What an amazing day! Six of us were in Pench Tiger Reserve with Satya Prakash, a friend and gurubhai, and a very high official in the Indian Forest Service. He is one of the world’s top experts in preserving tigers. India has taken a lead in this area and is helping some eighteen other countries that have tigers still living in the wild. Preserving tigers is really about maintaining ecosystems, because tigers act as an umbrella. When you save a tiger’s territory, you also save all the associated plants and animals. Pench is one of the world’s best preserves: 400 square kilometers (about 155 square miles), 80% of it banned to people. It is in the Seoni district, made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book.
The environment has a large diversity of vegetation, which allows a great number of animal species. We had seen many of them: red dogs, jackals, wild boar, thousands of spotted deer as well as sambars, and nilgai. Languor monkeys were everywhere, looking alternately playful and like wise old men. Birds abound and we saw many new ones. The Pench River with its surrounding green belt is like an animal Eden. Unlike anywhere else we have ever visited, this land felt like it belonged to primordial nature and we were only tolerated. We could observe but not intrude. There are only a few roads where people are allowed, under careful restrictions. There are 40–60 tigers here as well as leopards; walking, especially at night, is prohibited for obvious reasons.
We, like all the other visitors, were eager to see a wild tiger. Not everyone is lucky. One man from Canada returned 14 years in a row before he finally saw his tiger. When he did, tears streamed down his face. We drove the roads for many hours, six of us in an open-topped jeep, looking and looking. Finally, it became obvious that we would not see a tiger unless one chose to appear.
“Mother, if it pleases you, reveal yourself to us in the form of a tiger.”
I began to pray, “Mother, if it pleases you, reveal yourself to us in the form of a tiger.” Then, there she was! It was a magnificent encounter: she came walking from our right, less than 30 feet away. These tigers have lived for many generations seeing cars and people, and completely ignore them knowing that they are no threat. The tigress paid no more attention to us than she would have to a boulder. Minding her own business, she first marked her territory with scent and then ambled on to a rare meeting with a male tiger. (I’ve included a video made on my iPhone below.) She was a mother of four nearly grown cubs, and we saw all of them, although the cubs were at some distance.
The experience was deeply spiritual for me. The Divine is omnipresent, but rarely chooses to appear to us. Great yogis such as Babaji appear only when they choose to do so. Otherwise they remain hidden from curious eyes, “hiding behind the sunlight” as Paramhansa Yogananda writes. To see Divine Mother we must yearn for even a glimpse, pray, and be pure of heart. Then She might choose to reveal Herself, in the form of a saint or the spiritual eye, a beggar or a prince, a loving pet or even a tiger. Our job is not to become entranced by Her varied forms, but to see that everything is a manifestation of the Mother of us all.
With great joy,
Nayaswami Jyotish
32 Comments
Dear Ji’s
Thank you for sharing, I feel Blessed and felt the Divine Mother’s Love through you Divine Souls.
With Gratitude
R Sundararajan
What a thrilling experience this must have been; thank you so much for your sharing the video and commentary. Divine Mother not only blesses you, in answering your prayer to Her, She shines through you so beautifully!
In grateful joy, Cheryl
What beautiful scenes! There is such calmness and peace in these scenes. Thank you for this post.
Thank You , Thank you !!!’ What a Wonderful world!!! Love And Light
Thank you for sharing this! It is beautiful and, as Pat said, it is peaceful and calm, which are aspects of the Lord in Nature. Jai Jai Babaji! Om Shanti
Thank you. Exceptional footage. Aum!
LOVED IT!!!
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful vision of Divine Mother in unspoiled nature. It was breathtaking to be able to see all the different forms of the Mother. Much gratitude. Jai jai
How beautiful! I feel that same calmness and peace every time I am blessed in seeing one of Gods creations in nature. When I have been at Ananda village I have been blessed in seeing a deer, or some other wild animal close up. It is a true privilege.
Many thanks. Namaste’
Wonderful. Thanks, Jyotish. I mean, wonderfully written AND videographed. Congratulations on your technique – as the Gita says, “not waving the video camera about.” :-)
Thank you! It’s so great to read about people who care so much about mother earth. It is also great to be reminded
that Divine Mother hears and answers our prayers. Joy and Blessings!
Thanks you for all your service and especially for your articules, they help and make easier to contemplate God …
Joy
A joy to share this amazing experience with you, Yes, Divine Mother grants our wishes.
This is so magnificent! It brought many tears for Divine Mother. Thank you for sharing, thank you, Divine Mother. ?
So very beautiful and touching.
Tears came to my eyes.
Thank you dear friends.
Mariana
Sri Jyotish,
This was so inspiring! I have watched it 2x already and will keep it to watch again.
Divine Mother was pleased indeed!!!
Love, Brindey
Wow, what a gift. Thank you!
Thank you, Jyotish for sharing this wonderful Divine Mother’s gift to you with all of us. Deeply moving…Joy..joy..joy
I will request some training in taking video with my iphone….
In Divine Frienship,
Anaashini
Thank You! So Wonderful!
Fabulous, the video showing the living and vibrant forest with all the animals in their natural habtat. My to the Guru. My gratitude and thanks to those my friends who registerd their comments on this video.
JOY……JOY………JOY………..BLESSINGS OF DIVINE MOTHER.
LOVE,
RASHIDA
What an amazing opportunity to see a female tiger so up close and in a movie….thanks for sharing…
Download. Thank you for this beautiful And amazing video. Incredible that thes rare animals can be so fearless in the presence of humans. Thank you Divine Mother!
Thank you, Swamiji for sharing the beautiful video, and especially the story of the prayer behind it.
Joy,
Van
What a Blessing, Jyotish! You are having many special opportunities in India. Jai! Guru!
This was so awesome, what an amazing blessing! Thanks so much for sharing. I love all of your posts.
Pure delight to be a part of this scene. Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us. What a great blessing you passed onto us. Aums, victoria
Dear Jyotishji, This is absolutely thrilling! It is true that such sightings are extremely rare. Tigers are nocturnal creatures and are not commonly spotted during daylight hours, which is when the rest and also remain in dark, shady thicket to keep cool. It is clearly Mother’s blessing upon You, Devi ji and your group, and a clear answer to your prayer. Your video is beautifully shot with extremely well balanced composition and very smooth panning movements; not easily achieved with a phone and especially when the situation is so charged with excitement! Congratulations and thank you for sharing this extraordinarily spiritual experience with us all :)
Dear Nayaswami Jyotish Ji,
Thank you for this lovely article :)
We are happy that you had a wonderful experience :)
Joy,
Prem
Respected Jyotish ji,
This article show your deep & deep believe in the Divine Mother, it also a path of hope for all of us.
regards
Nawin sharma
Thank you for sharing the gift of your encounter deep in nature — going deep within, along quiet byways, with a pure heart and competent guide, you find … Divine Mother! Love it!
Thank you very much for sharing your beautiful and spiritual experience and the video. It filled the day with joy and awe.
With Prayers.