Three Great Mystics

Only the creators are sane. What they create does not matter.

 

In India, there have been a few great

mystics whose creativity cannot even be recognized as creativity.

                                                                                                                            

Kabir remained for his whole life spinning, weaving. He was a weaver. He had thousands of

disciples, and they would tell him, ”You have become old, and you are unnecessarily tiring yourself.

We can take care of you; you stop this weaving, and then making clothes, and going to the market

and selling them.”

 

But Kabir always said, ”You do not understand. You think I am just a weaver. I am not just like other

weavers – it is not my business, it is my love affair. I make these clothes for nobody other than God

himself. And naturally, when I am making things for him they have to be perfect.”

 

And he treated his customers as gods. He used to say to his customers, ”You take this piece of

cloth, but be very careful, Ram” – for every customer he had only one name, Ram; Ram means God

 

– ”I have taken so much trouble in making it. Be careful, be respectful. It is not my business; it is my

prayer, it is my worship.”

 

Another great mystic, Gora, was a potter, and he continued to make beautiful pots for his whole life.

And he had disciples – rich disciples, even kings – and they would say, ”It is embarrassing for us

that our master is just making pots and selling pots on his donkey in the market. Please stop doing

this.”

 

But Gora would say, ”It is difficult... it is part of my creativity. Nobody else can make these pots,

only Gora can – because all others are making them for money, and I am pouring my whole love,

my whole heart. It is a meditation to me.”

 

A third great mystic was Raidas, who continued to make shoes. In India particularly, to make shoes

is thought to be one of the worst professions. It is only for the sudras, the untouchables. He was

an untouchable, but high caste brahmins started coming to him. He was uneducated, but what he

was saying was pure scripture. And everybody was trying to convince him, ”You stop making shoes.

It doesn’t fit. It doesn’t look right that a mystic of your caliber should make shoes” – but Raidas

refused.

 

He said, ”That is the only art I know. I am a poor shoemaker. This is the only creative talent through

which I can serve existence.”

 

-OSHO (OSHO Upanishad)