Sai Geetha – The Royal Regal Elephant of God’s Kingdom

Yes, when one yearns only for God, he gets God and everything else too, just like Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God, and everything else shall be added unto you.” One of the lovely blessings bestowed on Sai Geetha, for example, is how she has become an indelible part of all major celebrations in Prasanthi Nilayam, be it Birthday, Dasara, Krishnastami or the students’ Sportsmeet on January 11 every year. How does she feel being decorated like a royal and majestically leading the procession on special days? Does she get excited about it?

“Oh yes, very much,” says Pedda Reddy, who has been her caretaker for nearly two decades. “On any normal day, when I take her out for a walk, she will go about the whole process very casually and the few meters stroll would drag on for nearly two hours. But look at her going to Mandir on festival days, it is as if she has become twenty years younger! She wants to run. She knows she is going to see Swami and her eagerness takes the better of her.

In fact, in the early morning itself, when I apply turmeric on her feet (which is the first thing I do whenever she has to be dressed up for the occasion), that is her first hint, and from then on she is just waiting for my command and the gates to open to quickly glide into Mandir. She is still as a statue when I start adorning her with more than twenty-seven types of ornaments.

She patiently goes through the ‘make up’ session, which apart from smearing Vibhuti on her body, includes bedecking her with the exquisitely carved golden head-gear, the richly embroidered body blanket, shining silver anklets, the tiny, resounding golden bell, many dazzling necklaces, dangling earrings, gorgeous garlands and so on. In the procession, she enacts her role to perfection, walking gracefully and with regal air as befits the grandeur of the occasion.”

The most beautiful part is how Swami, just like a mother, who would be very particular how her child should be properly dressed for an important occasion, would be concerned about her. He would check with Pedda Reddy if her silver anklets were polished, if her dress was in perfect order, if all her ornaments were in tact and so on.

“Just a year ago before the eightieth birthday celebrations,” Pedda Reddy recalls, “Swami wanted to see all her ornaments. So I went to His residence and discreetly displayed all her jewels. A few seconds of inspection, and then Swami asked, ‘Where are all her ankle belts?’ I was taken aback; I thought I had preserved all her belongings securely. Only when He asked again, did I realise that I had, in fact, sent two of her ankle belts to Bangalore because they needed repair. Immediately calls were made and the next day she was there for the Rathotsavam festival immaculately decked up. When Swami came near Sai Geetha that morning, His eyes first went to her feet. Only when I explained that the anklets arrived last evening and they are fitting her perfectly now, did He look satisfied.

Incidents like this are numerous. Very recently when I put a gaudy synthetic garland on her neck, Swami said, ‘Why do you put the plastic garland there? It is covering all her gold and silver necklaces.’ On another occasion, He thoughtfully remarked, ‘Three elaborate silver bracelets on her neck is looking so cramped. Maybe you could try changing the position of some of them’. And so now I place two of her big shining bracelets on either side of the velvet jacket.”

For Swami, every detail about her is important; and for Sai Geetha, if there is anything significant, it is Swami.

Sai Geeta – Love, Fun, Joy, et al

And what is dear to Swami is dear to her too; and that is why even though she would always like to be left alone, one community for whom she has a soft corner is His students. She would allow the boys to touch her, be around her, speak to her and when in good mood, even play with them. Going down the memory lane and picking up one such exciting anecdote, Y Arvind, a former student, says:

“One evening I was in the Hill View Stadium when she came for her routine walk. I had finished a couple of games of volley ball and was sitting on the stone steps that run along the road leading uphill. Seeing her at a distance I climbed down and walked towards her. From afar I could hear her high pitched greeting. I felt a smile glow when I saw her patient eyes and sedate walk. She had all the time in the world. Even as she ambled up, her long trunk reached out sniffing at me. I gently patted her elephantine affection, grateful for the attention from someone so beloved of the Lord. Her trunk roamed over my hands and my pockets and with an indignant squeak she turned away. The boy who was accompanying her laughed and said, ‘You used to give her something to eat every time you met her, today you disappointed her.’

