"That is the first thing to be understood. Only a man of tremendous courage can walk on all fours like a cow – a man who does not care a bit about the opinions of others. He knows the truth and that is the end.

"And walking like a cow is very symbolic. You cannot fall asleep standing up, it is very difficult. You have to lie down horizontally, so that the gravitational pull is equal all over the body. Standing, leaning or sitting, the gravitational pull will be different on different parts of the body. That is a disturbance in your harmoniousness. But when you lie down you come into a deep harmony with the gravitational field.

"There is a strange story in Zen circles – it is very ancient – that animals know our language perfectly well, but they don't speak, they don't show even a sign that they understand us.

"Once a Zen master said to a monkey – only a Zen master can do such a thing – 'I know it perfectly well; my insight says that you understand my language but you are trying to hide the fact.'

"The monkey said, 'Yes, sir. But please don't tell anybody because I will not speak in front of anybody else. So keep it a secret. Every animal understands your language, but no animal wants to be enslaved by you. The moment any animal speaks, he is going to be put to do some work.'

"That ancient story reminded me of a child who never spoke until he was eight years old. Every effort was made, every test was made; his ears were perfect, there was no defect as far as physiology was concerned. It was a mystery why he did not respond. Finally they took him to a psychiatrist, but to no avail.

"One day he shouted at his mother, 'Mummy, where is the salt?' He was taking his lunch. The mother could not believe it, and she was alone in the house, nobody would believe her. For eight years the child had been defying.

"The mother asked him, 'Why have you been silent for eight years?'

"He said, 'Everything was perfect until now."