continued…
(Part 2 of 2. Click here to read part 1.)
Amma has said, “If you protect Nature, Nature will protect you.”
This is Black Elk’s comment about the snakes consuming the man’s bones; Black Elk emphasized that this should not only be taken as an event in time, but also as an eternal truth. “Any man,” he said, “who is attached to the senses and to the things of this world, is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by the snakes which represent his own passion.”
Native American Sun Dance encampment, circa 1900
There is a common misconception from outsiders when they see Native American people worshipping the Sun; they call us “Sun Worshippers”. This is false. The truth is we are worshipping the supreme consciousness as Father through the Sun. Our Ancestors taught us that we can see the face of the Father, Purusha, through the Sun. The Sun is a god in his own right, but we are worshipping our Father, Grandfather creator, the supreme consciousness. Every morning, my people make a cornmeal offering to Father Sun or Shiva and Mother Earth or Shakti. We give thanks and honor our spiritual parents.
When I would Sundance, I would look to the Sun and pray in earnest to Father Purusha and Mother Prakriti and to the Divine Shakti who manifested herself as White Buffalo Calf Woman. I always sang Pte Ska Win’s song, always prayed to Her, and she was constantly on my mind. I would tell Her, “I am waiting for your return, Mother. Please save our people.”
It was told the omen that would signify White Buffalo Calf’s women’s return would be the sudden birth of pure white buffalo calves. Indeed, since the Nineties in the United States of America, white buffalo calves have been born, who are not albinos, but genetically pure white calves. This has never happened before, as far as I know.
Native American Sun Dance ritual, engraving circa 1875
It is no coincidence that, soon after Amma started to come to America in the late eighties, the White Buffalo calves started to be born in the Nineties.
In the summer of 1995, a friend and I decided to drive to Seattle, Washington from Santa Fe, New Mexico to be with Amma at the beginning of Her American tour. After the Seattle programs were over, I made my way to San Ramon via Montana. I wanted to see my spiritual teacher, Pat Kennedy, a Cree Ghost Dance Medicine Man that lived in Montana. He was at a Pow-wow on the Flathead Indian reservation, so I took a detour before heading down to San Ramon for Amma’s next programs.
White buffalo mother and calf from American west.
On my drive to Northern California I went through the very famous “Yellowstone National Park”. The park is full of bison (buffalo), elk, deer and other indigenous animals. This land is considered very sacred to all the neighboring Native Tribes in the area.
Receiving the Vision
As I was driving through this very beautiful and holy land, I was trying to make up time from my detour to Montana, and drove a little faster than was advisable. I was so focused on the two-lane highway that I did not notice a heard of buffalo grazing on the right side of the road. My companion in the car, Manohari, yelled out to me, “Watch out for that buffalo on the side of the road!” I put my foot to the brake to slow the car down and looked to my right where the buffalo were grazing on the side of the road.
As we slowly drove past them, one little female calf that was closest to my car picked her head up and looked straight into my eyes. My heart jumped to my throat, for who did I see staring back at me? The big beautiful black eyes of my beloved Amma. It wasn’t that the buffalo’s eyes looked like Amma’s, that beautiful little female buffalo calf was Amma, eyes full of tremendous love, compassion and tenderness. The experience was so intense and profound for me that I think I looked in shock after. 
I could not speak and remained quiet for hours after this experience. Manohari finally asked me if I was alright? I did not say a word, I could not. I just kept my eyes on the road in silence, deeply contemplating what I had seen.
For me, this vision was Amma confirming to me that She is that sacred woman I have been praying to. I am so fortunate to have found Her, or rather, that She found me. This experience solidified what I had already believed in my heart, that Amma is the fulfillment of the Lakota prophecy: Amma is the reappearance of Pte Ska Win.
Since the 1990’s, there has been a re-emergence of Native American spirituality, ceremonies, language and lifestyle. The people are looking to their ancestral ways of living, loving and worshipping.
Shakti will manifest Herself according to the temperament of the people, so they may understand and embody the eternal truth.
The Sacred Calf Pipe Song
People, you must look at me!
People, you must look at me!
This Pipe before you it is sacred.
People, you must look at me!
People, you must look at me!
People, you must look at me!
This Pipe before you it is sacred.
People, you must look at me!
People you must look at me!
People you must look at me!
This Pipe before you it is sacred.
People you shall live!
Though my grandfather was Sioux and Cree, I am not claiming any authority on White Buffalo Calf Woman or speaking on behalf of the Sioux nation. I am simply relaying my personal experiences as a sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) and my journey to the Mother God of all. God appears to the people according to their beliefs, customs, traditions and temperaments. She is not bound to the body of one particular form, nor does She belong to one race. She is the Mother of all the races; red, black, yellow and white. Such is the greatness of our Beloved Amma!
As a Native American woman, I felt absolutely no conflict in coming to Amma as a disciple. Her teachings are that of love and respect for all. Amma’s teaching that Creation and the Creator are the same is the foundation of Native American spirituality. Amma is teaching us the religion of LOVE—to love, respect and serve all of god’s creation. She is teaching the whole world the importance and value of seeing God in Nature and in each other. How much more Native American can you get? Count your blessings and hold on tight to those beautiful feet of White Buffalo Calf Woman—my Amma!
Humbly and Forever at Her Beloved Lotus Feet,
Author: Nirupama Orona
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