When you know without knowledge, the only way to convey the message is through silence, through love, through compassion, through being. You can hold the hand of your friend and something may transpire. You can embrace your friend and something may transpire. You can just look into the eyes of your friend and something may transpire. The absurd can only be expressed through absurd ways. You can dance or you can sing.

There is a beautiful story of a Baul mystic:

A very rich man, a goldsmith, came to see the mystic and he asked about God: “Do you believe in God? Is there really a God? Does God exist?”

The Baul mystic listened to all his queries smiling, and then he started dancing; playing on his ektara – a one-stringed instrument – he started dancing.

The goldsmith said, “Are you mad or something? I am asking great metaphysical questions! Rather than answering me, you start dancing! Are you drunk?”

And the mystic said, “That’s true, I am drunk – drunk with the divine! But please don’t misunderstand me, don’t feel offended. This is the only way I can answer your questions.”

And he sang a song – a song of tremendous beauty and meaning and insight. He said, “I know that you are a goldsmith. I know that you can judge whether something is made of real gold or not. You have a touchstone on which it can be judged. But it will be absolutely useless if you come into the garden and start judging roses on your touchstone. For the gold it is okay, but for the roses it is not at all relevant. Roses cannot be judged on the touchstone on which gold can be judged. You can’t know through the touchstone whether the roses are true or not true. For that you will need a totally different kind of approach.

“I know that you have studied much; you are very interested in philosophical reasoning, argumentation. I have heard about you. But all that reasoning is as absurd here as the touchstone of the goldsmith will be in the garden. I am singing, I am dancing, I am playing music. Feel it! If you can dance with me, come on, dance with me! That may give you some insight into the world where I live. That may give you a touch of the unknown. There is no other way. I cannot logically answer your questions, hence my illogical act.”

When Bodhidharma, the great mystic, reached China, the emperor of China had come to welcome him on the border; with thousands of people he had come to receive the great mystic. But he felt very embarrassed seeing Bodhidharma. He had never thought, he could have never imagined, that Bodhidharma would enter China in such an insane way. Bodhidharma was carrying one of his shoes on his head. One shoe was on one foot; the other foot was bare – and the other shoe was on his head!

The king asked, “I don’t understand. Why are you carrying one shoe on your head? Shoes are not meant to be carried on the head!”