78. Sakhi Elephant, Corcodile and the Lord God

My strength is exhausted, and I am in bondage; I cannot do anything at all. Says Nanak, now, the Lord is my Support; He will help me, as He did the elephant. ||53|| Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji, Ang. 1429

There is a story of a "Gaj" meaning elephant. He used to go across the river taking a flower to the temple. One day he was taking the flower as was his routine, and a crocodile caught him by the leg. You know, in the water a crocodile is stronger than an elephant and it is said that a crocodile in the water, a woman in anger and a king in his obnoxiousness are the worst creatures on the planet. Anyway, so the crocodile pulled and pulled, till the flower in that trunk came to be dipped and the elephant was going to die because there was no air.

When you are confronted with terrible hardships, and no one offers you any support, when your friends turn into enemies, and even your relatives have deserted you, and when all support has given way, and all hope has been lost -(but) if you come to remember the Supreme Lord God, even the hot wind shall not touch you. Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji, Ang. 70

In the end, all he said was: "If this flower can reach you, O my lord god, I shall feel liberated". Death was inevitable. And what happened? God came and tore open the jaw of the crocodile and freed the elephant so that he could lay the flower down.

In the Sanctuary of the Guru, the Lord God saves and protects us, as He protected the elephant, when the crocodile seized it and pulled it into the water; He lifted him up and pulled him out. ||1||Pause||   Shri Guru Granth Sahib ji, Ang. 982