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An Accident Avoided · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  The mother advises us that we are generally not aware of the
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  action of all the subtle forces and how they interact to cause
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  circumstances that occur in the external world.
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  She further notes that with awareness, many accidents could
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  be avoided. This reminds us of an incident
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  reported sometime back. It occurred in 1981.
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  Two devotees were in the process of travelling across the USA,
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  visiting various national parks. It was mid to late summer when
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  they reached Yellowstone National Park.
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  Yellowstone is noted not only for its geysers and other
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  geological features, but also for the abundance of wildlife.
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  The devotees were driving on one of the main roads in the park in
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  a Dodge van. The driver had an intimation
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  that something was going to happen and he was driving
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  exceedingly slowly on the road in the near twilight conditions.
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  A park Ranger came up behind the van and was clearly frustrated
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  with how slowly the van was moving.
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  After a few minutes, the park Ranger passed the van and speed
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  by the driver remained extremely cautious.
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  Not sure why, but feeling that there was something up ahead
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  that would require immediate reaction.
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  Suddenly, a massive bison ran into the roadway immediately in
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  front of the van. The driver hit the brakes hard,
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  and all kinds of things in the van went flying through the
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  cabin. When the van stopped, there was
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  an enormous bison right in front of the vehicle, within inches.
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  Had the driver been moving at any faster speed, a tragic
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  accident would clearly have occurred.
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  The uncanny sense of an impending event saved everyone
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  from the harm that would clearly have occurred in a collision
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  with a fully mature adult Bull, Bison.
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  Standing almost 6 feet tall and weighing likely close to 2000
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  lbs, the devotees were shaken by the near miss.
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  But we're grateful for what was so clearly a warning and an
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  intimation that protected them from this accident that was
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  waiting to happen. The exact mechanism that brought
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  this subtle awareness could not be described by the
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  participants. They attributed it to divine
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  grace. The grace clearly acted and
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  there was a subtle, vital awareness that had awakened in
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  the driver. We can speculate that perhaps
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  while driving in a park known for its wildlife, particularly
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  bison herds, and the time of year and the time of day, the
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  driver was somehow subtly alerted to the possibilities.
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  But it goes beyond that simple explanation by the fact that the
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  speed of the vehicle was far below the normal driving speeds
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  and yet was exactly the speed that could be driven to avoid
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  the collision. The mother speaks of other
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  senses, and possibly some subtle sense had opened up to be
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  receptive to what was moving in the world in that natural
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  setting. At that time, there was clearly
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  some type of premonition alerting them.
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  The participants did not know why or how.
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  We will likely never know the exact cause or action that
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  created the situation. The awareness of the situation
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  and the response to the situation we can only know that
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  we are confronted with a clear example of an accident avoided.
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  Reference Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, The Hidden Forces of
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  Life Chapter 3, Hidden Forces around page 78.