Page 49 - Kailaspati: Paramhans Hansdevji Avadhoot

grihastha (household life) at the age of twelve. he had then taken Deeksha (initiation) from the late Mahatma anubhavadev avadhoot from amritsar. after twelve years with only a loin cloth on his body he wandered from country to country disregarding summer or winter. One was not permitted to stay in a residential area or a temple either in a winter night or on a summer noon. he also said that he had to move forward in his path of Sadhana adhering to strict rules. after following this Sadhana for many years he at last became an avadhoot.
Once i asked, “have you ever met any tiger or lion as you roamed about in the jungles?” he said that twice in an open space and once in a mountain cave he had seen tigers.” in the morning i found the tiger looking at me from the other side of the window with iron grills. When i saw him i told the tiger that there was no difference between me and the tiger other than physical attributes. i do not know what the tiger understood but after sometime it went away. after that i lived in that hut for two months but did not see the tiger again,” said Baba.
Elaborating on the incident Baba told us that he and some sadhus were walking through a narrow jungle road quite fast when all of a sudden a huge tiger confronted them. There was neither any path to go back nor to go forward. When there was no way to cross the tiger, then one aged sadhu among us came up and asked the tiger to accept his old and aged body as his food. The tiger king not showing any sort of fear jumped away into the jungle and soon became invisible.
Citing another example Baba said that once they were resting under a tree beside a river during a night stay during their pilgrim- age towards Kamakhya. as far as he remembered they were three in number. One of the sadhus was in a lying posture, another was getting ready to lie down too. at that moment a huge tiger came near them. One sadhu announced that a lion had come. The sadhu who had laid down said, “Let him come, i have no free time for him.” Not gaining enough respect the Lion King went away from there. it can even be said that the lion did not wish to show any hatred to those, devoid of hatred in their hearts.
First Volume: Seventh Taranga 27