Letters from Sri Ramanasramam 18

[Guest guest]

1st January, 1946

 

LEOPARDS AND SNAKES

 

 

The other day I learnt of one more incident in

 

Bhagavan's life on the hill and so I am writing to you about

 

it. When Bhagavan was living in Virupaksha Cave, the roar

 

of a leopard was heard from the place where drinking water

 

was available nearby. By the time the scared devotees had

 

gathered some plates and drums in order to make a noise

 

and drive the leopard away, it had drunk the water it

 

required and gone away with one more roar. Bhagavan

 

looked at those frightened devotees and said to them in an

 

admonishing tone, " Why do you worry so much? The

 

leopard intimated to me by the first roar that she was coming

 

here. After drinking water she told me by another roar

 

that she was going. She went her own way. She never

 

meddled with your affairs. Why are you so scared? This

 

mountain is the home of these wild animals, and we are

 

their guests. That being so, is it right on your part to drive

 

them away? " Perhaps with the intention of relieving them

 

of their fears, Bhagavan added, " A number of siddha purushas

 

(holy beings) live on this mountain. It is perhaps with a

 

desire to see me that they come and go, assuming various

 

shapes. Hence, you see it is not right for you to disturb

 

them. "

 

From that time onwards, the leopard used to come

 

frequently to that place to drink. Whenever the roar was

 

heard, Bhagavan used to say, " There you are! The leopard

 

is announcing her arrival. " Then again he used to say, " The

 

leopard announces her departure. " In this manner he used

 

to be quite at ease with all the wild animals.

 

One devotee asked Bhagavan whether it is true that,

 

when living on the mountain, he was friendly with snakes,

 

and one snake crawled over his body, one climbed up his leg

 

and so on. In reply, Sri Bhagavan said:

 

" Yes, it is true. A snake used to come to me in all

 

friendliness. It used to try to crawl on my leg. At its touch

 

my body used to feel as though it was tickled, so I withdrew

 

my leg; that is all. That snake used to come of its own accord

 

and go away. "