Spotty's new vow

One never knows what is going on the minds of our lickle ones. What is under that mischievousness, that childish innocence, and stubborness, brattishness and everything else that we grown-ups love to see (and occasionally put up with).

Today i took a peek and found Spotty praying to Bhagavan Ramana. (I can share this cos he confided in me later. He wanted to share this with the cubs cos he feels sure that Bhagavan also reads the blog and takes it seriously, more seriously than even us).

He was talking to Bhagavan. I came in in between and heard something like this ...

Spotty prays to Bhagavan Ramana

"Beloved, i can never lapse back into darkness and ignorance. Whatever happens. By darkness i mean the false notion that all beings are separate from me, and are not You. I will never again see anyone else as 'not You'. I will never look or think of anyone with anger or hatred or lack of understanding, because i know, i really know that they are You. ...

I swear to you today never to forget the truth that all are only You."

After a moment, praps realizing what an uphill task it was, he continued:

Beloved Lord, give me your blessings so i have courage to stand by this vow. Never ever in this life, let me for a moment forget this vow, or betray it.

So saying he closed his lickle eyeses and (praps) silently communed with our Beloved Lord.

Later he told me, Stripes I don't really care if I ever realize the Self or not, or what happens from this moment onwards, but as long as i live I must never see or treat anyone as other than Bhagavan. To do so is like hurting our gentle Lord's heart.

Spotty with Stripes

All i could do was hug him. What words could i add?

Then he went over to Aunt Lioness's for more hugs.

Spottykins thoughtses

We really don't know what little Spotty thinks all the time, we would give anything in the woahld to know. Fact is he is quite, well reticent, about these matters. He shrugs off any inquiries about his thoughts with a smile and some thing like "Awww nuthin".

But we can guess that there are thoughts about tasty treats, and running up trees, and snuggling with cub brudders, and troubling Auntie Lioness. And pulling Stripes's tail or earses when he is asleep (which is ommst all the time).

And he has grown up on Arunachala in the midst of animal devotees of Bhagavan Ramana, so there are plenty thoughts of Bhagavan.

And he says he rememberizes sitting on Bhagavan's lap. And sleeping at Bhagavan's footses once. And growling by the stream when he came to drink water, to tell Bhagavan of his coming and going. We suspeck that he rememborizes these remembories quite orfen.

We also suspeck that Spotty's thoughts can't be too different from his cub brudders. Praps we should ask his brudders what their thoughts are like! Great minds think alike.

Spotty, can you hear me?

Come on over, through the SECRET PASSAGE !!!

Do I hear voices? Is that my name being called?

Sounds like there is a sityashun over at my brudders. Like praps idlis getting cold. Or help needed in licking up some tockit sauce that's spilled on the flaw. Forgive me, I must rush ovah.

I like went in disguise !!!

Yesterday when we like went over for Iddlies, we made it poafikly clear that we had just dropped by, and had absolukely no idea that we were invited. How were we suppost to know anyway? So now the Lionses really have no idea that they were being tailed by me.

So like today I got into a Lion cub outfit that fits me to a T. Tiger had to zip me up and pinch in the velcro in sortan parts. And then we were off.



Of coas we had to make up a story of how he had found me walking around lorst in the hills crying and he picked me up. And oh Spotty, well right now he's farst asleep, snoring cutely and all that. And so he thought being a lion cub, i might want to meet up with some others of my type.

Now, Spotty, you be a good lion cub today

Of coarse, Auntie Lioness was only too unnerstanding. Altho she did give me one suspicious sniff, and then after that she was warm and friendly. She said i was most welcome to live with them, and she would adopt me, which freaked out Stripes. He said, no we can't possibly impinge upon your already vastly over-streched resoases, and it was Bhagavan's will that the cub be taken care of by Tiger.

And Auntie Lioness kept insisting that it was no boahden at all. If she could take care of three, she could take care of four. Just one more kaupinam to wash, that's all. And a tiny one at that.

Tiger didn't know things would take this kind of a toahn. As it is we have encroached upon your kind hospitality so often, and wiped off a week's worth of iddlies in one evening, we possibly cannot, and we mean it, encroach on you nice people any foarther.

But Auntie Lioness would not listen. She musta really believed I was a lion. But i cant figger why she would look at the cubs and give them a wink whenever she saw Tiger squirming and sweating.

