On the morning of July 21, at about 8:10am Swami came out for darshan. As He neared the mandir gate, He took a turn and drove out to the Gopuram gate. Swami headed towards the planetarium and surprise of surprises (!), there was a tiny female elephant waiting to welcome Him! The little one was about 4 feet high and had a trunk that was about 3 feet. She had arrived from the Bihar-Nepal border area.

As Swami came and got down from the car, Sri. Adi Kesavalu and his family, who had helped in getting the elephant, offered their salutations.

Swami went to the elephant and she too rushed to Swami. Swami, remembering his dear Sai Geetha, began patting her calling, “Geetha….Geetha”.

She put her trunk on Swami’s feet and began to massage it. Pictures were taken by the dozen. As the flashes went firing, the elephant turned to a photographer nearby and began pushing at his feet! Once clear of everything, she went back to Swami’s feet. Swami was so happy and someone nearby mentioned to Him, “Swami she is doing Paadaseva.” Swami continued to feed her and she ate merrily. He enquired as to what her favourite foods were.

“Raagi balls, cow grass and sugarcane, ” came the reply. Swami immediately asked for sugarcane and gave it to her. She began to merrily crunch and chomp at it! She ate quite excitedly and Swami seemed to be amused by it. The sugarcane sticks were broken into small pieces so that she could eat them easily. Swami was so content in just watching her eat. Swami asked what her name was. They said that it was Laksmi but Swami must give her a new name. Swami said that He would do so in due course. Meanwhile, the family members of Sri Adi Kesavalu came closer to Swami. There was a little girl who seemed to be mentally challenged. She came to Swami and said, “Swami Kaapadu ” (meaning Swami save me). Swami also echoed her words, “Kaapadu…Kaapadu” and the held her lovingly by the chin. The look in eyes were so full of compassion. This girl is definitely redeemed for she has been the recipient of That Look.

When some old devotees had asked Swami as to when He would give them liberation, Swami had said that on some days, and those days are really special ones for, He will be in a very granting mood. On those days, on whomsoever His eyes fall upon, will be liberated. So it is our duty to just wait patiently! Today the way Swami looked at that girl, so full of motherly Love, Compassion and Empathy, we can just rejoice for her.

As Swami was leaving, everyone present was bowing to Him. A little baby was brought to Him and suddenly there was a surge of Love from Swami. He fondly patted the baby on its cheeks and all of those who witnessed the scene were very touched. After filling everyone with joy, Swami left for the Mandir where bhajans were on.

Source: www.radiosai.org