posted by Kamala on Jul 21
This entry has been EDITED in lieu of objections we have received.
Dearest Friends and Family,
As you all know, we were blessed with the presence of Lasya Priyan a black kitten that had come to us, less than a day old, his umbilical cord still wet. He had been born in one of the nun’s rooms, and being superstitious, she took him and his twin sibling out of the room. I was gravely concerned for their survival, away from their mother. I pleaded with the nun to take them back into her room, which she wouldn’t do, but consented to let the baby kittens be on a ledge outside the room. The mother cat visited one night, then, maybe another night. I went over and felt them, they were quite cold…On the third night, I don’t think the mother came at all. I assumed that she was coming, that they would be cared for, that she would adjust to the new spot. They were her precious babies, after all. During this time, I saw her. She was a beautiful, razor thin tiger-striped kitty, with the hugest blue-green eyes I had ever seen on a cat. When I saw her, she looked like I felt after and since Anni passed - blown away. It was mid-afternoon on the second day. She was in the spiral garden, far from the kittens.
On the fourth day, another nun brought me a box with the baby kittens in it. Lasya was very close to death, his sibling was dead in the box. It took a few days to pull Lasya back from the edge. When we saw his eyes, it looked just like Anni, that pure and total innocence, staring into eternity.
He was an absolute joy to us, highly intelligent. He survived our foster care, our horrible concoctions of infant formulas from internet recipes, and became a magnificent, sleek, elegant, long-legged black cat. For many reasons, we began to feel he was connected with Anni. We only had to show him how to use the elevator 2 times, after that he would get in on his own, and ride up or down.
One day, he was lying near me, and I had a dream-vision type thing that he was actually a White Royal Bengal Tiger. I felt he was associated with Anni, and that he was here to comfort her as she would be healing, if she was in her form. We observed that he had a rope-tail, like Tigers do, more than a ‘kitty-tail’. He would make his pounces on a toy mouse of his, in three jumps, which is what tigers do. If they can’t do it in three leaps, they aren’t interested to pursue the matter.
When I was pregnant with Anni, I had continuous dreams about a Tiger chasing me. It became so, that I was almost afraid to sleep, as I knew I would be running away from the Tiger all night. One night, in the dream, I was running, and the Tiger came up and bit my heel. I was amazed that it didn’t hurt, and became relaxed. For these, and may other reasons, I have always associated Anni with Tiger.
As it was, Lasya was extremely affectionate and loving. Having not had enough time with his mother, he was adamant about nursing, and would ‘nurse’ on the flap of skin between thumb and fore-finger, often falling asleep. He would nurse on anyone, but had a clear preference for nursing on females. Watching him, I re-lived all of the stages of raising children, and saw the great difference that human beings have - to rise to ethical life, which the animal kingdom is not that aware of. Animals, however, are totally dharmic, they follow God’s law for them without question. They play their role to the absolute best of their ability. They are true to their inner nature, which is why we can see nobility in them.
Lasya exhibited tremendous fearlessness towards some very superstitious people here. I saw some adults stomping their feet at him, shouting at him for simply walking near them…its a kind of ‘we agree to be superstitious’ group mentality. [EDIT] Very Bizarre. One watches the formation of this group consensus and consciousness with real wonder. Generally, Lasya had many admirers among the younger set, and quite a few among a more aware, broadminded and spiritually inclined older set. Although I saw some [EDIT] kids seek to follow the models of superstition their revered adults adhere to. But, its always the bad apples the ruin the barrel.
[EDIT]
Lasya Priyan eventually had two younger brothers. One, Veda, climbed up over the bridge by his lonesome self, and left the ashram. The last was Skanda Priyan who came to us with damage to the left side of his head and eye. Blood was coming out of his nose. I don’t know how it happened, but regrettably, I have seen people who consider themselves ‘Hindus’ (EDIT: and ‘Muslims’ and ‘Christians’ and ‘Jews’, etc.) throwing stones and kicking at cats and dogs. I could understand it, to an extent, if they were fearful that these animals were going to eat them, or their livestock, but, all of these people are generally apartment dwellers. Or if they thought they had rabies, in which case the animal would look very sick. Its just ignorant, conditioned behaviour, that comes from a feudal mind-set. Nature bears the price of that dark-ages mentality.
Skanda was an adorable - he was black and white, with a little black moustache, slightly askew, giving him the air of a real dandy.
Lasya became very devoted to Skanda. He understood that he was a wee little one, that he had some problems. He would wash him like a Mother, even though both were boys. He cleaned his bottom even. He would let him nuzzle around on his chest, like kittens do with their Mothers, looking for the nipple. Then he would wrestle and mock fight him. I say mock fight, as many times I put my hand between them to stop what I thought was an earnest game gone too far, and would find that he was biting very, very gently onto Skanda, and that he was not even using his claws when he batted him around. Not always the case, but most times. He gave a lot of license to Skanda, and as a result, Skanda grew up fearless.
