Saint Louis, King of France, was told about the high reputation that a certain mystic had earned in the eyes of people. The mystic's name was Brother Igidio. The king heard so much about him that he went to the mountains where this mystic lived. The king came to him as a simple pilgrim, because when you come to a mystic you do not do so as a king.
When you go to a mystic, you do it like a beggar. You go to him with a heart like a begging bowl. If you walk like a king you will miss because the ego itself, the shadow, will fall between you and the mystic.
He came to the mystic as a simple pilgrim, knocked on the gate and asked permission to see him. The gatekeeper came to the mystic and said that some stranger wanted to see him. Intoxicated with joy, the mystic hurried from his cell to the gate, and they hugged tightly, greeting each other with a sacred kiss. They fell before each other as if they were old friends, they showed each other signs of devoted love, but neither of them said a word. They remained in this state until the very moment of separation.
But when the other brothers learned that the stranger was none other than the King of France himself, they were outraged and said to Igidio:
“How could you be so stupid as not to say anything to the great king who came to see and listen to you?”
“My dear brothers,” he answered, “do not be surprised that neither he nor I said anything to each other, because when we embraced, his heart was open to me, and mine to him, and we could see everything in the mirror of eternity.” Silence said everything that could be said, and even what could not be said.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru