GURU IN THE ANIMAL PLANET

When Gurudev jokes about the Art of the Living family being a zoo, I am reminded of the animals who are in the exalted list of His devotees.

They too long for Him and Gurudev takes all the care to grant them regular darshans. And, when they get their dates with the Master, every encounter is nothing less than a legend. Here is are a few glimpses of some of these unforgettable meetings.

A PEACE TALK

Maheshwara, the resident male elephant at the Art of Living International Centre, is the envied devotee whom Gurudev meets almost every day when He is at the station. One afternoon, Gurudev came rather early to meet Maheshwara and asked us whether there was a snake around. This was shocking to us. How did he know? Because just a few moments ago we had witnessed something extraordinary. Maheshwara was making unusual sounds, so the mahout came to check if anything was wrong. He found Maheshwara standing frozen, making small movements with the tip of his trunk as if shooing away something and making weird sounds. There was a poisonous snake, next to his right leg, hood raised and poised to attack. Both the animals seemed ready to attack but were scared at the same time. The situation was tricky, as any apparent provocation could be fatalistic for either of the animals! The mahout and a few of us present could do nothing but merely witness the frightening spectacle. Suddenly there was a shift as if someone had blown the soothing wind of peace. Both the animals suddenly softened up. The snake slithered back and Maheshwaras too eased up.

Gurudev’s peace-making prowess isn’t confined to just disarming FAARC or NE rebels or violent groups, It charms those in other realms too!