Written by This is something that came to my notice only a few short weeks ago. It has to do with animals. Now like many of you, I love animals and have had many as pets over the years. There have even been some rather “exotic” pets that I have chosen to keep. So, I was rather intrigued when the first telling of this tale came to us from Thailand.
It has to do with those beautiful animals called Elephants. They are also known as Pachyderms.,as a scientific term.
Well, it turns out that they have been used in Thailand for many years as beasts of burden, in that their strength is great, and their willingness to work with humans has been characteristic and very generous of them. Unfortunately, there have been many cases of cruelty practiced upon them by some of our misinformed brethren. These men have been taught a certain way of dealing with elephants, that betrays a deep ignorance of their sweet natures, and with these things I certainly do not agree.
Many of you know that in the religion of Hinduism, there is actually a God that is known to take the form of an elephant. His name is Lord Ganesha. He is known as the “Remover of Obstacles”, and every devout Hindu knows that when beginning a project especially, a visit to the temple to ask for the blessings of beloved Lord Ganesha is a very good idea. He is also known as the “Lord of Categories” and by this is meant that His consciousness is very vast, and that He seems to know all things, every detail, such as having an acquaintance with every single soul on earth. His “elephant’s memory” encompasses each one’s karmic condition, and He is said to be able to work with the Great Karmic Board to even be able to rearrange personal karmic patterns so that they are easier to bear, when asked to do so. Once again, the advice to “ask, and ye shall receive.” comes to mind. Now why do I bring Him into this picture of the painting elephants?
Oops, did I say painting elephants? Yes, I did. And that is what is so amazing about these elephants. They paint! As it turns out, when a new way of doing whatever it is that they were used for doing, as in logging for instance, was introduced into the country, many of the elephants were – well, for lack of a better way of saying it,”out of a job.”
Now here is where I must admit a “blind spot” to my tale about them. For I don’t know how exactly it was discovered that they could paint, but it was, and with that, they began a whole new career for themselves, to be able to earn their living.
I am going to refer you all to some places on the internet where, if you are at all interested, you can see for yourself what I consider nothing short of a miracle! And yet, you can watch them do it, paint with a regular brush and oils, on a canvas no less, and often they paint each other. That is to say that one of the videos that I will refer you to will show them starting with a blank canvas, like any artist might do, and then proceed to paint, like any good artist can, a painting of themselves, of an elephant, as perfectly as a good artist could do it. That is part of my sense of wonder about all this.
I’ve tried, and I cannot paint what they do. And although it looks quite simple, to watch them do it, it still isn’t as simple as it looks. You may have seen someone who is very good at something, perhaps some skill that they have developed, and they can make it look very simple to do what they do. I’m sure you’ve all had this experience, of having someone who is very accomplished in some way telling you that it is easy to do, and they make it look that way too. But when you try it, you realize that it isn’t at all.
And, herein lies another source of wonder to me, that I have not always found in those with whom I have shared this thing, the sense of total awe and wonder that I feel.
By definition, what I see happening there is nothing short of a miracle. You see, I had to try it, to get a feeling of what I was seeing them do. And I could not draw as well as these “dumb animals.” So what does that make me? Less than that?
I will leave it to you to determine for yourselves just where you stand in relation to a painting elephant, after you’ve tried to do the same thing, and can’t do it. . . certainly not in the same time anyway! They, on the other hand, look fairly certain of themselves.
In the video, you can see the elephant, and his mahout (pronounced mah – hoot) , which is the word for their trainers and handlers, walking towards a standing canvas on a tripod. And then the mahout hands the elephant a paint brush and a palette box. The elephant looks at the canvas for awhile, and then, begins to paint, line by line, stroke by stroke. just as any artist would do in the same situation. At first, it just looks as if it’s a trick of some kind, like the tricks they teach them to do in a circus, such as following one another, often holding one another’s tail with their trunks, etc. which is fine and impressive. But before long, it becomes apparent that this is no trick, but a real act of artistry on the part of the elephants.
For instance, you cannot teach an animal to do something that exhibits a good degree of artistry on its own part independently, that I know of. And that is exactly what you will see these blessed animals doing. They never even look at the mahout once they start painting, and then it becomes fairly obvious that they are doing what they are doing by their own volition, and not by someone prompting them to do it!
