers of God, which are alive and dancing in the wind and in the sun, to be destroyed by you idiots. These flowers are living gods and you are going to destroy their life for your dead gods. That’s why I have made it clear on the notice: except for religious people, anybody can pick the flowers. If somebody wants to give a flower to his girlfriend or to her boyfriend, they are perfectly welcome. These flowers are divine, and perhaps they may also transform their love into a divine affair. But one thing is certain; at least they are going to offer the flowers to someone who is alive. You are going to offer them to dead statues, stones. This cannot be tolerated.

The so-called saints pick up precepts, disciplines, from the scriptures. They are like dead flowers, thousands of years old, dried up. They don’t have any fragrance anymore.– Look into a flower, penetrate deep into the heart of the flower and you will touch Christ. And when Christ is touched, go a little deeper still, and you will touch God.

A question was asked – What is the difference between “I like you” and “I Love you”?
Beautifully answered by Buddha:
“When you ‘like’ a flower, you just pluck it. But when you ‘love’ a flower, you water it daily….! One who understands this, understands life.”

’You can touch God in every leaf and in every drop of water and in every pebble, in every stone – God is everywhere. Just a penetration… And it is not a question of being first, it is a question of being last, it is a question of being egoless. Only then can you respect a child; otherwise you will respect a king, not a child. You will respect a rich man, not a helpless child. Have you ever respected a child? If you have not respected a child, you don’t know how to respect Christ. You will say ’For what?’

You respect a flower because God is there fully alive. You respect a bird because God is on the wing. You respect a child because in those eyes is innocence, those eyes are exactly like Christ’s. You respect animals, trees, stones, because God is hidden everywhere; His signature is everywhere.

Osho: Bodhidharma: The Greatest Zen Master: Chapter #12: Chapter title: Every suffering is a Buddha-seed (excerpts)
Osho: I Say Unto You, Vol 2: CHAPTER 3. TO THE NEW AS THE NEW (excerpts)

शाख़* कुछ यूँ गुलाब देती है,
मानो पलकें झुका के लड़के को
कोई लड़की जवाब देती है ………………………………..डॉ. सूर्यभानु गुप्त
(*डाली)

Shaakh* kuch yun gulab deti hai,
maano palakein jhuka ke ladake ko,
koi ladaki jawab deti hai. ………………………..Dr. Suryabhanu Gupt
(*twig)

the flower thus blooms on a twig,
just like a girl talking to her lover with bashful eyes.

Some songs are written so beautifully that they become a guiding light, a life lesson – a prayer. One such phenomenal song written by my mentor, my friend and the most amazing human being Amit Khanna Sir, sung by great Yesudas ji and composed by Usha Khanna for the film “Saajan Bina Suhagan” This is the happy verson of the song…enjoy.

(251) Madhuban Khushboo Deta Hai (HD) | Saajan Bina Suhagan (1978) | Rajendra Kumar | Nutan – YouTube