Osho is leaving for Jabalpur from Bombay by train. It is quite crowded and noisy on the platform and there are about fifty of us who have come to see Him off. Some are shaking hands with Him, some are touching His feet, and each time He bends to touch their heads. Some are standing silently, looking at Him with their eyes full of tears, and Osho comes near them and hugs them and tells them not to be sad, He will be coming back soon. Their tears overflow with His touch, but their faces are full of smiles. Tears and smiles is an everyday scene around Osho.
Suddenly we are shaken by the guard’s whistle and there is a signal that the train is about to leave. Osho gets in the train and stands at the door with His hands folded in namaste. He beckons me to come near Him. I get up on the footstep of the train and He shows me with His outstretched hand, pointing to a far away corner where a friend is standing, and ask me to bring her.
I hesitate and say, ” Osho, the train is about to leave”.
He very firmly says, “No, it won’t leave. Just go and bring her”.
I rush to the corner, pushing aside hundreds of people on my way and to my surprise when I reach there, it is Ma Tao standing there weeping and sobbing like a small child who has lost her mother. I grab her by the hand and rush back to the train. It must have taken me at least five minutes to get back to Osho–and there He is standing at the door of His air conditioned compartment to receive her.
He places His hand on her head and assures her that He will be coming back soon, she should not cry. And again, this “tears and smiles” on Tao’s face, her little eyes are shining like stars. I can see how He is pouring all His love just by the touch of His hand, and it is as if we devotees start drinking the water of eternal life from His well.
He looks around at everyone more time and waves His hand in a good-bye and it is as if he tells the train driver, “Now you can start!” The train slowly starts moving and there He is standing at the door, with us all looking at Him, till the train vanishes from our sight. We hug each other and silently start leaving the platform with our hearts heavy but hoping to see Him again soon.
I remember a Zen haiku:
“You, before me standing,
Oh! my eternal self!
Since my first glimpse
you have been my secret love.”