‘I am sorry Geethamma,’ I said moving to an angle where I could catch her eye. But she turned away again playfully. Once again I moved around. Again she turned away. And together we completed a full circle. We must have been a pretty comical sight because the laughter of bemused boys rent the air. I felt immensely happy. It was a feeling of total abandon. People do not trust what they don’t know, and what they don’t know they fear; an instinctual response despite having intellect and discrimination. Animals too have the same instincts…only more. But one thing I realized was the trust Sai Geetha placed in the people Swami loved. She too loved us. It really strikes me dumb just to contemplate on the power of love.

Then, the boys playing football kicked the ball towards her. Immediately she responded. Her huge ears flapped in excitement and she lumbered towards the ball and gave it a careful kick. It was so lovely to watch her raise her foreleg, swing it back and kick the ball. That was it! For the next twenty minutes, about thirty enthusiastic boys and one very jolly elephant played. Of course, no referee had the heart to tell her that using her trunk was against the rules but even so, the match was friendly and ended with a bell instead of a whistle. The hostel bell was ringing to call us in for Bhajans. It was with regret that she let us go and I saw many a head turn back and look at her as we returned to the hostel. She looked so massive, against the deepening sky of the summer evening; so huge, strong and powerful. I felt a vague stirring in me. Somehow a lump formed in my throat. She was missing her Swami, her Master. Her yearning was so intense. I sat down on one of the rocks that still dot the rear of the Easwaramma High School and watched her. She moved away and as though sensing that someone was watching turned back and threw one long look. I felt the lump dissolve and I was myself again. The grass seemed greener and the sky more vibrant with the colors of the setting sun. I smiled to myself as I carried the sight with me to the hostel.”

Perfect Love Exemplified

How many lives have been inspired by her exalted example! Even though she is a five-toed pachyderm, whenever people have looked at her, it is always with awe and reverence. Showering affection on an animal and getting love and loyalty in return is an occurrence which many can relate to. We know of dogs who have given their lives for their owners; of pets who give more unconditional love to their keepers than their best friends; of cats who act as stress-busters and provide instant happiness to their possessors.But is there any pet in the world which has turned peoples’ attention Godward? What Sai Geetha has taught humanity without speaking a word is what saints and noble persons take years to learn and then decades to impart. Just by her presence and example, she has goaded thousands of students and devotees to practise ‘higher thinking’ and aspire for the Highest and nothing else. To demonstrate how noble her life is and how much esteem Swami places on her faith and devotion, Sri Sanjay Sahani, Principal of the Brindavan campus of the Institute, shares a revealing incident:

“It was one of those occasions when Sai Geetha had ‘sensed’ Swami’s arrival and was standing in full alertness beside the road much before we, the boys in the Hostel, heard the police siren and rushed towards the gate. If she is on the road, more often than not, Swami would invariably stop the car and that’s what happened this particular day too. Swami alighted from the car and went near her. We, who did not want to miss even a millisecond of the divine drama, rushed near Swami too. And suddenly there was a splash! This happens many times. Excited with happiness, Sai Geetha would start urinating. But that day, since it was on the tarmac it was splashing all over and so immediately many boys retreated and most of us were waiting and watching from a distance. But Swami was with her, standing right beside and His robe, evidently, was fully wet. After a minute or so, Swami looked at all of us and said something which sent shivers down our spine. “If you drink a cup of her urine, maybe you will get a fraction of her devotion,” He said solemnly. We knew at what level our devotion was and how sacred was this saintly soul, encased in an elephant body.

Years later, when I quoted this incident in a small talk in Trayee Brindavan in His presence and said exactly what Swami had said on that occasion, Swami, sitting in the jhula and intently listening to the story, immediately said, ‘Aaunuu, Aaunuu’ in Telugu, meaning, ‘Yes, it is true, it is true.’”

That was a certificate which would surpass any other achievement in this material world. It was a testimony to the purest love that this silent yet salient four-legged being had for the Lord. As Sri Chiranjeev Rao says, “What she has for Swami is – Perfect Love.”

