In Sync with Sai - Every Moment

Yes, Sai Geetha was playful; no one who spent time with her ever returned without a smile on their face or a pleasant feeling in their heart. She spread happiness naturally and was physically very powerful too. But these were only additional facets of her magnificent personality; they were not what distinguished her from other members in her genre. What was unique about her, in the words of a devotee, Sri Subhas Malghan, is that “she simply returned in abundance all the love that Swami gave her.” Her focus on Swami was absolute and all times. In fact, “She was our ‘alarm clock’,” says Sri Abhimanyu Kaul, a former student of Swami’s Institute. “It remains a mystery how she would come to know about Bhagavan’s presence each and every time. Whenever we heard her trumpet we would run out of the hostel, and for almost every time we would find Bhagavan. One incident which happened in the mid-eighties is very vivid in my mind.

Bhagavan was in Brindavan in those days and in His physical absence we would have compulsory sports time in the evenings. It was during that time when Sai Geetha also would come to the stadium for her evening walks. We would normally go and say ‘sai ram’ and she would lovingly respond by raising her trunk.

One such evening when we were playing and she was also busy taking her stroll, suddenly came the news that Bhagavan was coming! It was absolutely unexpected. We did not know where and how far Bhagavan was from Puttaparthi. But before we realized, we saw His car entering the stadium from the Higher Secondary School gate. Sai Geetha then was on the other end at the crossing of primary school building (in front of the present Chaitanya Jyothi museum). And as soon as she spotted the ‘car’, she gave out a loud trumpet! She was euphoric. It was tough for her care-taker to control or stop her. To our surprise she escaped and started running towards the car. What followed next just made me stand still and watch with wonder. There was Bhagavan’s car coming up the stadium and the mighty Sai Geetha was running from the opposite direction towards the car. The next instant I saw Swami’s vehicle stop and He rushed out of the car. Now Bhagavan was running from one side and Sai Geetha from another. Even today when I recall that moment I get goose bumps. They met and what a sight it was to watch! Her expressions were uncontrollable. She literally hugged Bhagavan. Her trunk was all over Him, and Swami was actually standing in between her front two legs and the trunk and holding and caressing her. It took almost 10-15 minutes for Bhagavan to pacify her. Slowly we students too came close to the scene, and we heard that Swami was constantly saying something to her and patting her very lovingly. He also then fed her some fruits, and we saw her saliva all over Bhagavan’s robe; but He was least concerned. It was with lots of persuasion that Sai Geetha let Him go. What an episode of divine romance it was that I was blessed to watch!

“I remember, Bhagavan once asked us, ‘Do you know why I have kept Sai Geetha in front of your hostel?’ We just kept quiet and then Swami said, ‘so that you can learn what true devotion is. If you all can get even an iota of her love for Me your life would be sanctified.’”

How many devotees have we heard of Swami Himself exalting their devotion, except ideals from mythologies? In the last eighty years, thousands have enjoyed His love, His Grace and His proximity, but has Swami ever singled one particular person out and said, ‘Emulate him. I want you all to be like Him’? But when it came to Sai Geetha, on every occasion possible Swami would laud her supremely-focused love and goad others to take inspiration from her. On one occasion, when His robe was wet with Sai Geetha’s urine as she could not contain her emotions seeing Swami on the road and the boys were hesitant to go near because of the pool she had created around her, Swami looked at the boys and went to the extent of saying, “If you drink a cup of her urine, maybe you will get a fraction of her devotion.”

The Saint Called ‘Sai Geetha’

Sri Pedda Reddy, who served Swami’s dearest devotee as her caretaker for more than two decades, says, “She was no animal or an ordinary pet of Swami; she was indubitably a great soul. She had come only to enjoy proximity with the Divine.” How else can we explain Sai Geetha waiting eagerly every morning after her bath for Pedda Reddy to apply Thripundraka, the three horizontal lines using Vibhuti on her forehead, generally drawn by devotees of Lord Shiva. “Not only this, the moment I would apply vibhuti, she would open her mouth and ask for a huge chunk. Till I satisfied her, she would not close her mouth; it would just be wide open. Now, no normal elephant will like to eat ashes, but for her it was very precious,” says Sri Pedda Reddy.

Another very salient fact which distinguished her not only from others in her species but also from general devotees is that she loved silence the most. “She always wanted her dwelling area to be quiet just like an ashram. If the sevadals waiting at her gate were making noise and indulging in loud talk, she would pluck small shrubs and throw at them, asking them in her own way to maintain silence. In fact, she was one who enforced discipline in the area,” recalls Sri Pedda Reddy. “And during processions, she was most disciplined. She would never be in a hurry or disturb anybody. Not even on one occasion, has she stepped on anybody inadvertently. Only when she sees Swami, she would be excited, but even then on formal occasions, she would behave very intelligently. Her eyes would only be searching for Swami while walking with all the paraphernalia.”

Sai Geetha’s goal was only one and just like an ascetic, she wanted no company except of her beloved. We know how when she was sent to the forest many years ago to bear a child, she just did not allow any male elephant to come near her. Narrating that revealing incident recently to the boys in the Institute Auditorium, Swami said, “She was taken forcefully in a lorry with chains tied to her feet. In the forest, if any male elephants came near her, she would shout. She wanted to get out of there and started running. With blood on her feet, she reached Brindavan and tapped on the door in the night. Mr. Ram Brahman, the care-taker of the Brindavan ashram, who was sleeping next to the door, was terrified. He came to me and said, ‘Swami, maybe some naxalites (miscreants) are here.’ But I told him, ‘No. There are no naxalites here and called out “Geetha!”‘. The response came in the form of a big trumpet. Having come dragging herself on the road all alone the whole night from the forest, the poor soul had injuries all over her body. She was determined, strong-minded and always had one-pointed attention. That was her life. The kind of exalted life she led, no one has ever lived.” And then Swami made the profound declaration again, “She was a shuddha Brahmachari - a celibate to perfection.”

Source: www.radiosai.org