First Call of Gurudev: Tests at every step 3

During my halts at night, I met slithering black snakes and hissing pythons. Lions of small stature are also found in this area who is agile but less powerful than the ones found in the plains. Amongst animals who mainly live on vegetation, bear is the most aggressive. Wild elephants are found in Shivalok ranges and lower regions of the Himalayas. All of them, by nature, are harmless unless one sees them eye to eye or they apprehend being teased or provoked. They charge at once if there is the slightest feeling of fear or anger.

Pilgrims are often required to face pythons, snakes, iguanas, bears, panthers, tigers, elephants. They leave the track and flee away when they find persons in a group but they go on their own way. if they see a person alone. In that event the person has to take a detour otherwise he is bound to be assaulted by them.

Such confrontations came my way ten to twenty times in a day. Seeing me alone they used to move fearlessly and did not leave teh track. I had to do so to save myself. This description appears to be simple in print but it was extremely dangerous in reality, since it was a grim confrontation with death. Sometimes these animals stealthily walked by my side and sometimes they followed me. Fear of death is most benumbing. Although they might not charge but their very sight appeared to be dreadful like actual death. When one had to face such encounters almost every hour of the day, palpitation of the heart was bound to increase. These ferocious animals often used to be in a herd or a pack. If they had attacked they would have cut me into pieces, clawed my flesh out and my life would have at once come to an end.

But there also I had to muster courage and foresight. Death is no doubt great but not greater than life. If there is a feeling of fearlessness and love within, even these ferocious animals cool down and their nature is changed. During this journey there were about three to four hundred such confrontations but I summoned up courage every time and maintained perfect inner equanimity and an attitude of friendship and fearlessness. I had a firm faith that death has a fixed time, so why should I not face death happily if I have to die here in such circumstances? Why should I be afraid of it? This attitude had to be evoked and maintained resolutely. Loneliness, darkness and messengers of death had all combined to frighten me and warn me to withdraw and turn back but my power of determination came to my rescue every time and my pilgrimage went on proceeding ahead.