A
Glimpse of Swami - A Day like No Other
This happened more than a decade and half ago. It was a serene
morning in the hallowed hamlet of Puttaparthi. As the Sun cleared
the dispiriting clutter of the night with its pleasantly penetrating
rays of soothing morning light, Bhagavan, with His divine darshan,
had filled the devotees’ hearts with the warmth of His love.
The bhajans ended as usual, at nine-thirty, and Swami
retired to His room. The ashram, again, was enveloped in powerful
silence.
As the devotees dispersed carrying the serenity of the blissful
morning in the chalices of their hearts, their minds and senses
were submerged with only one thought: ‘when can I have the
Lord’s darshan again?’ To hear the darshan music once
more waft through the silent settings of Prasanthi Mandir and still
their bliss-seeking souls, they knew they will have to wait at
least five hours.
This would be true, had it been any other day. But on this day
they were in for a pleasant surprise. It was eleven thirty in the
morning and quite unexpectedly they heard the siren of the police
pilot that precedes Swamis’ convoy! Suddenly there was excitement
everywhere; it was as if the ashram was in one instant catapulted
into fifth gear. Swami was on one of His ‘unscheduled’ drives
around the Mandir, when at times He would go as far as the Super
Specialty Hospital, located about five kilometers away.
But where exactly was He going that day? “Will He visit the
hostel?, or the hospital?, or the
school?” or “Is it just a drive?” The guessing
game was on in everyone’s mind. Both sides of the road were
bursting with devotees somehow trying to carve a little space for
their necks so that they would not miss this bonus blessing of
the day. All the children of the Easwaramma High School and students
from the hostel lined up on either side of the road. As His car
reached near the hostel, it slowed down, and His hands were raised
in blessing for all the beaming faces that thrust themselves to
have a precious glimpse.
Sai
Geetha Pleads with Her Master
At that time, Sai Geetha, Swami’s pet-elephant,
had a huge vaulted roofed enclosure right in front of the senior
boys’ hostel. Apparently, hearing the sound of the siren,
she rushed toward the gate, and had it not been for her caretaker,
she would have crushed it. She was out on the road even before
the boys lined up. She seemed unduly excited that day, making it
difficult for her mahout to hold her in check. Swami’s car
approached and Sai Geetha moved forward. Everyone there, who had
seen Sai Geetha raise her trunk in salutation whenever she saw
Swami, were witness that day to an unusual scene. Her stocky trunk
lay heavily on the bonnet of the car. She refused to budge despite
urgings. Her ears were flapping at an alarming rate; she seemed
disturbed.
The glass door beside Swami slid down noiselessly, and, before
anyone could crowd around, her trunk slickly slid off the bonnet
into the window and ever so gently touched Swami’s cheek
and hair. It was such a delicate, charming, and sweet sight. A
silence descended over the gathering. No one wanted to miss even
a minutest mini-second of the divine play. Something subtle transpired
between the two --maybe
a message understood only by the truly pure-hearted-- and she slowly
withdrew her trunk from the window of the car. Next, at a signal
from Swami, the boy seated in the front seat swiftly opened the
door.
Swami stepped out of the car, and immediately the flapping ears
stilled to a gentle wave. She undulated backward as Swami moved
toward her, murmuring endearments while her trunk reached to caress
His feet. He touched her, and the ones closest could see a ripple
run across her huge frame as she rejoiced at the blessing. Only
the ones in the closest proximity heard the sweet conversation
between Sai and His beloved Geetha. Swami, in His sweet Telugu,
spoke to her softly.
“Come on Geetha, I have to go,” He said, patting her
trunk.
She protested softly and her trunk rose to lie on the bonnet again.
It was a very loud “No!”
“I want to go, Geetha, come on, come on, move,” said
Swami, reaching up to stroke her cheek. And suddenly a diamond
glistened, a dew drop that was the coalescence of her love for
Him, a silent expression of her feelings: a tear found its way
down the very cheek upon which His hand rested. As the students
and devotees watched, more tears coursed down and wet His hand.
He looked up at her and nodded understandingly. Her ears stood
still, unmoving, her massive domed-head drooping.
“Okay, okay, I will not go!” said Swami sympathetically.
Immediately the ears moved a whisker. She had not stirred an inch.
Perhaps she did not want to break the contact. Perhaps, she did
not want her Lord to remove His hand. She stood motionless with
her head bowed listening to her master.
“Go, go back to your shed,” said Swami, patting her
and lowering His hand. She shook her head gently. It was again
a big “No”.
“Will you go back if I return to the ashram?” asked
Swami.
She stepped back a fraction -- but only a fraction -- her trunk
still lay on the bonnet.
“Okay, okay, I will not go, I am going back to the ashram.
Are you happy?” He asked her.
She visibly trembled with joy and replied in her own language in
the affirmative. He, of course, understood.
“Good girl, good girl,” said Swami.
Sai
is Overpowered by Sai Geetha’s Love
He then turned to the students and accepted a handkerchief. Turning
back to her, He wiped her tears and, looking at the boys again,
said aloud casually, “I had planned to go to Brindavan
(Bangalore) today.”
