Surrender and Compassion for Elephants

Utkśipya sámbuja-karaṁ giramáha krcchrán

Náráyańákhila-guro bhagavan namas te.(8.3.32)

[Raising his trunk that held a lotus flower (as an offering), he uttered these words with great difficulty – “O Náráyańa (the refuge of all devotion), O boundless Guru, O God(Bhagavan), I surrender unto You.]

​Do you remember the story your grandmother told from the Bhagavat Purana? The elephant king, Gajendra, enjoyed life until one day, a crocodile attacked him while he bathed in the river. In pain, he remembered the Lord, who came to his rescue and granted him salvation.

​Today, elephants across Thailand, India, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia suffer as slaves in forests, temples, or tourist sites. Where is the Lord to save them? The Lord resides in our hearts, and it is this inner awakening that stirs our love for these gentle giants.

​PCAP founder Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar revealed that elephants are often misunderstood. Their destructive behavior, sometimes called “musth,” can be caused by a brain stroke, not evil intent. Like humans, elephants in pain need care, not punishment.

​The gentle animals are usually captured as babies, tortured, beaten and their spirits broken so that they can be made to work. In India, about 3,500 elephants live in captivity. Despite laws against commercial capture, many are beaten, chained, overworked, and denied proper food and medical care. Elephants used for rides often bear scars from ankush training, and many are kept in dire conditions. Reports show that 63 percent of the elephants were suffering in severely dire conditions and only 7% live in good conditions, while the majority suffer neglect and abuse.

​Despite their sacred status, these elephants often suffer from neglect and mistreatment. Taken from their families in the wild, they are shackled, beaten, whipped and exploited. They are painted and dressed in colourful decorations, then forced to stand for long hours on hot tarred roads, deprived of adequate food and water, and subjected to loud noises (such as fireworks and crowds), which leads to stress and suffering. In Kerala alone, there are approximately 500 festival elephants out of 3,500-4,000 across the country Action for Elephants” UK calls their treatment “the worst case of animal cruelty in the world.” Some wild elephants even develop a deep fear and hatred of humans due to repeated exploitation.

​We must surrender to the Lord in our hearts and act. Just as the Lord rescued Gajendra, so also we need to take action collectively to stop the capture and abuse of elephants in our states, in India, in Southeast Asia. True devotion is shown through compassion and action, creating a society where elephants are free from suffering.