Jumbo does the vanishing trick

ELEPHANTS: The elephant, perhaps more than any other animal, has captivated the imagination of animal lovers, naturalists and the general public alike. The gigantic stature of the creature, its utility value in many a sphere, and its likeable nature may be cited as contributory factors.

Add to this is its value as a symbol of power and prestige, so much so that its image has been borrowed by even political parties as their symbol. No lesser entity than the ruling Republican Party of the USA has the 'Elephant' as its party symbol.

Here in Sri Lanka the United National Party, known as the Grand Old Party in local politics, holds aloft the 'elephant' as the party emblem.

Of course, the choice could have its own draw backs with the animal providing grist to the mill to many a lampooning cartoonist or satirical columnist to poke fun at the party.

Last Monday the elephant was again in the news. According to a report in a Sinhala daily an elephant which had been tethered in a temple compound had suddenly disappeared.

It was only the previous day the animal had borne the casket of relics at a local perahera. The chief priest discovered to his utter consternation that the animal had vanished the next day from the temple precincts.

Of course, the country was treated to a long 'Elephant Walk' from Matara to Colombo just before elections to chose a new leader for the animal kingdom last year.

But elephants simply walking away from temple premises needs probing. Not that vanishing elephants are a strange phenomenon in the Sri Lankan polity.

They need no persuasion either to do the vanishing trick. Not very long ago some 'elephants' did the vanishing act on the eve of an important vote in their august assembly to effect a constitutional change to devolve power among the animals.

The 'elephants' were intent on defeating the vote and as the grapevine had it those pachyderms who were suspected to be sitting on the fence were dispatched to an alien sanctuary in Singapore with various inducements.

Not only vanish, these elephants were experts at making things vanish as witnessed by the disappearance a valuable mural from the Chief abode of the Kraal during the time of a particularly notorious herd leader.

Rouge elephant elements were also not unknown during that period when a young member of the herd was caught carrying gold bars in his tusks while returning from a foreign sanctuary.

The elephant species of that era also went one better. They not only vanished at crucial times but also made others vanish.

This was amply demonstrated during a mini election in the southern part of the animal kingdom when an opposition candidate named Franciscu was made to vanish. That act eventually triggered the fall of the elephant kingdom and the election of the Queen Bee as ruler of the animal kingdom.

The fall precipitated an upheaval in the kraal with many a 'elephant' making a leap to the other side of the jungle seeking greener pastures. The most prominent among them being a particular jumbo who trumpeted on his financial wizardry for 11 long years while being in the herd.

'Elephants' long in the tooth too made a beeline to the other side after suddenly discovering the merits of the new rulers of the jungle. Some of them who had been with the herd for as long as 49 years suddenly saw what it means to be on the other side.

There were others who ran with the hare and hunted with the hound who wanted the best of both worlds in the jungle. These jumbos while proclaiming their avowed loyalty to their own herd sat on the side of the new rulers to work for the larger good of the animal kingdom.

Among these was a particular elephant from the gem city who once trampled on a member of the present rulers. Though the elephant is credited for having a long memory. Not so the new breed it appeared.

Then there was a leap by the elephant who once 'laboured' for the herd and was the Housekeeper' in the august assembly during the short stint the jumbos ruled the roost.

But the priced exit seemed to be the giant tusker from Kandy whose stately presence now dominates all spheres in the new dispensation not to mention the Television limelight.

The disappearance of the temple jumbo in mysterious fashion could only portend a further exodus from the elephant kingdom. The exit of the cockerel from the kraal is but only a sign. The Tree from which the elephant sustained too is shaking at the roots.

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Mind your language

LANGUAGE: A gentleman asked, "Who is complete?" I replied, "I am," He then asked, "Who is incomplete?" I replied, "I am that too." He fell into a quandary. He said "How can that be? If you are complete, how can you be incomplete too?" I had to reply again. "I live in the world of languages and therefore I am both.

I live in the world where there is thinking and so I am both. I live in the world of memory, imagination and intellect and so I am both."

Any person who lives in the world of languages can be neither complete nor incomplete. Beyond the world of languages, there exists no concept of complete and incomplete.

This is the relativity in our language. With the help of language and though we have helped our imagination cross the frontiers set by language, we have been compelled to cross the limits set by words to enter the world beyond words.

All that remains there is existence. If this truth can be comprehended, then many philosophical discussions will also come to an end.

All the complicated philosophical disputes exist in the world of language. Truth is beyond language. Truth and language can never go together, can never be of help to each other.

Then the question arises, do we not have the right to call truth the truth? Is all that I say untrue? It can be the truth if you accept your weakness.

If you accept your incapability or the inadequacy of language, then it can be the truth. The limitation of language is that in one moment, with one word, it can only express one truth, when in actuality there are infinite truths. The entire truth can never be grasped with one single word.

Each object has many attributes. In an atom itself there are many attributes and that too, opposing pairs of them.

To explain infinite attributes at the same time is not humanly possible.

Through words, only one attribute or one mode of the object can be described in a said moment. The rest remains infinite.

If then we accept one mode as the truth then the infinite unsaid ones will be falsified. Infinite truths get cancelled and only one is accepted. If this is accepted as the whole truth then it is a misconception.

This is one of the most common limitations of language that is impossible to overcome. One can think that in one moment if one truth can be expressed, in one's long life all the truths will inevitably find expression. This is a wrong notion. Never has this happened, nor will it ever happen.

Deccan Herald

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Dump your mental baggage

FINDINGS: It's said that after enlightenment, no ritual, formal prayer or practice is required. In fact for an enlightened person, both knowledge and ignorance are compared to thorns.

In villages, a thorn is used to extract another one that has got into our flesh. After the intruding thorn is poked out, both thorns are useless and are thrown away, lest they puncture our skin again by accident.

The concept is like the yaana of Buddhism. One takes a yaana or ferry to cross the river. Before boarding the ferry, one has to reach a teertha or proper boarding place, for a ferry cannot be anchored just anywhere on the riverside.

One now boards the ferry and after crossing the river, pays the ferryman, alights and goes to one's destination. Neither teertha nor ferry have relevance any longer to us and should be left behind, cast away from our thoughts.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa explained the concept beautifully. In the Gospel documented by Master Mahashay, Ramakrishna gives the example of a man who received a letter after a long time from his home. Unfortunately the letter was misplaced.

There began a frantic search and finding the letter became the most important goal of his life at that moment. The letter was found and the man read it. Along with the routine details, there was a request for five seers of sandesh and a piece of white cloth.

The letter, which was the most important thing for the man a few seconds back, was now of no consequence at all. Action was needed next for procuring the items and arranging for dispatch. The letter could be thrown away. This is true of life as well.

We unnecessarily carry on our shoulders old items, thoughts and practices, which were required once, but having served their purpose, need not burden us further.

The concept is that we should have no attachment to the means of our progress in the journey of life, not even knowledge, which can warp ego. Taken further, it means shedding mental baggage and moving on positively.

Hindustan Times