The words came out of the blue! Dumbstruck, the boys just stared
at Him. The exhilaration with which they were enjoying the divine
romance just vaporized! The boys just ‘blinked’, for
want of a better expression. “Swami was going to Brindavan?
And none of us knew? No message, no hint whatsoever. We would have
lost Swami?” All the boys stood there with their hands folded
and heads baffled.
His gaze ran over all the boys. Using the same handkerchief to
wipe His hand, Swami continued, “I wanted to go quietly without
much ado, but look at her.” His eyes glanced at her and so
did another hundred. “She knew it, she sensed it. She somehow
figured out Swami was leaving and she was crying, paapam (poor
thing!)” He looked back at her, His eyes tracing her trunk,
which was now at His Feet. Some of the boys dropped their gaze
and saw that she had gently moved aside the robe resting on the
earth and was caressing the Lotus Feet. He gently, yet firmly,
pushed her, and she withdrew her worship.
“See ra, see!” He commented, looking at the
boys as He sat in the car. “She loves Swami so much that
she can feel Swami’s feelings. She came to Swami when she
was a small baby; so many years have passed, but see? Her love
has only increased -- expansion love. That is devotion.”
Devotion
Turns ‘My Mind’ and ‘His Mind’ into ‘One
Mind’
If you can feel for the Lord in every cell of your
being; if you pine for Him every single second of your life; if
nothing else interests you in this world except His form and proximity,
then ‘my mind’ and ‘His mind’ will no
longer exist but will all become ‘One awareness’.
You are then in perfect synch with God, just like Sai Geetha. Isn’t
it incredible to see an animal having so much love for the Lord?
You can find parallels only in the ancient epics:
in Hanuman, the greatest monkey-devotee of Lord Rama; or in Jatayu,
the bird that sacrificed her life fighting for Mother Sita; or
the cows of Gokul, which became lifeless without food and drink
if Krishna did not accompany them to the pastoral groves. You need
not read the scriptures and imagine in your mind’s eye those
beautiful scenes from the Bhagavatham to fill yourself with divine
bliss. It is enough to just see Sai with His Geetha. The same divine leela is
being replayed in this age. How fortunate we are! Sai Geetha’s
life is a demonstration for all humanity of that pinnacle of deep
love and surrender which every devotee of the Lord should one day
ascend.
It
was Time for the Sacred Saga to Unfold …
It was on a trip along with few devotees to the Muddumalai
forest in 1962 that Swami first noticed the tender and tiny toy
of joy that Sai Geetha was then. His love and affection for this
infant elephant, who had lost her mother immediately after her
birth, was phenomenal. When the forest officers offered the elephant
calf to Swami, He gladly accepted.
Soon arrangements were made, and the little lady
arrived in Puttaparthi in an airy and comfy vehicle escorted by
four Sai volunteers. Since then, the motherless child has never
missed her parents. In fact, the love and warmth she has received
no other being in the whole animal kingdom -- nay, the living kingdom
-- can dream of. She was blessed with a mother who made all other
mothers in the world pale by comparison.
Yes, with Sai Geetha and Swami, from the beginning,
it was a sweet mother-child relationship in every way. It
was Swami who named her, fed and fondled her everyday, found medical
experts to check on her, appointed people and allotted tasks to
take care of her every need, and as a hardly three-feet cute kid
she followed Swami everywhere, even into the interview room!
Years later, Swami confirmed this to Sri B. N. Narasimha
Murthy when He said, “What you have seen is nothing; she
used to come to my room along with me!” Her first living
space was, in fact, right next to Swami’s bedroom.
A small shed with a thick cushion of sand-bed was
constructed attached to the Prasanthi Mandir on the western side
wall, and Swami could see her anytime from His bedroom. Sai Geetha
grew, enveloped in His loving and guarding grace, into a disciplined
and devoted soul. She was an example to emulate even as a kid.
Daily ‘Appointment’ with
God
Recalling the fun ’n’ frolic days of
Sai Geetha, Mrs. Geetha Mohan Ram, who came to Swami as early as
1943, says:
“I have wonderful memories of Sai Geetha, the
baby elephant, when she was first brought to Puttaparthi. We, the
children, would follow her everywhere in the days of old when hardly
a few hundred people would be present in the ashram. We were always
amazed at her one-pointed devotion to Swami and her excitement
as soon as she could sense His presence even from a distance. Swami,
in those days, would quite often visit her shed, and she would ‘know’ Swami
was coming even before we had spotted Him.
“She would be up early in the morning at three
and, having been taken for a bath in the River Chitravati by the
then caretaker Murali, would arrive looking very neat with the Naamam and Kumkum on
her forehead to run around the Prasanthi Nilayam Mandir with
us behind her circumambulating the sanctum sanctorum three times
every morning. After this, she would patiently wait for Swami
to come out near the lotus circle of the old days (where the students’ Vedam
group now sit); and as soon as she spotted Swami she would spring
forward to garland Him and touch His beloved Feet with her trunk.”
