STEALING IS AN ART

[Guest guest]

I remember...a thief entered a master's hut. It was a full moon light, and he

had entered by mistake; otherwise, what can you find in a master's house? The

thief was looking, and was amazed that there was nothing. And then suddenly he

saw the man, who was coming with a candle in his hand.

 

And the master said, " What are you looking for in the dark? Why did you not

wake me up? I was just sleeping near the front door, and I could have showed you

the whole house! " the man looked so simple and innocent, as if he could not

conceive that anybody could be a thief.

 

Before his simplicity and innocence, the thief said, " Perhaps you do not know

that I am a thief " .

 

The master said, " That doesn't matter - one has to be something. The real thing

is that I have been in the house for thirty years and I have not found anything,

so let us search together! And if we cannot find anything in this house - it is

just empty. "

 

The thief was a little afraid - the man seems to be strange. Either he is mad

or...who knows what kind of man he is? He wanted to escape, because he had

brought things from two other houses that he had left outside the house.

 

The master had only one blanket - that was all that he had - and it was a cold

night, so he told the thief, " Don't go in this way, don't insult me in this way;

otherwise I will never be able to forgive myself, that a poor man came to my

house in the middle of the night and had to go empty-handed. Just take this

blanket. And it will be good - outside it is too cold. I am inside the house, it

is warmer here. "

 

He covered the thief with his blanket. The thief was just losing his mind! He

said, " What are you doing? I am a thief! "

 

The master said, " That does not matter. In this world everybody has to be

somebody, has to do something. You may be stealing; that doesn't matter, a

profession is a profession. Just do it well, with all my blessings. Do it

perfectly. Don't be caught, otherwise you will be in trouble " .

 

The thief said, " You are strange. You are naked and you don't have anything. "

 

The master said, " Don't be worried, because I am coming with you! Only the

blanket was keeping me in this house - otherwise in this house there is nothing

- and the blanket I have given to you. I am coming with you; we will live

together. And you seem to have many things - it is a good partnership. I have

given my all to you. You can give me a little bit, and that is all right. "

 

The thief could not believe it. He just wanted to escape from the place and from

that man. He said, " No, I cannot take you with me. I have my wife, I have my

children... And my neighbours,what will they say? - " You have brought a naked

man! "

 

He said, " That's right. I will not put you in any embarrassing situation. So you

can go. I will remain in this house " . And as the thief was going the master

shouted, " Hey! Come back! " The thief had never heard such a strong voice, which

went just like a knife, and he had to come back.

 

The master said, " Learn some ways of courtesy. I have given you the blanket and

you have not even thanked me. So first, thank me - it will help you a long way.

Secondly, going out - you opened the door when you came in - close the door!

Can't you see the night is too cold, and can't you see that I have given you the

blanket and I am naked? Your being a thief is okay, but as far as manners are

concerned, I am a difficult man. I cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour. Say

thank you! "

 

And the thief had to say. " Thank you, sir " . He closed the door and escape. He

could not believe what had happened, could not sleep the whole night. Again and

again he remembered...he had never heard such a strong voice. Such power - and

the man had nothing! Then he inquired the next day and he found out that he was

a great master.

 

The thief had not done good - it was absolutely ugly to go to that poor man; he

had nothing. But he was a great master. The thief said, " I can understand,

myself, that he is a very strange kind of man. In my whole life I have been

coming in contact with different kinds of people, from the poorest to the

richest, but never...Even remembering him, a shivering goes through my body.

" When he called me back I could not run away. I was absolutely free, I could

have taken the things and run away, but I could not. There was something in his

voice that pulled me back " .

 

After a few months he was caught, and in the court the magistrate asked him,

" Can you name a person who knows you in this vicinity? "

 

He said, " Yes, one person knows me " , and he named the master. The magistrate

said, " That's enough - call the master. His testimony is worth that of ten

thousand people. What he says about you will be enough to give judgement " . And

the magistrate asked the master, " Do you know this man? "

 

The master said, " Know him? We are partners, he is my friend. He even visited me

one night in the middle of the night. It was so cold that I gave him my blanket.

He is using it - you can see. That blanket is famous all over the country;

everybody knows it is mine " .

 

The magistrate said, " He is your friend? And he steals? "

 

The master said, " Never! He could never steal! He is such a gentleman that when

I gave him the blanket he said to me, " Thank you sir " . When he went out of the

house, he silently closed the door. He is a very polite, nice fellow " .

 

The magistrate said, " If you say so, then all the testimonies of the witnesses

who have said that he is a thief are cancelled. He is freed. " The master went

out and the thief followed him. The master said, " What are you doing? Why are

you coming with me? "

 

He said, " Now I can never leave you. You have called me your friend, you have

called me your partner. Nobody has ever given me any respect. You are the first

person who has said that I am a gentleman, a nice person. I am going to sit at

your feet and learn how to be like you. From where have you got this maturity,

this power, this strength, this seeing of things in a totally different way? "

 

The master said, " Do you know htat night how bad I felt? You had gone, it was so

cold. Without a blanket sleep was not possible. I was just sitting by the window

seeing the full moon, and I wrote a poem. " If I was rich enough I would have

given this perfect moon to that poor fellow who had come in the dark to search

for something in a poor man's house. I would have given the moon if I had been

rich enough, but I am poor myself " . I will show you the poem, come with me.

 

I wept that night, that thieves should learn a few things. At least they should

inform a day or two days ahead when they come to a man like me, so we can

arrange something, so they don't have to go empty-handed. And it is good that

you remembered me in the court; otherwise those fellows are dangerous, they may

have mistreated you. I offered that very night to come with you and be partners

with you, but you refused. Now you want...there is no problem, you can come.

Whatever I have I will share with you. But it is not material, it is something

invisible " .

 

The thief said, " That I can feel - it is something invisible. But you have saved

my life, and now it is yours. Make whatever you want to make of it. I have been

simply wasting it. Seeing you, looking in your eyes, one thing is certain - that

you can transform me. I fell in love that very night. "

 

Maturity is a spiritual phenomenon.

 

.... Osho.