Being a yogi is not easy. Hardship are to be dealt with without fear
This is a story about Vivekananda. I wish I had a millionth of his endurance
EXPERIENCE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA WITH A TIGER IN A JUNGLE .. . . . . A STORY . . . . . .
By 1891 , 5 years after Sri Ramakrishna’s passing Naren felt that the monks were sufficiently trained and the affairs of the religious order he was leading were in proper shape. A lawsuit that his family was embroiled in was finally settled. Naren now felt un-tethered and free. He still had no answer on what he wanted to do or how he could fulfill Sri Ramakrishna’s vision. But he felt that the answer would come in due course and he had to wander out alone and find the way. Naren set out on his final journey with clear instructions that he not be followed. He decided to travel anonymously under assumed name so that he would not be tracked. One thing was sure: he resolved that either he would find the answers he was looking for or he would not show his face again to his brother monks.
For the next 2 years Naren wanders completely alone and anonymous. He kept changing his name so that he could not be tracked by his brother monks and be joined by them in his wandering. He went from East to North and West and then traveled to the southernmost tip of the country. His wandering carried him over a distance of thousands of miles. He was hosted by Maharajas and ministers at times, but most of the time he spent with ordinary people. He spent weeks with a family of sweepers in central India. Many days he would go hungry. At one time he was wandering without food for three days. Feeling weak and exhausted he fell down and passed out. When he woke up he found that he was wet because of a passing shower. Feeling refreshed he trudged along some distance where he found a monastery that provided him food and shelter and probably saved his life. Once he felt guilty of begging food from poor folks who themselves were hungry. He went deep in the jungle to be alone for a while. He saw a tiger approaching and thought “Ah! This is right, both of us are hungry. This life has been no good for the world. It is well and desirable that it should at least be of service to this hungry beast.” For some reason the tiger paused. It then turned and sauntered off. Naren sat under the tree meditating alone for a long time. A sense of power and strength came to him that remained with him for the rest of his life.
Later when swamiji was asked about the incident, he said that may be God did not wanted him to get eaten by tiger but serve the people.
IN HIS OWN WORDS . . . .
“Then I used to beg my food from door to door in the Himalayas. Most of the time I spent in spiritual practices which were rigorous; and the food that was available was very coarse, and often that too was insufficient to appease the hunger. One day I thought that my life was useless. These hill people are very poor themselves. They cannot feed their own children and family properly. Yet they try to save a little for me. Then what is the use of such a life? I stopped going out for food. Two days thus passed without any food. Whenever I was thirsty I drank the water of the streams using my palms as a cup. Then I entered a deep jungle. There I meditated sitting on a piece of stone. My eyes were open, and suddenly I was aware of the presence of a striped tiger of a large size. It looked at me with its shining eyes. I thought, ‘At long last I shall find peace and this animal its food. It is enough that this body will be of some service to this creature.” I shut my eyes and waited for it, but a few seconds passed and I was not attacked. So, I opened my eyes and saw it receding in the forest. I was sorry for it and then smiled, for I knew it was the Master who was saving me till his work be done.”
— Swami Vivekananda
Bhavin