“This has never changed over the years,” Sri
Pedda Reddy, her current caretaker, confides and continues, “Though
her agility, with age, has reduced. Even now, the first thing she
does whenever she gets a chance to be in His presence is touch
His Feet.”
Her
Pure Devotion and the Lord: A Match Made in Heaven
In the early sixties, the regular evening ‘appointment’ of
Swami with Sai Geetha was a sight which devotees looked forward
to with great anticipation and elation. She would wait at the gate
on the ladies’ side (where Swami’s car now enters Sai
Kulwant Hall) and, if for some reason darshan was delayed, she
would get very impatient. Twisting and twirling her tiny trunk,
intermittently flapping her lotus-leaf-sized ears vigorously, and
her swift and strong legs jumpy and restless, she would eagerly
look at the Mandir unable to bear the delay.
When Swami came, it was a divine thrill in totality,
not only for Sai Geetha but for every devotee witnessing the sublime
play of pure love. Swami would first walk up to her, and she would
almost kneel down --- her hind legs half-bent and front legs
folded to the maximum extent possible. Her height now would be
a mere two feet, and she would lift her tiny trunk up and down
three times in salutation. After she had offered her prostrations
at His feet, she would take a garland, raise her nimble trunk over
the five feet frame of her beloved very carefully, and then with
lots of glee slip it down Swami’s opulent hair onto His shoulders.
Swami, in turn, would flash an enchanting smile, pat her cheeks
so affectionately and would start speaking to her softly.
Time would stand still watching the Lord so much
at ease with His dear devotee. Like a teacher who is never tired
of talking to his best student, the Lord too is most happy to be
with His perfect devotee. Swami would then feed her. There would
be a bag full of fruits (all offered at the shrine in the Mandir)
and a bucket of teertham (consecrated liquid) for her
to drink.
One by one, Swami would put each apple (her favourite)
in her mouth, and she would want to be fed no other way. “Even
to this day,” Sri Pedda Reddy says, “she will not accept
fruits from Swami on her trunk, she will insist that Swami put
it personally in her mouth. But if it were anybody else, she will
either refuse it or accept it only in her trunk.” Just like
a child who is most comfortable and secure with her mother, Sai
Geetha is in ‘peace and bliss’ only with her Swami.
The
Neighbourhood of God
Only after Swami had spent considerable time with
her would she reluctantly let Him go and continue the darshan every
evening. So, this is the drama that used to go on for many years
when she was still a ‘teenager’. Those days,
she lived just next door, and it was as if she was sharing the
Mandir with Swami. But as the number of devotees multiplied, Sai
Geetha had to be shifted, and Swami instructed an ashram officer
to erect a shed for her on the northern end of the Mandir facing
Bhagavan’s
residence, just in front of the Gopuram (where the idols of Lord
Rama, Lakshmana and Sita now stand).
Her small enclosure was airy, had a drinking well
beside it, but faced the East, which meant Sai Geetha could not
see Swami during darshan. And this is something she could
not bear; the face of her home had to face south for her to watch
Swami coming in and out of the Mandir. Apparently, Sai Geetha was
so upset with the orientation of her new shed that in a rage one
day, she brought the whole tin-and-concrete structure down with
her massive trunk and sheer muscle power. The officer was, of course,
later reprimanded for ineffectively executing Swami’s command
and Sai Geetha, in no time, had a new room, which faced the South.
The happy elephant could now see Swami uninterruptedly directly
from her home.
Sai Geetha spent many good years in this home close
to the Mandir during the late sixties and early seventies. But
when preparations began for the fiftieth birthday celebrations
of Bhagavan in 1975, Sai Geetha had to be moved from the Mandir
premises to accommodate the mammoth crowd expected. (It was during
this birthday that Swami gave darshan to the teeming crowds from
a helicopter). Now, she was placed in a big shed in the South West
corner of the ashram.
Rocks
and Boulders – Not a Barrier
It was in this year that the Sri Sathya Sai Gokulam
was inaugurated by Swami, and soon Sai Geetha was relocated to
live with the cows. For the first time, she was physically far
away from her beloved, but that never diminished her devotion for
her Lord even by an iota. Narrating a revealing incident during
her stay in the Gokulam, Sri Pedda Reddy says:
“It was the year 1976. The primary school and
the college buildings were under construction, and these structures
were coming up at the foot of two hills. The terrain was obviously
undulating with big rocks, sharp-edged boulders, and thorns. On
Swami’s bidding, the engineers had constructed a bund (barrier)
to facilitate the accumulation of water flowing down the
hill. It was primarily meant for the buffaloes of the Gokulam to ‘cool
off’ and bathe with pleasure. The distance between the Primary
School work site, where Swami would visit occasionally to oversee
the construction work, and Gokulam, where Sai Geetha lived with
other cows, was around four hundred meters. One day, when Swami
was on one such inspection tour to the school site, Sai Geetha
somehow felt His presence and immediately set herself free and
ran in Bhagavan’s direction. Absolutely unmindful of the
terrible terrain, she jumped across rocks, bounced on the boulders,
cared least for the bund and in minutes crossed the half-kilometer ‘hurdle
track’; and once at the feet of Bhagavan, she bowed down
obsequiously and was a picture of peace and serenity. Swami was
deeply moved with her love and devotion. He lovingly cared for
her, caressed her and said to all the devotees around, ‘See
her devotion, in comparison you are all dunnapotus (buffaloes).’”
