A Wisdom Story from Osho
Once upon a time, in an unknown land, a prince suddenly lost his mind. The king was in despair - the prince is his only son, the sole heir to the kingdom. All mages have been summoned; all miracle workers, medical men were invited; no effort came to fruition.
No one could help the young prince, he did not come to his senses.
On the day he went mad, he threw off his clothes, remained naked and began to live under a large table. He thought it was a rooster. In the end, the king had to accept that the prince would not return to his old self. The prince's madness was permanent; All experts have failed.
But one day hope arose. A sage, a Sufi, a mystic knocked on the door and said, "Give me an opportunity to heal the prince."
The king was suspicious, because this man also looked like a madman, more mad than the prince. But the mystic said, “Only I can heal him. It takes someone crazier to cure a madman. Your sorcerers, your medical professionals have failed because they don't know the ABCs of madness. They never wandered on that road," he said.
What he said made sense, and the king said, "There's no harm in it, why shouldn't I try?" he thought. Thus, the mystic was given an opportunity.
As soon as the king said, "Okay, try", he took off his mystic clothes and ran under the table and crowed like a rooster.
The prince became suspicious and said, “Who are you? What the hell are you doing?" The old man said, “I am a rooster, I am more experienced than you”. "You're nothing, you're new to this business, you're an apprentice at most." "It's good if you're a rooster, but you look human," said the prince.
“Don't judge by the images, look at my soul, my essence. I'm a rooster like you," said the old man.
They became friends. They promised each other that they would live together – and the whole world was against them.
It's been a few days. One day the old man started to get dressed. He's wearing his shirt. “What are you doing, are you crazy, ever a rooster trying to put on human clothes?” said the prince.
"I'm just trying to fool these fools, these people," said the old man. “And remember, even if I dress, nothing will change. My cock is permanent, no one can change that. Do you think I changed just because I dressed like a human?” The prince had to agree.
A few days later the old man persuaded the prince to get dressed as well, because winter was coming and it was getting cold.
Then one day, he suddenly asked for food from the palace. The prince paid attention and said, “Bastard, what do you mean? Are you going to eat like those people, like them? We are roosters and we have to eat like roosters”.
"It doesn't matter as long as this rooster is involved," said the old man. “You can eat anything, enjoy anything. You can live like a human and stay true to your cock."
The old man gradually persuaded the prince to return to the human world. The prince is completely normal.
Same goes for you and me. And remember, you're just getting started. You may think you are a rooster; but you are still learning the alphabet. I am experienced and only I can help you – all the experts have failed, that's why you're here. You knocked on my door, you've been searching for many lifetimes - nothing has helped you. But I say I can help you; because I'm not an expert, I'm not an outsider. I went through the same road, the same madness, the same insanity. I went through the same – same unhappiness, grief, same nightmares. And what I'm doing is convincing you to come out of your madness.
It's crazy to think you're a rooster; It is also madness, even greater madness, to think of oneself as a body. It's insane to think you're a rooster; To think of yourself as human is even more insane – because you don't belong to any form. Whether the form is a rooster or a human, you belong to the formless, you belong to the aggregate, you belong to the whole. So no matter what you think your form is, you're crazy. You are out of shape. You do not belong to any form and you do not belong to any body; you do not belong to any class, religion or sect; You belong to no name: And unless you are formless, nameless, you will never be sane.
Sanity means reaching the natural, reaching the basic within you, reaching what is hidden behind you. Great effort is required, because it is very difficult to cut, let go, and remove form. You became very dependent on the form and identified with it.
Osho – “The Empty Boat”
