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knowingly and with great care, pretending all the while to be polite and concerned for his fellow men. Such a wound is truly painful and most difficult to heal."
More than twenty times Gurudev met cobras and other wild animals on his walking journeys in the wild. Once he was even about to step down on one when something inside stopped him in the last moment. His foot dangled in the air! The deeper awareness which had prevented him from unwittingly harming life gave the cobra just the space he needed to move out of the way quietly and without aggression.
Gurudev began to realize that fear between different forms of life is not normal; it has to be taught. A negative experience or a word of warning is what conditions a person from childhood to fear animal life
It is natural to love. When life is kind to life, there is a kind of mutual recognition. And that flow echoes in the universe, and the universe sends back manifold the vibrations of love and protection.
Fearlessness
Gurudev, his father, and seven fellow monks were journeying from Dahod into Malwa when an incident brought out their faith in life. The track zigzagged through a mountainous district inhabited by the Bhils, a jungle people, some of whom were known for robbing the village leaders and unwary travelers.
The people of Dahod advised them to keep an escort to guide them through the forest.
“The sadhus with an escort!” They laughed at the suggestion. Without giving it a moment's consideration, off they went to confront whatever lay ahead,
They felt elated as they contemplated the beauty of the valley. They took shelter under a huge banyan tree at noon 172
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