It was the first chaturmas of Acharya Maharaj in Bundelkhand. One day, in the dark of night, a scorpion bit a woman devotee. Pandit Jaganmohan Lal was present in the camp. Moved by her suffering, he wanted to comfort her by making her lie down on the bed. When the bedding was unrolled, out came a snake. One was hard put to chase it away.
The next day, Panditji narrated the incident to Maharaj and said, “You will face many a hazard here while doing chaturmas.” Maharaj burst out laughing. He has such a hearty laugh! Then he said, “ Panditji, only yesterday, we had two or three snakes playing here. This is wilderness. You are bound to encounter a variety of animals here. Why should that disturb our chaturmas? In fact, we ought to make it a point to stay in a jungle. We shall be able to chip away at our accumulated karmas by showing fortitude in the face of adversities of all kinds.
Only a true sadhu is capable of such willingness to confront and conquer terrible hazards.
Kundalpur (1976)