In Hindu (Indian) culture , elephants are portrayed as Gods. The most popular God in India is Ganesh. Ganesh has many important characteristics that make him a God. Big ears (to listen more). Long nose to water the herd, and the young, make them conscious. A roar that can be heard for miles when treated unfairly.
But really what makes this Elephant God special to me is EMPATHY. And that’s the hidden symbol or semiotic held within the Ganesh. Elephants are the worlds most empathetic creatures. And their message to us is be EMPATHETIC too. Empathy is to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is difficult because the moment we do this, we lose a key pleasure – the motivation and thus ability to judge.
Ganesh is a very important God (cultural icon) for all cultures. Elephants show that you can be big and strong by being vegetarian. By being kind. By drinking lots of water. And by looking after your young and letting your women lead. Elephants are a matriarchal society and a herd species the way we also are.
But what interests me the most about Elephants is this statement about them that I read recently: “Elephants are considered to be one of the world’s most empathic species. In my last blog, I wrote about how African elephants grieve and mourn their dead, proving that they’re truly empathetic, social animals.”
Too often, we castigate people for grieving for one who has been lost. We ask them to move on. To get over it. But let me tell you what I’ve learnt about loss – nobody gets over it.
We endure loss, we never get over it.
So don’t take life, or the people or animals you meet in it, for granted. Life is a gift, the most precious, we can ever be given. Treat it, the way you open it, with RESPECT.
www.worldanimalprotection.org/blogs/understanding-emotional-lives-elephants