So finally Tiger said only for today. Auntie Lioness finally agreed and didn't press any foarther. Just imagine what would have happened when I would have had to go to peepee and asked her to help me out of the outfit! She would have fainted with shawk upon realizing that I am not really a lion.

Anyway, here are some pics taken by Auntie Lioness of Stripes playing with us four "huge terrifying" cubs.

Tiger played 'Hide n Seek' with us, and hockspotch, 'I Spy' and 'Cat n Mouse' too.
It was tough for Stripes to hide in the small designated playing area, but we pretended not to see him till the last moment.

All the cubs shout 'I spy'

Can you tell me apart, betcha can't.

-- Spotty the Leopard

Spotty food preference update

Spotty was quite shawked that I should dig out old pictures of him being fed and blog them (I told him, what do you mean old, they are only FIVE month old pix). But for Spotty, since his entire life is like six months, so one can imagine it must be a big deal for him.

So to cut a very long story shoaht, I had to make a batch of fresh iddlies which had to be zackly like what Auntie Lioness makes them, and also some onion-tomato Uttapams with green and red chutney (phew). By then it was evening, and the sun was going down. We hastily sat Spotty outside the cave, and put the food in front of him. I had taken some significant bites out of it by then.

Spotty had a whole lot of stuff with him, which I suspecked was gifted to him by Auntie and brudder lions ... dark chocolate and other instrading things. I just quickly took a few snaps, not great stuff like Auntie Lioness's pictures, but the best I could manage given the light and dwindling food supplies.

Current picture of Spotty

In shoaht, Spotty eats EVERYTHING I feed him.

Leopard-spotting by lion cubs

Auntie Lioness is sortanly doing a commendable job in teaching my little cub brudders Sanskrit and how to write Bhagavan's name, and getting thru mazes, and mathematics and a lot more kool stuff.

But she hasn't taught them how to spy on udders. I caught them trying to watch my movements. It was so easy for me.

Foast their delicious baby smell gave them away. Then i heard some cute voices talking to each other like "There is Spotty!" "Look. Om, Look", "Shhh Ganesha, be silent, he will hear us", "Don't move, Tiru. Be poafikly still."

Om was saying "How can I see him, i am squinched between you two".

I took a pikcher of them spying on me, and came back to show you.

Three cubs spying on baby leopard

As i was taking the photo I heard little om-cublet saying "I am not instradid in spying on Spotty, he's my little brudder!"

-- Med Leopard (Spotty)

No one more delightful to feed ...

than little Spotty.

Milk brought specially from Ashram, blessed of course

Auntie Lioness, as regards your questions about Spotty's eating habits ...

Holy water from Skandasramam

... I think these pictures say it all!!!

First feed after Vibhuti Covering ceremony

Need I say more ?
-- Med Tiger

Like they are elefinks today

Spotty the detective

Spotty was on the prowl as usual. He came back and telled me this story.

"My brudders cave seemed unusually quiet today. And thats like VERY unusual.

So I went on, thinking that all the lionses must be fast asleep, what with yesterday's Nayana Day celebrations and cooking and cleaning up.

So I went on walking around the base of the hill. And what does I see but three elefinks on a rampage! and no mummy around!



I understood that maybe Mum Lioness or Elefink must be starching the Kaupinams. And them three made their escape. Anyway, huuge amounts of grass were being demolished by dem.

I had a hard time tracking dem without dem knowing, cos elefinks smell big catses easily. So i had to remain upwind all the time, sometimes going behind them, sometime ahead. Now these are skills that Tiger has not teached me since we are no longer predators. I had to lorn them myselff.

Spotty watches

I got this lovely shot of dem brudders bums (haha), i hope they don't smack me for this. If dey do i will have to take off dis pic.




Then at one point Om-elly cast a magic spell (so dats how they change themseffs!), he said:
"Om Om Om, my magic wand!
Bhagavan make this marsh into a pond!"

A pond begins to emerge magically as all three watch

And a pond came about from nowhere. They all chant "Bigger Bigger Bigger".



All three merrrily dived in.
Major splashing happened, trunks lashing dis way and dat. One or two silly humans tried getting in and jumping on my brudders but they got majorly sprayed, and ran out quickly.

Some humans get splashed up

Den it seems they heard some distant trumpetting, and two got out in a jiffy. THe thord one seems hid in da water.

