Tag: sages

Disciple: We have various guesses about your previous lives. The other day I happened to ask X whether you were Shakespeare. He was diffident. My own belief is that you have somehow amalgamated all that was precious in those that manifested as Homer, Shakespeare, Valmiki, Dante, Virgil and Milton: if not all, at least the biggest of the lot. Kindly let us know the truth. Among your other and non-poetic incarnations, some surmise Alexander and Julius Caesar.

The enclosed enlightening conversation with Swami Turiyananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna took place on 15th July 1920. It was published in the Prabuddha Bharata Magazine and has been excerpted from there.

Both the ancient as well as the modern Rishis of India, have been known for their tremendous love and compassion for animals. In the forest ashrams of the ancient sages in particular, wild animals roamed freely and lived in harmony with humans. Before the magnanimous and love-filled hearts of God-realized Rishis, ferocious animals like tigers and bears lost their hostility and became utterly calm and docile.