Vincent van Gogh

 One of the most important Dutch painters, Vincent van Gogh – perhaps the most important as far as insight, understanding is concerned – in all his paintings, his trees always go beyond the stars; the stars are left behind. He was thought mad by his contemporaries. He was asked again and again: ”Where have you seen trees growing above the faraway stars?”

Vincent van Gogh said, ”I have not seen them, but sitting by the side of the trees, I have heard their longings. And I paint the flower even before the seed has been sown.”

All his stars are strange: he has painted them as spirals. Even the painters laughed at him – ”You must be insane. Stars are not spirals.” He said, ”What can I do? Not only in my dreams but even in my wakefulness, my heart always feels that they are spirals.” He could not sell a single painting in his whole life – who will purchase such paintings? And he painted them with his blood, with his very life.

He used to get from his younger brother just enough money every week so that he could eat two meals a day for seven days. He used to fast three days in the week so he could purchase paints, canvasses. No other painter has painted with such longing, with such deep love.

He lived just to paint; he died when he was thirty-three. And just a few months ago, physicists have come to the conclusion that stars are spirals – one hundred years afterwards.

The poet has certainly some unknown shortcut to knowing things. He cannot prove it. He is not a scientist, he is not a logician. But the contemporaries are thousands of years behind. It is very rare to find an individual who is authentically contemporary.

OSHO