Mums coming! You hide. No, YOU hide

Soon mummy elefink came thundering, where are you three. Just let me catch you!!!!

Two ellies dry demseffs in sand

Two hastily dried demseffs, I thot these would be little om-elly and tiru-elly. Mummy came and thundered. A-elly where are you? Come on out.

A voice came from the pond. No mum. I am having fun.

Come on out this instant. Or I shall send a mouse after you!

Call me by my today's name and i shall come.

Call me by my real name!

So mum thought for a moment, looking puzzled. "Come on out, tusker baby".

"Nooo. Call me Ganesha and I will come out."

So Mum called him Lord Ganesha and he emerged, laffing from the pond.

Ganesha emerges from water laughing

As they got out, to my shawk, many humans began getting in, as tho the water had been santified by them.

If you misbehave, we won't call Spotty over to play!

Dey like put the water over their heads and rubbed them into their eyeses, and some sipped a few drops of the holy water.

Elefinks return home after naughty day out

The Iddlies are getting cold, Mum was saying, I haff made elefink size Iddlies for you all today. And for Spotty, if he can hear me. She looked slyly at the nearby trees thinking i was hiding in them, and winked, but I was on the opposite side.

Spotty ommst invisible

And Med Tiger is invited too, if he gets to know, she said."

He showed me the pictures he had taken with his digital camera and said, let's blog this fast, and go fer iddlies.

-- Med Tiger

Nayanacakes

Med Tiger!

In your description of Nayana Day, you foahgot to tell about the part when Spotty came upon the huge Nayanacake, all covered with butter and maple syrup. (A kind reader sent the photo in to us.) We hope you helped Spotty eat it -- it looks too big for him to finish by hisseff. And we know Med Tigers like maple syrup.

Like we went to the temple yesterday (in style)

Yesterday, in the evening me and Spotty went down to town to pay our respects at the Arunachaleshwara Temple, it being Nayana Day.

For some strange reason, Spotty immejitly lay down on the road and refused to move. From where is he lorning these things?

So i had to pick him up and carry him all the way to the temple. He sat up there quite happily, as you can see.

Spotty and Stripes go down Arunachala to Tiruvannamalai town in style

At the temple, some people, Europeans i think, one nice lady with three cute sons (and a cat), wanted to take photos of us with the tempul in the background. And then with sadhus. And then finally with their pet cat! This is the last straw, said Spotty and sat in a coahner.

So they foahsed some poor sadhu to stand for like ten minutes while they took different angles, and had me on this side and that. "Smile... Hold it right there Kitty ...Don't move..." etc etc Then they took a pic of the same poor oblijing sadhu and me and their kitty (!!), and the lady tells her sons "See -- two kittens". I am like furious. But they said "Like, we are also Bhagavan's devotees, you know, from far away." and so i had to oblije them, cos Bhagavan did care fer humans, too, well a bit.

Med Tiger made to pose with house-cat at Arunachaleshwara Temple

Then we came back through the ashram, doing a pradakshina in the hall. Spotty had a mugshot taken at the Sri Ramansramam gate. If i recall, at that point, he was like saying "I aint having a photo taken with some silly house cat, no way" (he doesn't yet know about Runes).

Spotty the Leopard posing outside Ramanasramam, onlookers admire

Later on the way back, he fell asleep. I put him down one mo to take a peepee. And guess what? Some humans picked him up and started the "kitty, kitty, isn't he so sweet" act. Now, luckily Spotty was fast asleep, else he would have really kicked up a row at the thought of a human (other than Bhagavan) touching him.

Luckily Spotty was asleep when the unthinkable happened!

"How apostris!", he would have said. And prolly bitten the human finger (just lightly, but enough to get the message across).

So i sed, "Look pardner, we appreshiate all this love, but you bettah put him down before he wakes up."

We saw the sun setting over Arunachala, then called it a day.

Spotty goes for Arunachala Pradakshina

1. The day started off well. Spotty was really ascited about doing Pradakshina.



2. After a few dozen steps, Spotty begins to yawn.



3. Spotty insists on being carried the rest of the way, which means the entire way, since we have barely like taken a dozen baby steps. We have quite an argmint. Spotty tries argmints like "i am shooa Auntie Lioness carries all three cubses on Pradakshina, and they are way biggah than I is."



