A man of wisdom, a man of understanding, has a freshness about him, a fragrant life – totally different from a pundit from a man of knowledge. One who understands the sense becomes beautiful; one who only understands the word becomes ugly. And the woman was nobody outside: it was just a projection of the inner part. It was Naropa’s own being, through knowledge became ugly. Just this much understanding that “I don’t understand the sense,” and the ugliness was going to be transformed immediately into a beautiful phenomenon.
Naropa went in search, because now scriptures won’t help. Now a living master is needed. Then after long journeys he came across Tilopa. Tilopa was also in search of this man, because when you have something, you want to share; a compassion arises.
The Buddhist term for compassion is karuna. The English word does not carry exactly the same sense – it cannot carry. The word karuna is very, very meaningful. It comes from the same Sanskrit root as kriya. Kriya means action. Kriya and karuna – kriya means action, karuna means compassion – they both come from the same root kra. The Buddhist term karuna means “compassion in action.” And that is the difference between sympathy and compassion; when you are in sympathy there is no need for action – you simply show your sympathy and the thing is finished. Compassion is active – you do something. When you are really in compassion you will have to do something. How can you just be in sympathy? Sympathy will look so pale, so cold. Compassion is warm. Compassion means it has to be active.
When a man knows, compassion arises. Tilopa had known. He had come face to face with the ultimate: and now compassion arose. And he started seeking and searching for somebody who’ll be ready to receive…because you cannot throw this knowing of the ultimate before those who will not understand. A receptive heart, a feminine heart is needed. A disciple has to be feminine because the master is to pour, and the disciple is just to allow.
They met and Tilopa said, “Naropa, now I will say everything that I have been waiting to say. I will say everything because of you, Naropa. You have come; now I can unburden myself.”
This vision of Naropa is very significant. This vision is a must. Unless you feel that knowledge is useless you will never be in search of wisdom. You will carry the false coin thinking that this is the real treasure. You have to become aware that knowledge is a false coin – it is not knowing, it is not understanding. At the most it is intellectual – the word has been understood but the sense lost. Once you understand this you will throw all your knowledge and you will escape in search of somebody who knows, because only with somebody who knows – heart to heart, being to being, the transfer happens. But if the disciple is already a man of knowledge the transfer is impossible, because the knowledge will become the wall.