Though an animal, truly Sai Geetha has divine instincts
and we, though human by birth, give way to animal instincts many
a time. Perhaps, one of the most profound demonstrations of her
steadfast dedication and purity of devotion was an event that happened
in the eighties.
This was the time when Sai Geetha was staying in
the high-rise shed constructed exclusively for her in front of
the Senior Boys’ Hostel. She was moved here once the number
of cows increased in Gokulam and a greater need was felt to give
her more space, and increasing attention. The Central Trust then
purchased this additional piece of land in front of the Hostel
and thus was born this spacious fifteen-foot enclosure padded with
thick beds of sand, surrounded by coconut trees and actually nestled
in a mangrove. It had plenty of space for her to rove and relax
in. Moreover, the adjoining extra land was cultivated for her fodder.
Of course, Sai Geetha was bereft of any company here, but that
is how she wanted her life to be. She was happy when alone, happier
with her caretaker, and happiest when Swami was beside her.
“She
has come only for Swami” - Baba
During this time, certain elders mentioned
to Swami the idea of sending her to the forest for a short while
for breeding. Swami, from the start, never seemed convinced about
the proposal. Nevertheless, He gave in, thanks to the dogged persuasion
of senior members of the ashram. And so it happened that the reluctant
Sai Geetha was sent to the forest along with two caretakers, Vasant
Rao and Sathyanarayana. “It was a thirteen-day journey by
walking with sufficient periods of rest on the way at various locations,” recollects
Sathyanarayana.
“Once we were there,” continues the former
mahout, “Sai Geetha was least interested in any elephant
of the jungle; she would never go near the elephants of the wild,
let alone to find a companion. We used to keep two baby elephants
around her to kindle in her the desire to have a ‘family’;
but she would allow the small ones to be with her as long as we
were around, and once we were out of sight, she would disinterestedly
drive them away.
"On many nights, she would even quietly escape
from the jungle, and sure enough, she would be on the road to Puttaparthi.
We would follow her big footprints and identification marks left
on the soil by the thick iron ring and chain, to find her the next
morning, usually six to seven kilometers away. It went on in this
fashion for three months; nothing could ever budge her focus from
Swami even to a microscopic extent.” The mahouts had exhausted
all the options.
“It was at this juncture,” continues
Sathyanarayana, “that Swami visited the Mudhumalai forest
one fine day, totally unanticipated. The forest had a canal and
Swami’s car stopped at the left bank while we were on the
right bank. The moment I shouted ‘Swami has come’,
Sai Geetha, who was grazing nearby, acted as if possessed by a
gigantic force. Without a second thought, she jumped into the canal
and started swimming vigorously. Concerned about her, I too jumped
and tried to catch hold of her ears or neck, but nothing could
stop her that day. If we reached the other shore safely that momentous
morning, it was purely His grace.
“Swami immediately opened the door, and Sai
Geetha was in bliss as Swami fondled her, patted her, and enquiringly
spoke to her with utmost love and concern. It was as if the mother
had found her long-lost daughter. There were bags of fruits for
her in the car and Swami lovingly put a few apples in her mouth.
Sai Geetha was too overwhelmed with joy to eat; she just let them
be in her jaws, did not even chew or swallow them.
“After a few minutes, Swami got inside His
car with instructions to me that we should stay on for some more
time, and as the car moved off, poor Sai Geetha’s condition
became pathetic. She just could not accept it. It was as if she
was dropped from heaven into hell in an instant. She spat out all
the fruits and started crying loudly. I had never seen anybody
so depressed earlier in my life. I too wept. We were helpless.
She was inconsolable. Dejected to the hilt, she went on grumbling;
and from then on her ‘night escapades’ to Puttaparthi
became more frequent.
“We concluded that she was never ever going
to mate with any elephant and sent a message to Swami conveying
Sai Geetha’s frame of mind. We were delighted when we received
instructions that we could return to Puttaparthi.”
But the story does not end there. In fact, the divine
drama begins now. After Sai Geetha returned to Puttaparthi, again
at the insistence of elders, a veterinary doctor was called. Upon
testing the urine of Sai Geetha, he pronounced, “She is pregnant.” Sathyanarayana
and Vasant were sure beyond doubt that no crossing took place in
the forest, but nobody believed them. Even Swami, apparently, held
to what the doctor said. The news that Sai Geetha is going to deliver
a baby spread like wild fire in Puttaparthi. The doctor who had
come from Kerala stayed with her in the shed to attend to any eventuality
and after a few days even declared, “Sai Geetha is going
to deliver in a few weeks.” In no time, a fence rose around
her living area to give her ‘needed privacy’ and everyone
was now more than convinced that Sai Geetha was going to be a mother.