4. Finally (like always) I have to carry Spotty.


5. We see a dog meditating on the hill (inner route).

Spotty says "Do you think he is a siddha or a jnani??? Can we like ask him?"
I: NOOOO. He could coahse us! He could make us into hoomens.

6. Spotty wakes him up and sits on his back, ordering him to carry him the rest of the way.

I mean like, the poor meditator dog can barely stand up, how will he carry you all around the hill? Be reasonable, Spotty!

7. We see some funny creechure on the way shouting "Way to go, catses".


Nice day to you, too, little feller, whatever you are. And nice Vibhuti too, over the eyeses. And nose. And ...

8. "VIBHUTI !!!!!" says Spotty suddenly. Could they be the meditator changer creechures ?

9. "What's all this noise about, guys? Can't a siddha meditate in peace around here?"


"Oh, a baby lepperd! How sweet. Why don't you gentlecats come in for breakfuss?"

10. "Hey you chaps shooa luk familier!" (A dog carrying a leopard, wot has this wild come to?)


"You shua look familiar, too! Are you the local bouncers 'round here, haha ?"

11. "Hey frenz, I am a fan of your blawg, remember me? Thanks again for the darshan pikchers."


"And could i poblissly borrow your copy of Harry Potter when you've finished. I've like eggzosted my month's allowance and can't wait much."

And so the pradakshina went on ... we had the darshan of many animal devotees of Bhagavan, we don't know which were meditators, which were jnanis, siddhas etc., and which could have been the changer creecherses. But we had a good time. And so did Spotty, although his little feet barely touched the ground.

Are you really shoooa you are only three

anonymous said...

i sweaah that looks more than three.
Moah like three and a half lionses.
-- Spotty

Hey, where's my spot remover gone?

anonymous said ...
dont mean to like sound impolite but spotty's been like asking some soul-sorching queschyuns about us catses. He's been like wanting to know why you lionses have no stripes or rings. He says like tigers, lepurreds, panthers, jagwars and cheetahs all have beautiful markings but dem lions have nuthin.

i said, look i am sortanly not asking them nice lionses such queschuns, especialy with your behaviour the udder day at their house. They may never invite us again.

What behavyore he asked, looking daggers at me.

i said, you know, with your like peeing in the corner of dere spotlessly neat cave, which auntie lioneess insisted on mopping up.
And although there was no scuffle when the iddlies were soahved, but how you refused to git off Bhagavan's lap even tho there were so many hundreds of critchers in line. Finally, like the elifink had to lift you off with his trunk and deposit you outside the darshan room. Else the lionses would have created an uproar!

He had that look on his face like when he is sorching for an excuse. I hardly sat on Bhagavan's lap, he said.

Five full minutes you had, i said. Did you want to like grow up on Bhagavan's lap. All others were like getting just one minute. it was so embarrassing.

Finally i told him all about the grand temple ombaby will be building soon, and that we must be on our beast behavyor if we want to be invited. And he nodded and fell asleep, thinking about the grand temple and all the great food in it .

Dinner at Sesha Bhavan

Yesturday i and Spotty like went down the hill to the Sesha Bhavan (in the Seshadri Ashram, Tiruvannamalai) for an iddli snack. Spotty like walked the entire way.

Spotty glaring at humanses

Due to the rush, we had to like share our table with two humans.

Spotty was eyeing the humanses from the coahner of his eyeses. sort of monitoring their actions with his pervifidal vijun. Clearly he was uncomsagul about sharing the table with humanses, feeling like creepy.

Spotty then asked me (and not too softly either), how come Bhagavan Ramana used to tolerate humanses.

i told him that for Bhagavan, humanses and animalses were equal there was no special treatment for animalses. He reflected on how much trouble humanses caused such as foahcing Bhagavan to wear a kaupinam. Imagine having to wear something! he said. And sit on a couch.

i was not cumpsagul about the way the convoahsation was going, with humanses nearby.

A lion's share of Special Iddlies at Sesha Bhavan

Then he rememborized how bhagavan told one human devotee that once one has come into the jaws of the leppurd one cannot escape. See, Spotty sed, that means Bhagavan was a leopurrd.

I said, hey pardner, that was the "jaws of a tiger", not leopurred.
And Bhagavan really was the Self, not human or animal.
Even so, Spotty said with an air of finality that is becoming quite common with him, He is our father foast.

We then lapped up some buttermilk and left quietly.
-- Meditator Tiger