It is for this reason that she is always in Swami’s mind. Even when lakhs had gathered in Prasanthi for the eightieth birthday celebrations and there were a million arrangements to be made for the devotees, Swami never forgot her; He was more concerned about her missing ankle belt. (A cup of cow’s milk is more valuable than barrels of donkey milk, as they say).

A Palace of a Home for His Loved One

Very recently, when Swami gifted the students of the Institute with a world class indoor stadium christened as the ‘Sri Sathya Sai International Centre for Sports’, at the same time, He built a ‘palace of a home’ for Sai Geetha with exquisite carvings done by the same sculptor who had fashioned the beautiful domes that adorn the Prasanthi Mandir. But this was the culmination of another beautiful drama which began a few weeks earlier.

When the land was being cleared to start work for the Indoor Stadium, unfortunately Sai Geetha’s shed could not be spared because of the vast area the new multi-game sporting complex mandated. And when it was brought to Swami’s notice, He seemed upset.

He was concerned and issued a strict instruction that in no case should Sai Geetha be moved unless she has another proper and peaceful accommodation built for her. At that time, nobody had a definite idea where exactly to build her new home.

When someone suggested to Swami that a shed can be built for her beyond the indoor stadium, Swami immediately rejected the proposal saying, “No, it is too far, she will get afraid. She should be near.”

And that is how plans were drawn to accommodate her before the new stadium inside the Planetarium complex itself. Swami liked this idea but still had many changes to it. He did not want a shed for her, He wanted a palatial home. Also, He wanted it to be located closer to the road so that it would be easy for her to have darshan whenever Swami was passing by. But building this new structure would take at least a few weeks; then where is she going to stay in the interim period? This was Swami’s anxiety. And so, a new temporary shed came up in just two or three days behind the planetarium complete with a bath tub, relaxing area, etc.

Swami almost visited this site daily and only when He was satisfied with the temporary shed was Sai Geetha moved. Even after that, He would visit many times to see if Sai Geetha was comfortable and ask Pedda Reddy if she was ok and all her needs taken care of. Then He would inspect the construction of her new ‘grand home’ and seem pleased.

Looking at the grandeur of the new enclosure, many people would ask, “Is this the place where Swami would sit and watch the boys play in the indoor stadium?” That is how captivating the new residence of the Lord’s dearest devotee is. And that is what pure love can do. If anything matters to Swami when it comes to His devotees, it is devotion and devotion alone.

The Celestial Song of Love….

When we asked Sri Pedda Reddy what is the most precious lesson he has learnt in his twenty-year association with Sai Geetha, without thinking a second he said, “Devotion to Swami”. “I have not seen anybody crave for Swami like she does. That is the greatest thing I have learnt from her,” he says and continues, “In fact, I often pray to her and offer my gratitude saying, ‘Geetha, it is only because of you I get a chance to go near Swami, that He speaks to me and I have this wonderful prospect to serve. I am fulfilled by this sacred opportunity.’”

It seems, Sri Pedda Reddy is no less an ideal, or maybe, years of relationship with Sai Geetha, has metamorphosed his life into a shining example of loving service and devotion. That is what happens when one comes in close contact with ‘illumined souls’. And all one needs to be illumined, as Swami often says, is not scriptures, spiritual practices or sermons, but just unsullied love. Perhaps, it is to prove this to the muddled mind of man that Sai made ‘Sai Geetha’…the celestial song of pure love.

Five thousand years ago, Swami in the form of Lord Krishna, sang the song of “Bhagavad Geeta” to impart man the wisdom to lead a life of perpetual harmony, and now we have the Lord demonstrate this precious knowledge through ‘Sai Geeta’. Her life is a tale, which because of its immaculate purity and soul-entrancing sublimity, compels and inspires millions to transform their lives into beacons of beatific light, serene love and never-ending happiness. Maybe it will not be an exaggeration to borrow the quote of Sir Einstein about Gandhiji and modify it to say, “Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such an animal as this, ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”

Source http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_05/01JAN07/03-coverstory.htm

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