Not only this, even Swami used to visit her often and enquire about
her with the doctor. On one occasion, it is said He even pointed
to Sai Geetha’s belly and said to Prof. Kasturi, “Kasturi,
can you see the baby moving in her stomach?”
The d-day was approaching and the doctor finally
announced that she would deliver in the next week. The much-awaited
week arrived. The air was thick in anticipation, and everyone awaited
the good news with bated breath and enthusiasm. One, two, three … slowly
all the week days rolled by, but there was no activity in the Sai
Geetha shed. People’s suspicions grew and the whole bubble
brust when a month later, the doctor did a complete u-turn to say, “She
is not pregnant.” WhatSwami’s immediate reaction
to this news was we do not know, but we are sure He must have smiled
heartily and mischievously. Now, the whole drama was an alluring
mix of comedy and mystery, was it not? But one wonders, “What
was the purpose of this divine play?”
Sai
Geetha – The Epitome of Purity
It all became crystal clear
when immediately after this episode Swami emphatically declared
to the devotees around, “Sai Geetha is a shuddha brahmacharini (pristine
and perfect celibate). She has come for me. She has never and
will never mix with any elephant.” At this point,
one is reminded of the appalling tests that Mother Sita underwent
(in the sacred epic Ramayana), even though the omniscient Lord
Rama was fully aware of her purity and integrity. Every single
twist in the Lord’s story is to teach mankind a lesson.
And He teaches it in a way that its impact resonates in the sphere
of man’s mind for centuries to come.
The bond between Swami and Geetha only strengthened
after this whole drama, and her unwavering devotion to Swami was
an inspiration which no one could easily ignore. Whenever Swami
used to go to Brindavan for long periods in those years, He would
also make arrangements for Sai Geetha’s stay near His residence
in Bangalore. On most occasions, Sai Geetha would walk the way
to Bangalore, escorted by her caretakers and Sai volunteers, with
proper rest stations arranged for her at appropriate distances
along the route. An indelible part of Bhagavan’s life story,
Sai Geetha’s moments and movements on this earth were closely
intertwined with her beloved’s
There is a hilarious incident, which Sri B. N. Narasimha
Murthy, Warden of the Sri Sathya Sai Hostel in Brindavan (Bangalore)
narrates, concerning Sai Geetha’s arrival to Brindavan:
“This happened in the early eighties, when
Swami used to stay in the ‘old Brindavan bungalow’ and
Mr. Rama Brahmam, the caretaker of the Bangalore ashram, also used
to sleep inside this building. One day, it was late into the night,
maybe past midnight, when Rama Brahmam’s sleep was disturbed
by weird sounds outside the doors and windows. It was not very
loud but was a mystifying muffled clatter, some kind of ‘hissing
noise’ in addition to other sounds. Perturbed, Rama Brahmam
looked through the window as it was strict instruction from Swami
that he should not open the door unless he knows the person. What
he saw through the window in that dark hour was only a trunk and
he got really panicky. Interestingly, at the same instant, Swami
came there from inside and Rama Brahmam at once blurted out, ‘Swami,
something has come.’ Swami only smiled and calmed him saying, ‘Do
not worry, it is Sai Geetha.’ And then Swami opened the door,
pacified Sai Geetha who was hungry for darshan, made arrangements
for her stay and only then retired to His room.”
Such is the Lord’s mercy. When the devotee’s
love is pure, the Lord does not care whether it is midnight, mid-air,
mid-forest or mid-ocean
Her
Pure Love And Love Incarnate - Inseparable
Sai Geetha’s more than four decades of association
with Swami is not only a love story, but also a tale that in its
every facet demonstrates how inseparable the bond of pure love
can be. Recalling a sweet experience from Sai Geetha’s days
in Brindavan, Mrs. Geetha Mohan Ram says:
“This happened in February, 1972. Swami was preparing
to leave the Brindavan ashram to come and stay in my parent’s (Dr.
R. S. Padmanabhan and Kamala Padmanabhan) house in Bangalore city
for two days. It was the time of the akhanda
bhajan celebration
and incidentally, it was my father and grandfather who actually
initiated this concept of 24-hour non-stop bhajan singing those
days. I was a young child of eight then. Four of us – my
brother, aunt, father and I – had gone to Brindavan to bring
Swami to our home in Jayanagar.
“As Swami was getting ready to leave, we could
hear Sai Geetha trumpeting loudly from far behind Swami’s
residence. She somehow knew that Swami was leaving and you could
make out from her voice that she was desperate. Swami responded
to her call and walked to the rear of the building. We followed
Him as He marched toward Sai Geetha. Once there, He caressed her,
gently stroked her cheeks, fed her with apple. Finally, as
He turned to leave, she put her trunk around His shoulders and
pulled Him gently but firmly to her side. She held on to Him securely
and would not let Him go. Swami could only sweetly plead and He
kept telling her in Telugu, “
vidu Geetha, vidu Geetha, ne povala. Podaya bangaaru ne vegara
vastanu! Vidu Geetha!" (Please leave me, Geetha;
leave me, please; I have to go, it is late. Golden one, I will
come back soon, leave me, please!”)
