Using the Elephant Odyssey as a Mirror

Using the Elephant Odyssey as a Mirror

Here is an interpretive account of the ongoing elephant odyssey
that has taken the globe by storm and captured the imagination of us all…

Overview: “China’s famed wandering elephants are on the move again, heading southwest…The group left a wildlife reserve in the southwest of Yunnan province more than a year ago and has trekked 500 kilometers (300 miles) north to the outskirts of the provincial capital of Kunming…Authorities have been attempting to keep a distance between them and local residents, while blocking roads into villages and seeking to lure them away with food drops. Despite that, the herd of 15 have raided farms, strolled down urban streets and foraged for snacks in villages and even a retirement home. All of the animals are reported to be healthy and no person has been injured in encounters with them….” – Associated Press

Elephant Interpretation: Clearly these elephants have lost their way and do not seem to know where they are going, but they are sticking together and supporting one another. So although they are lost geographically, they have not lost themselves. They are still being true to what it means to be an elephant. They have not lost their dharma.

Just take a look at this recent photo of them resting. See their configuration. It is a beautiful site – a grand puzzle wherein each one has found a spot where they feel supported and connected according to their needs. Indeed, it took a bit of care to create this sleeping phalanx. There is an order and precision to it. It reflects a society. So despite being lost, they have maintained their unity and integrity. They still know they belong together, and that their greatest strength lies in remaining united.

Human Interpretation: Sadly, the same cannot be said about human beings of today. We are the exact opposite. We all move around with GPS units and microcomputers that tell us exactly where we are, yet we could not be more lost. Not because we do not know our geographical coordinates, but because we have lost our sense of humanity. We have utterly forgotten what our strengths are, what  our purpose is, and where our dharma lies. Instead, of forming a beautiful phalanx like these resting elephants have done, we knowingly retreat into our own barracks and mount offensive after offensive upon our perceived enemies. We seemingly intentionally strike at the root of division, almost in hopes of making our human family more fractured, to a near unrecognizable degree.

We have verily overtaken the elephant’s habitat and done what with it? Just used it to sow more seeds of division. We think that by launching grenades on one another we will gain satisfaction and pleasure. Yet in reality all we are doing is digging ourselves into a deeper darker hole – far, far from the sense of peace and togetherness those elephants have cultivated.

Conclusion: So when we get updates on these lost, vagrant elephants, we should not feel sorry for them, but rather marvel at and admire their spiritedness, and pity ourselves. Those elephants may be lost in the mundane sense, but they are still regal beings fully cognizant of their sense of union and customs. Whereas, we as a humanity foolishly feel assured that the we know where we are, yet we have sunk to such a lowly status that our entire sense of humanity is utterly absent, nowhere to be found.

However, it is not too late to turn this around. But we have to get back to the basics of being a human being. We have to ask ourselves, “Who are we, and what are we doing here?” If we can get this simple existential query right, then we will certainly get back on the right track, and not just us but all the beings of this globe will be greatly benefited.