Ram arrives at Amritapuri!
15 May 2000, Amritapuri
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The ashramites gathered excitedly outside the Temple on the
morning of Monday May 15th to welcome a very special new resident
-- a baby elephant! Elephants are traditionally kept in Temples
in India for the power and auspiciousness they bring, and
one of Amma's oldest devotees strongly desired to make Her
a gift of a baby elephant who could stay and grow up in Amritapuri.
He had journeyed for 5 days by ship from the Andaman and Nicobar
islands where his mother from Bihar and father from Kerala
worked in the forests. As he ran down from the small truck
bringing him to the entrance beside the girl's hostel, everyone
was amazed to see how quick and powerful he was, despite his
small stature. His mahouts had a hard time to control him
as he veered left and right towards the ashram.
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Everyone had a sense of joy as they expected that Amma, despite
having finished Devi Bhava at 8 a.m., only four hours before, would
probably come and attend the special welcome puja that had been
arranged for him on the Temple steps. The puja started and as the
time came to bless the elephant at the Temple steps, everyone saw
that he was standing beside the Ayurvedic clinic. He didn't want
to come any further and nothing would make him move. So the pujaris
went to him. Standing before him they blessed him with sandal paste
and kumkum and performed arati, and fed him milk and bananas.
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Finally, Amma came to the steps of the Temple, radiant, and
looking for the special guest. Suddenly he appeared, walking
decidedly straight in Her direction. Now he was no longer
hesitating. He came straight to the red carpet before Amma
and She put flowers on his head and chandan and kumkum on
his forehead. As She was lovingly feeding him bananas one
by one, he snatched the whole bunch from Her hands, and as
She gave him a huge ball of jaggery, he threw it on the ground,
not recognising it as sweet ball! Laughter and happiness filled
the air as everyone could see how at home he was with Amma.
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Then as is traditional at naming ceremonies for babies, Amma called
his name 'Ram, Ram, Ram', three times, in his ear. Covered with
a bright red cloth, garlanded and with a bright brass bell little
Ram was then taken to the shelter beside the temple to rest and
get to know his new family.
Ram is 15 months old, he is just 4 feet high and really really
endearing.
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