A Jumbo Theology

Brahmadathan. He has a very Brahminical name but despite his purist name he may soon be barred from entering temples in Kerala. His kingdom does not know the malice of religions and yet now it is imposed on him. He is one of the many domesticated elephants in Kerala. `The spectacular visual treats of the temple festivals here is incomplete without caparisoned elephants. To understand what elephants mean to Malayalis go to Orkut Communities and search for Guruvayoor Padmanabhan or Pambadi Rajan. They simply command more fan following than many celebrities. The call sheet of a pageant quality tusker is heavily booked during the season. They bring serious money for the owner. Couple of years back Guruvayoor Padmanabhan was auctioned for more than 2.5 lakhs a day. I know, you are feeling pity about your salary.

The reason for Brahmadathan’s possible ban is anachronistic though. His owner is a Christian so technically he is a Christian elephant. It is rumored that a Hindu fanatic political group had sent a warning to temple authorities to stay away from non Hindu elephants. A vast majority of these elephants are owned by Christian businessmen. The primary religion of businessmen is money so they have no pang in naming these elephants with the choicest of traditional Hindu names. That’s the motive behind giving a chaste Brahmin name for Brahmadathan; not because he is a vegetarian or because his owner is an ardent secularist. Elephants that are given non Hindu names will lose out heaps of cash that they fetch for their owners from these festivals during the season. Hence don’t find it funny if you hear about Akbar. He is a Muslim elephant but camouflages that name during the festival season and gets a traditional Hindu name.

The Hindu fundamentalists’ point of view is very clear. Non Hindus shall not enter the temple, be it people or elephants. May be they are also suspecting that the sudden spurt in elephant menace and killings in the temples is a part of the unholy ploy of the other religions. How can a Hindu organization tolerate the murder of Hindus by Christian or Muslim elephants? Yes, these elephants are anti Hindu or may even be religious terrorists.

God; there is no hope for you. Religions are not going to release you from their holy prisons soon. Pollutant and perverted are their theology. It already irrevocably poisoned the human existence and now they would blot the innocence of the animals too.