“It was after five minutes of gentle
persuasion by Swami that Geetha let Him go reluctantly. And as
He moved away, she lifted her trunk and still held on to His
right arm and would not let go again for a few minutes. Swami
tried offering her some fruits, but the apple was no consolation.
She refused to accede. Finally, after a lot of cajoling, Swami
extricated Himself from her, but by now His robe was covered
by her saliva as she kept nuzzling Him all through. Unmindful
of the dribble on His gown, Swami then turned to all of
us and what He said then was very profound. He said, ‘Your
devotion should be one-pointed like her. She is not even tempted
by the fruit I offer. She only wants me and thinks of me at all
times. When you are like her you then receive darshanam, sparshanam,
and sambhashanam (the fortune of vision, touch and conversation
with the Lord).’ He
then gave her one last loving pat and left. He had to go back
to His room to change into a new robe and we were ready to leave.” How
wonderful is her relationship with the Lord! How fortunate she
is!
With
Sai – No Pain, Only Gain
At the same time, it is not as if life has been always
rosy-n-cozy for her, she has had her share of ailments and afflictions,
and even now has difficulties mainly because of her advanced age;
but these have least bothered her. “Somehow she does not
feel the pain,” says Pedda Reddy, her current caretaker.
Her mind is always fixed on the lord; and in turn, it is the same
intensity with which Bhagavan looks after her welfare. When Sai
Geetha suffered from a stomach disorder resulting in her tummy
bulging inordinately, Swami immediately arranged expert vets from
Kerala and Bangalore to attend her; when the leather on the
sole of her feet started peeling off due to foot and mouth disease,
Swami encouraged the doctors to start treatment without any hesitation
and assured them that she would be cured soo,n and that’s
exactly what happened.
“On one occasion when it was reported to Swami
that she was sick,” says Sri Chiranjeevi Rao, who was caretaker
of the Prasanthi Nilayam ashram for many years, “Swami created
vibhuti and asked me personally to deliver it to her. Whenever
I went to Gokulam (which was frequent those days), He would invariably
ask me to visit Sai Geetha on the way and check if she is comfortable
and well cared for. “Is she getting sugarcane leaves to eat?” He
would enquire. Sai Geetha relished the sweet sugarcane leaves very
much and Swami knew this too well. He was also aware that these
leaves were not easy to come by in Puttaparthi, and so, He would
say, “You must take pains to bring for her things she likes.
Being an animal, she cannot express herself so categorically, but
when we know what she wants, we should make all attempts to provide
for her wishes and keep her happy. That is real service.”
Students
Get a Role Model of Devotion
Incidentally, it was Sri Chiranjeevi Rao who was
instrumental in building the new spacious shed for her with a high
wall and lots of greenery around in the early eighties. Sai Geetha
moving to this new location from the Gokulam in 1979-80 was the
beginning of a new chapter in her life. Apart from having a comfortable
place to stay, she was now the neighbor of Swami’s students,
which brought along with it so many precious advantages. Her home
now stood right opposite to the Senior Students’ Hostel.
“I remember this touching incident very vividly,” a
former student tells H2H. “It was a bright festive morning – the
exciting day of Christmas. After the captivating carol-singing
and beautiful darshan in the Mandir, some of us just got up and
prayed to Swami: ‘Swami, please come to the Hostel.’ We
expected answers like ‘Why do you want me in the hostel?
I am with you here all the time,’ or, ‘Wait….’,
or, ‘Today I am very busy, see so many people have come from
different countries,’ or simply a mischievous smile.
“But no, that day, Swami immediately asked, ‘Are
you ready?’ And we loudly shouted, ‘Yes’ but
within we were nervous to our bones. We had not made any arrangements,
the dining hall was not decorated, the garden was not pruned, the
entrance had not even rangoli and mango leaves, and then
what about decorating Swami’s jhoola (swing)? What to offer
to Swami? What programmes do we stage? Our minds were zapped. Even
as we were lost in this avalanche of thoughts, Swami called for
the car and said, ‘I am going now!’
“There was no time to even think. We ran like
boys possessed. And by the time we reached the hostel, Swami was
already there. Some boys, who would have undoubtedly broken national
records in marathon running that day, reached the hostel well before
Swami’s car and were fortunately there to welcome Him. And
what a day it was! Everything was so informal. Swami was with us
for half an hour and how He blessed each one of us: walking in
the lawns, collecting letters, cracking jokes, blessing whatever
we offered and obliging us in whatever we asked.
