The ultimate test

               When one becomes enlightened, two possibilities open –

               Either he can remain inside the temple,

               In the womb of the temple …

               Dark, windowless, not going out at all,

               Not even a light penetrates; no sound from the outside,

               Nothing of the marketplace.

               You sit silently there,

               In absolute silence, in timeless silence.

               There is no reason why you should come out and have a dance,

               But still you have to come back,

               Although there is no reason.

               You can stop in silence, your journey is complete –

               But something is still missing.

               You have learnt how to be silent,

               Now you have to show whether you can be silent in sound.

               You have learnt how to be alone,

               Now you have to show whether you can be alone

               And love too.

               You have come back to the market place from mountains.

               The ultimate test is there.