Elephants are extremely insightful creatures
Did you know that elephants don’t actually drink water through their trunks? That is a common myth told or thought up by us as children, through cartoons, other such social entertainment and our imagination. Elephants use their trunks to hold the water to then transfer it into their mouths. Also, their trunks are made up of the upper lip and nose and have more than 150,000 muscles and tendons. Holy wow!
Just knowing those facts alone already make the elephant such an interesting creature. Several cultures revere, cherish, pamper and even worship the majestic mammal. The elephant in many cultures symbolizes qualities of wisdom, strength, courage, longevity, patience, honor, and stature.
In Hinduism, the god/goddess Ganesh/a also known as Ganapati, is depicted as an elephant. One without gender, holding Indian sweets (to symbolize the rewards of life and eternal sweetness that follows for many lifetimes), along with a lotus, a noose and other items that represent various ideologies. He has a vehicle that is depicted as Indian bandicoot rat that represents how one must ride on their desires but to stay balanced. Ganesh/a is also known to help with overcoming adversaries, remover of obstacles and there is even a 10-day festival devoted to Ganesh/a, called “Ganesh Chaturthi”.
In Buddhism, the elephant is also a very important symbol. The legend speaks of, in the highest regard, Buddha’s mother who had a dream she met a white elephant one night and it placed a white lotus into her womb using his tusk. This is actually regarded as Buddhism birth. Buddha was born and so was Buddhism.
The color of the elephant is very important in Buddhism. A white elephant is said to be looked at as perfect divinity, peace, calm and some to say royalty. The opposite, the gray colored elephant is seen as an elephant that is agitated and untrained, like the mind when one begins a meditative practice. For many individuals, elephants remind them of the mother-child connection. However, my connection with elephants come into play with my paternal grandmother. I remember seeing small figurines of elephants in her room on top of a mirror on her side table. There was also a very special small circus elephant pendant that was either worn or attached to a necklace or bracelet, which I still hold from time to time.
Researching about the different species and all the symbolisms attached to the elephant, I found that the eldest female leads the herd. I always looked to my grandmother as a leader. Someone from the get-go that I admired and held in high regard. The female elephants are very family oriented, while the male elephant leaves the herd around the age of 14 years. They are alone most of their lives. It could be because they are very independent, but also through the stages of “musth” (pronounced as ‘mast’) where they enter a short state of madness due to a biological condition for twothree months out of the year. During this time the male secretes a significant amount of hormone-rich substance from their temporal glands on the sides of their forehead that are swollen from large amounts of testosterone, which in turn causes their discomfort and madness.
I would go mad if my headaches/migraines lasted for two to three months out of the year too. I am not implying the two are the same. However if I were to come back into another life as an elephant, I would hope to be a female to not go through that. But all of that aside, this majestic creature is one to behold and look fondly on. The African Savannah, African Forest and Asian elephants all show emotions that are similar to humans. They show grief and sadness long after family members pass away. When they greet each other again, they entwine their trunks and purr to communicate. How sweet.
“Elephants love reunions. They recognize one another after years and years of separation and greet each other with wild, boisterous joy. There’s bellowing and trumpeting, ear flapping and rubbing. Trunks entwine.”
– Jennifer Richard Jacobson
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