Sai
Geetha Answers the Call
“But this is not what the highlight of this
memorable visit was. The best part was yet to come, and I remember
those few moments so well: Swami standing
at the entrance of the Hostel all smiles, looking so radiant with
the rays of the morning Sun adding to His divine luster, and then
calling out with a voice that was so sweet, ‘Geetha…’, ‘Geetha…’ as
if singing a divine melodious tune. It was so soft; maybe I and
a few others who were close enough to Swami alone could have heard
it; but Sai Geetha, standing hundred meters away, felt it, and
immediately the ten-thousand-pound body of Sai Geetha galloped
like a race horse! Excited and overwhelmed-with-joy, Sai Geetha
presented herself before Swami in the next instant and the next
ten minutes it was only Swami and Sai Geetha.
“The 'purest devotee of an elephant' went on
caressing Swami, and how Swami, in turn, was so gentle and loving
toward her, is a sight that remains etched in gold in my memory
forever. Sai Geetha was least concerned about the fruits that Swami
was offering; she only wanted Swami to touch her, look into her
eyes, speak to her and be next to her. Even an inch of separation
was intolerable. For me, it was the greatest demonstration of pure
love.”
While Sai Geetha gets her precious opportunities
whenever Swami visits the Students’ Hostel, everyday the
boys have a living example and inspiration of true divine love.
This is how Sai Geetha’s abode being right opposite to the
Students’ dwelling has been such a wonderful win-win situation.
Both love each other, but love Swami more than each other. Every
time Swami has visited the Hostel, it has been a red-letter-day
for her. Recalling another similar incident, Sri Y. Arvind, another
former student says:
“Years ago in Prashanti Nilayam, on the beautiful eve of
Krishnashtami, Swami was standing on the portico enquiring about
the arrangements for the imminent festival. The elders who had
been given responsibilities informed Him about the arrangements:
about where the cow procession would come and where they would
be positioned, the order of procession, down to the last details
of what prasadam to be distributed and what quantities were available.
He was in a jolly mood and most of us felt it was the ideal time
to pray to Him to visit the hostel. So we gently, with the words ‘please
Swami’, generously sprinkled in our supplications, pleaded,
prayed, and cajoled. Well, we did all we could to get Him to bless
the hostel with His Physical Presence. Swami played hard to get
but finally said the magic words, ‘I will come’.
“The hostel’s look changed overnight. Different teams
of boys worked on various areas of the hostel. Decorations sprang
up everywhere with banners, festoons and plantain stalks at key
positions. The little shrine for Lord Ganesha outside the hostel
was elegantly decorated, all the corridors swept and mopped extra
clean, the dormitories were tidied up, and by the early hours of
the next morning the entire hostel was spick and span. In retrospect
and with good humor, I feel that the response to Swami’s
visit to the hostel galvanized all of us the way a drill sergeant’s
inspection parade would! Of course, Swami is our loving mother
and father, but the discipline He demands of His chosen ones … Well!
You have to hand it to Him. Even the laziest of us would be on
their toes.
“Coming back to the story, the opportunity taken to invite
Him was because some students who had a green thumb, under the
inspired leadership of their seniors, had made a beautiful garden
in the hostel quadrangle. It was a combination of a Grecian rock
garden, a Japanese water garden and a regular floral layout. It
had smooth tiled paths that vended around deeply embedded boulders
and there was a water feature that included a cascade that led
to a fish pond. A bamboo bridge arched over the pond and was painted
a pleasing light green that matched the lawn around it. Creepers
covered bamboo arches at strategic corners on the paths. Flowering
shrubs lined the paths and filled every crevice that the rocks
offered. There was a flat rock that served as a pedestal and a
chair was placed for Swami there. Firmly anchored and well cushioned,
it had steps leading to it so that Swami could walk with ease.
A lot of effort had gone into making and maintaining the garden,
and the crowning glory would be that Swami should bless it. That
was what was going on in our minds.
The morning session in the Mandir went off without
a hitch. Swami granted us all darshan wearing a pitambara (yellow
robe), the robe of Lord Krishna apt for the occasion of Janmashtami.
The procession went like clockwork, with Sai Geetha in the vanguard
with all her majesty, all dressed up for the Lord – richly
caparisoned in gold and silver with five foot silver ear hangings,
gold brocaded saddle cloth on her back, beaten gold ornaments on
her forehead – she looked royal. Swami walked down to her
with a haste that belied His ‘impatience’, and His
interaction with her was the cynosure of all attention – I
would not be exaggerating if I said the cows were feeling jealous
of her! Their Gopala (Lord Krishna’s another name literally
meaning “caretaker
of cows.”) was going to Sai Geetha!
But they too had their chance when Swami came to
feed them with bananas. Everything smoothly led to the point when
Swami signaled for the bhajans to start. The procession
was on its way back to the Gokulam, the prasadam distribution
was complete, and now expectant faces looked at every minute gesture
of Swami – waiting
for the signal. He knew it, and He tantalized us all… till
the last moment and then the smile bloomed… “Go… I
will come”. Immediately, their energy levels tripled and
in a trice, they traversed the thousand metres to the hostel jet
set like.
