A Glimpse of Swami with Sai Geetha - A Day like No Other

[Guest guest]

This story just make me weep.

 

mahadevan12 schreef:

> Taken from Radiosai

>

> A Glimpse of Swami - A Day like No Other

>

> This happened more than a decade and half ago. It was one 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. Either side of

> the road was 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

>

> The Unparalleled Love Story

>

> 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 towards 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

> towards 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, He

> 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 sync 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 which

> 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

>