“Seeing is believing.” So dear friends, I invite you to key in “You Tube” on your internet browser, and when you are there, key in “painting elephants”, and watch what happens. You are likely to see not just one, but various videos that all depict different elephants doing this style of painting, and I personally feel a sense of awe whenever I see them do it.
And once you have investigated this thing, and seen for yourself what there is to be seen, and gone through all the ways of trying to explain it away, and not really being able to come up with any that fit all the criteria, then I would love to hear from you.
I have come to accept that this is one more miracle being brought about by Lord Ganesha, possibly to give people some more proof of His Presence, but more than that, of the reality of the invisible worlds and all that we all hold true and sacred, and that is the reason for our faith. We all know how gratifying it can be to receive some proof or validation for what had been previously accepted on faith alone. When I said that this was just another proof of the Invisible Worlds, I referred to a previous miracle that was performed by the same Lord some years back.
On the 21st of September, 1995, there began another phenomenon that likewise puzzled the world. It seems that a man who lived in New Delhi, India, dreamt that the elephant- headed god, Lord Ganesha, was thirsty and wanted to drink some milk. So this man, being a good Hindu, decided to give his god the milk he wanted. It should be understood that in Hinduism, it isn’t at all odd to offer the gods food and drink. Most devout Hindus keep an altar in their homes, and upon this Puja table, as it is called, are to be found their favorite gods and goddesses, to whom they may regularly offer such offerings. Various articles of devotional worship are often found here too, including food.
This practice isn’t understood by most Christians, to whom such practices would seem like a form of paganism, but this point must be understood to grasp how and why this man would so quickly act on this dream. In his mind perhaps, he was simply giving to Lord Ganesha what he had requested. But he was astounded to see that the milk was instantly absorbed, as if by a straw, by the statue of Lord Ganesha. When he repeated the act again, again it was absorbed much to his amazement. I don’t recall the specific details of how he then went to a nearby Hindu temple and showed this to a priest that was there, and that began the cycle of this phenomenon spreading throughout India, and eventually, throughout the world. It lasted for about 24 hours, and spread throughout the world wherever Hindus were and tried the practice for themselves. After that time, it ended as quickly as it had begun!
You can read about it also on the internet. You may have to key in, in your Search engine, “Ganesha Milk Miracle” to get all the details. It’s a fascinating story, and the best part is that its’ real and true. The fact that it wasn’t given any mention in most of the news reporting agencies is to be expected. These tend to confine themselves to things that are accepted by the masses already, and aren’t likely to print such stories, although there was plenty of video coverage of the events wherever they were occurring. These can be viewed as well. . .
So what I am saying is that, if you’re interested, you can, this very day, tune to your own computer internet browser, and after keying in the words, “Ganesha Milk Miracle” you can watch for yourself what was filmed at various locations around the world that fateful day, when one of the Hindu gods decided to give some sound proofs of the Reality of the Higher Worlds and Those Who inhabit them.
Now, for the very die-hard skeptics who may read this, you’ll be saying that such a thing is the easiest thing in the world to fake, trick photography, and all. And all I can say to that claim is: this is true, it is, so we’re left to our own belief systems and what they allow us to accept. This is in fact, every man’s and woman’s privilege to be able to accept and believe anything they choose to, and to disbelieve anything as well. Nobody can affect that other than the individual himself or herself. Isn’t that special and wonderful?
I think so. What that shows me is that if there is a God, or some Deity that is in fact somehow responsible for us all, at least for our existence on this planet, then that same Being did give us all the gift of Free Will, So we can choose to accept or reject whatever seems to serve our own agendas and belief systems at the time, and that is perfectly alright, and from my point of view, as it should be. . .
One of the Great Masters once remarked that an honest skeptic is someone who really loves the truth, and thus, won’t be too willing to accept what may not be that Truth. . . And yet, a dishonest skeptic is someone who will not believe the evidence even when shown the things that would prove the claim! Giving rise to an old saying: “To those who believe, no proof is necessary, and to those who do not or will not, no proof will suffice”.
Having completed my task of sharing this with you all, I am content and feel good, having done what I was asked to do by Those Who know us all, and Who want us to keep getting these reminders of our true Origin and Future. It was Their request, I am merely following it, being Their servant and messenger by my own election. Aloha!
Your friend and brother on this wonderful, glorious, but all too often mystifying Path,
Arthur Hakalani Pacheco
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