Swami came to the hostel and graciously blessed all of us standing
along the path leading to the Hostel. Alighting from the car He
walked slowly, taking in all the effort put in to beautify the
place. The smile on His face was the greatest of blessings. He
went towards the stage and sat on the decorated jhula (swing) set
for Him and for a while listened to the group songs sung by ebullient
voices. He blessed the prasadam offered, and then indicated He
wanted to leave.
When Swami reached the path that lay across the quadrangle,
the boys brought His attention to the new garden. His eyes lit
up at the new sight and He gently undulated towards the picturesque
setting. Swami picked up the scissors offered on a velvet platter,
and cut the saffron silk ribbon that lay across the primary arch
leading into the garden.
Simultaneously, one of us started the cascade, and
the murmur of gently flowing water added to the sacred atmosphere.
Swami walked along the paths laid out and touched the chair set
for Him on the rock, blessing it. Then He stepped onto the bridge
spanning the pond. One of the boys offered Him a silver bowl of
fish food with a spoon and pointed to the water.
“What is this?” asked Swami.
“Swami, there are fish in the pond.”
Swami sweetly picked up the spoon and sprinkled a
couple of spoonfuls and then He picked up the whole bowl and dumped
it in at one go. Suddenly He seemed to be in a hurry! It was obvious,
His gait quickened as He walked back to the main lobby. All of
us were perplexed at the sudden change – then we understood,
as we saw Swami make a beeline to Sai Geetha waiting outside the
Hostel. He was speeding towards her.
All of us stepped aside and watched the show! Her
heavy ornaments and other embellishments had been removed and she
was oblivious to everything except her Swami. Baskets of fruits
were offered, and Swami kept feeding her. His eyes were twinkling
and His face beamed with a different joy as He patted her cheek,
rubbed her trunk and murmured endearments to her.
She responded in kind, speaking to her Master in
her language. No doubt they understood each other. Well! One should
be there to see the sight. Three hundred and fifty boys and teachers,
a large bunch of them around Swami and Geetha, two long lines extending
on either side of the path leading out of the Hostel, lots of devotees
outside…all of us enjoying Swami’s interaction with
Geetha. If only we had an aerial photograph of the sight… for
now, words will have to do. He spent more than ten minutes with
her and then almost regretfully patted her good bye.
We offered Him aarti, and hundreds of voices
welled up in unison. She raised her trunk in salutation as Swami
left the Hostel. Many of us took the opportunity to touch the one
so much beloved by the Lord. After enduring the petting by all
of us, she retired to her enclosure. But even as she crossed the
road, she paused and turned toward the direction Swami’s
car had left. She watched for a few seconds and then silently returned
to her enclosure. At times, she seems more than just an animal.
Her love for Swami is far greater than ours because of its simplicity.
She exists only to Love and adore Him. That is the highest form
of devotion: To exist only for the love of God.”
Yes, this is the lesson that she drives into the
minds of everybody – be it student or devotee – that
the whole purpose of life is to exist for the Lord and there is
nothing holier or more purposeful. Swami has exalted her devotion
often and asked students to learn from her. In a discourse to the
boys in the Prasanthi Mandir on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi
in 1992, Swami said,
“Those of you who are staying in the
Hostel notice cars going up and down the road. On the other side
of the Hostel is Sai Geetha. She takes no notice of the innumerable
cars going on the road. But, without any notice, she ‘smells’,
as it were, the passing of Swami's car and immediately comes
out with a roar to greet Swami. That is her devotion to her Lord… It
is steadfast love.”
Ever
Alert for Her Beloved
Come what may, Sai Geetha’s focus has always
been compass-like, pointing constantly in one direction. “The
moment she hears the siren of the police jeep (an indication that
Swami is on His way),” says Sri Pedda Reddy, “she will
come off immediately from wherever she is; be it in the shed or
in the tank and run to the road. Standing beside the tarmac, she
will scan every car that passes by and the moment she spots Swami’s
car, she will trumpet in glee and sometimes make peculiar sounds
of joy.
When His car draws near, searchingly she will see
where Swami is seated – in the front or rear, and, if the
car window is closed, she will embrace the front windshield with
her trunk and wait for the door glass to roll down. If it happens,
she is ecstatic; she will slowly slide her snout in and start nuzzling
Swami’s hair and face.
She loves Swami’s crown; the vibhuti smell
enlivens her. She is in bliss. But if, for some reason, Swami’s
car does not stop, she is crestfallen, devastated. She will start
crying and grumbling and ‘hmm…hmmm…’ would
go on endlessly.
Some days if she is very disturbed, she would even
start shouting and trumpeting as if calling out to Him with all
the wind power at her disposal. Only after half an hour of pacifying
phrases of, ‘He will come’, ‘Maybe He is busy
today’, ‘He saw you. Didn’t He? Do not worry.
Tomorrow He will come specially for you’, etc.
will she reconcile herself. And it will take another hour to persuade
her to accept any food. That is the intensity of her love for Swami
and it is this fervent yearning which has rewarded her with so
many beautiful blessings from Swami.”