While we were gone, up North to see the Dr. et. al, one of our friends who is a renunciate and a cat lover, agreed to stay in our room and take care of Lasya and Skanda, to keep the bird-bath clean and filled, as well as our plants, many of which, and one in particular had been cared for by Anni, and had grown in a living garland around a photo of Amma we had placed at the end of the hall. The students used to love our floor, they often told me what joy the plants and flowers brought them, how our floor made them feel at home. While we were gone, Lasya began going out for 2-3 days at a time.
Soon we received word that [EDIT] some people had decided to take away our plants, our bird-bath and even our shoe-shelf. While they took many plants, from many people, it was a decidedly selective process. Not everyone’s plants were taken, nor were everyone’s shoe-shelf. We were the only people that had a bird-bath. Even the honey-bees on our floor were removed.
Anyone who is aware of the tremendous damage done to Nature, and how it is threatening human survival, would never hurt a honey-bee. World wide, the decline of bees of all sorts has resulted in huge agricultural losses for human beings. In the USA 35% of all crops that depend on pollination didn’t happen last year due to the lack of bees. This means things like nuts, fruits, and all vegetables that rely on pollination to develop - tomatoes, squashes, etc. Its a huge problem, beyond belief. In China, the people in one entire district have to hand-pollinate their pear and apple trees. Otherwise, no fruit. If we were really earth-ethically on guard, to destroy a honey-bee hive, for any reason, would be a criminal offense, not only to nature, but to humanity.
I was told by those seeking to take down the hives initially, without killing the bees, that ’someone’ had made a complaint, and that Amma wanted them taken down. She asked a western man who had apiary experience to do it without killing the bees. The power of ‘complaint’ [EDIT] is very strong, as it is all over the world. What amazes me about the power in ‘complaint’ is that it generally, and usually has a more nature-alienating result. People everywhere complain about the ants, the bees, the birds, the trees, and all these things are either poisoned, or removed, or destroyed, or terrorized. Our environment becomes ‘cleaner’ and more ’sterile’ and less interactive with the great Creation all around us. Meanwhile, those who exterminate, destroy and damage, appear to be beyond the pale of being complained about. Another unhealthy social paradox.
Soon we received word that the kittens were ‘next on the list’. [EDIT] had received a ‘complaint’, and the cats were going to be ‘removed’.
We were very saddened, but not surprised, due to the history of our experience with this level of awareness. From where we were, we were able to get the Kittens escorted out of the ashram to a place of safety. Very sadly, Lasya has run away from there, due to the aggressiveness of a male cat, who feels that the house is his territory. Skanda is negotiating space with that tommy cat, its difficult, but, due to Lasya’s training, he is fearless when it comes to big, older males.
Lasya left 5 days before we came back. I feel he is alive, OK. We went there and called all over for him….no answer.
Yesterday, I got this email from someone who was assisting in helping with the kittens when they were in the flat:
“By the way, I forgot to tell you, I had a dream with Annika while you were gone. She was full of peace and love, very relaxed and holy in her self, and said, “Thanks for taking care of my tiger.” I assumed she meant Lasya. ”
“I actually felt it was more of a visitation than a dream. And Annika was so very alive and full of peace that it was served as a reminder that death is not only not ‘the end,’ but at least in her case an entrance into a realm of great love, light and spiritual wholeness. So this was a blessing for me.”
Much of life is intangible, and we ourselves, are ultimately, intangible. For my own reasons, I do not feel these experiences of Anni by others are ‘imagination’. Death teaches us beyond all doubt, the certainty of continuity of life. It teaches us that nothing is our own, not even our life. but, we definitely don’t have the right to take other’s lives. In a world filled with violence, we have to consciously limit the violence that we will commit just by being alive, eating, living and keeping our places clean. We are all really, the walking dead. Conscious for a few moments only of ourselves as individuals…with energy to exercise our humane human spirit. Its the only thing worth doing.
I know that what has happened [EDIT], with these kittens, with a lot of animal life, with several Trees, is not dharmic. The basic tenets of Hinduism or Sanathana Dharma. are based upon the 5 Maha vratas, the great vows: Truthfulness, Ahimsa (or Compassionate non-harming attitude to all life), non-stealing, non-possession and brahmacharya or the course of conduct that leads to knowledge of Truth, that naturally encompasses perpetual self-continence.
If these people really believed that Amma’s ashram was a sacred and holy place, AS IT IS, then they would never abuse poor people, physically or mentally disadvantaged people, or animals. They would see that GOD HIMSELF, in these very forms, forms of poverty, human disadvantagement and animal and even plant and tree life that they consider to be ‘nothing, nobody, from NOWHERE’ - that GOD HIMSELF had come here.
To the God who sees and knows all, I tell Anni’s and Lasya’s story and make my appeal to him in all your hearts. We have to pray for all our brothers and sisters on Earth to become humane.
Loving you,
Kamala Aunty