Here is a story of an elephant that served Sri Krishna of Guruvayur (Extract from the

book "Vaishnava
India" by Sheridan)

One story that particularly struck me was how the enormous elephant, Guruvayur
Padmanabhan, exercised
great personal self-control and restraint in order to avoid hurting a tiny child. Now, you
may ask, what has
an elephant to do with God and Vaisnavism? A fair question and deserving of an answer.
The elephant
Padmanabhan was given in charity to the temple of Guruvayur in South India, which,
uniquely enough,
maintains the largest herd of elephants dedicated to God's service of any temple in India
-- and, even in
India, a temple maintaining elephants is a rare thing. The elephants definitely respond to
the spiritual
atmosphere in which they live. The temple of Guruvayur is in a tropical city paradise.
Elephants and
monkeys regularly roam the streets. The women of Guruvayur almost sparkle with a
unique cleanliness of
skin and aura, as well as always being brightly and attractively attired. But most famous
of all earthly
beings in Guruvayur are the devotional elephants of the temple, who are proud and
dedicated to the role
they play in the community's religious life and the worship of God.

Every night, 10,000 ghee (clarified butter) lamps are lit and placed on the walls and
structures of the
Guruvayur temple complex. Then, one to five elephants lead a procession in
circumambulating the inner
walls. The lead elephant is always special and carries the principal Deity of the temple on
his head. Three
priests also ride on top of the elephant. One priest holds the Deity, which has a solid gold
backdrop
shaped in the form of an aura. Another priest holds beautifully decorated fans, while the
last priest is the
most athletic of all and deftly whirls chamara whisks around in his hands in ancient and
complex patterns in
time with the accompanying religious music. The entire procession is playful and joyous,
indicative of a
warm and intimate bond between these people, their elephants, and God.

All of the people appreciate and applaud the noble elephant's role in these festivities.
Many of the chief
elephants of Guruvayur have become legendary because of their character and deeds.
These elephants
truly are exemplary devotees of God. Guruvayur Padmanabhan was one of these
legendary spiritual
elephants. He became the most important elephant in the entire Indian state of Kerala.
Whenever
Padmanabhan was present at a procession, he had to have the chief honors of carrying the
Deity.
According to the book, Guruvayur, as soon as the Deity "was placed on his head, he
would stretch the
whole of his body forward, and raise his head to the maximum so that he would appear to
be the higher in
the whole array of elephants." Padmanabhan maintained this posture for the whole
procession and
beyond, until the Deity was removed from his head.

While Padmanabhan was by far the strongest elephant in all of Kerala, he never hurt
anyone - human or
elephant - in his life. He was impervious to the everyday distractions around him. When
other elephants
challenged him, he simply displayed his prowess nonviolently by stomping on the
ground; or, if they
charged, he simply pushed them back in self-defense. The first of Padmanabhan's
displays of strength were
enough to settle the issue permanently. He commanded respect from elephants and
people alike.

The best example of Padmanabhan's gentleness and nonviolence concerned his encounter
with a
two-year-old child. One day Padmanabhan was chained near the quarters of the women
who worked for the
temple. His keepers left him alone, contently munching on palm leaves. A two-year-old
child, whose mother
was absorbed in cooking chores, wandered out and settled between Padmanabhan's front
legs to play. At
the time the elephant had a long and heavy piece of palm leaf stalk in his trunk which he
was waving about.
Suddenly, Padmanabhan sensed the presence of the child and froze motionless.
Padmanabhan could not
see the child, therefore, in order to avoid injuring it, he knew he could not move a
muscle, He did not even
wave his tail. The child loved its position and did not budge for a long time, keeping
Padmanabhan frozen
in place.

Finally, the child's mother finished cooking and, while searching for her baby, screamed
and almost fainted
when she did see her baby underneath the elephant. Quickly , however, she recovered and
urged the child
to come out. The baby refused, and Padmanabhan flapped his ears at the mother as if to
say, "Please,
hurry". The mother chanted God's name and begged the child to move - all to no avail.
Exasperated, she
cried for help, and Padmanabhan's keepers returned and easily rescued the child.
Padmanabhan heaved an
elephant sized sigh of relief, put down the huge stalk, and calmly continued eating palm
leaves as if
nothing had happened.

On January 4,1922, Padmanabhan was joined by a ten-year-old elephant, who would

become
Padmanabhan's successor after his demise in 1931. This new elephant was called
Keshavan. At first he was
erratic and uncooperative, earning him the nickname "Lunatic Keshavan" for his antics.
Special spiritual
regimens and a diet were prescribed for him, including liberal and long visits to the
temple to hear group
worship and singing of sacred songs. There measures, along with the inspiring example
of Padmanabhan,
soon cured Keshavan's wildness. The new elephant imbibed all of Padmanabhan's good
qualities and also
mastered Padmanabhan's unique posture in carrying the Deity. When Padmanabhan died,
Keshavan
proudly carried on the devotional service of the great elephant and is even said to have
exceeded
Padmanabhan in nobility and devotion by the end of his illustrious career.

May be for the first time in history, an elephant had his golden jubilee celebrated in
Guruvayur. By 1973,
Keshavan had put in fifty years of faithful service to the temple and God. He was feted to
a sumptuous
feast, along with his twenty-one elephant companions. His golden jubilee present was a
gold shield for him
to wear on his forehead, engraved with the honorific title of "Gajarajan," or, "King of the
Elephants".

Gajarajan Keshavan will always be most remembered for the incredible way he passed
from this world in
1976. At the start of a major procession, Gajarajan Keshavan looked as majestic and
inspiring as ever. But
suddenly, he began shivering uncontrollably, and the Deity was transferred to the
elephant standing next
to Keshavan, who was now slowly led out of the temple. Outside, Gajarajan Keshavan
turned and faced the
temple, looking intently at the golden flag mast. He was perfectly still and appeared to be
meditating on
God.

Doctors arrived and started treatment, but Keshavan did not want to be disturbed. He
refused food and
drink. Night fell and morning came. The people were anxious for his welfare and milled
about, but Keshavan
kept meditating, oblivious to all the hubbub around him. Ceremonies continued in the
temple, and the
intensity of the prayers and songs caught Keshavan's attention. The particular prayers
being sung made
Keshavan realize that his meditation had begun twenty-four hours earlier, and the final
apotheosis of his
life had come. He moved forward and filled his trunk with water. He did not drink, but
bathed himself and
stood still, ready. A sacred conchshell's sound filled the air. The Deity was now open to
view in the temple.
Gajarajan Keshavan stretched down on the ground, his trunk facing the temple of God
whom he had so
devoutly served. In this posture of obeisance to God, Gajarajan Keshavan departed his
material body.