A man who lives through conscience becomes hard. A man who live through consciousness remains soft. Why?-because a man who has some ideas about how to live, naturally becomes hard. He has continuously to carry his character around himself. That character is like an armour; his protection, his security; his whole life is invested in that character. And he always reacts to situations through the character, not directly. If you ask him a question, his answer is ready-made. That is the sign of a hard person-he is dull, stupid, mechanical. He may be a good computer, but he is not a man. You do something and he reacts in a well-established way. His reaction is predictable; he is a robot. The real man acts spontaneously. If you ask him a question, your question gets a response, not a reaction. He opens his heart to your question, exposes himself to your question, responds to it.
OSHO
Take it Easy.
Volume 1.
Chapter 13.