In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha has elephant head, he is the deity,
who is worshiped first before any ceremony and any other gods and goddesses. We
know the story why and how the head of Ganesha was chopped and replaced with an
elephant head by his father, Lord Shiva. Why lord Shiva replaced the head of impertinent
Ganesha with the head of an elephant, why not of other animals or head of any
other human? No mythological story exist without any logic. What is the logic
behind this head replacement?
The chopping of the head and replacing with the elephant head
is the significance of the replacing your thought with the bigger one. Lord
Ganesha could not recognize his father and fought with his father. It is the
indication of ignoring the divinity. In order to make lord Ganesha a divine one,
he replaced his head with bigger and intelligent one.
Again, why elephant head? For that, let us understand the
brain of an elephant. The brain of the elephant
is the biggest brain among all living animals in comparison with their body.
The hippo- campus, the part of the brain is for a long memory, Cerebral cortex is
the part of the brain that enables problem solving ability.These parts are
found in the brain of an elephant which absent in most of the other animals. Elephant
has post-traumatic disorder, means, he cries on something wrong happens with
him or with someone associated with him. They work cooperatively to accomplish
the task. It shows his concern of the society and living in co-operation. His
big ears are the symbol of his listening ability. His big ears help to hear something
from far. At many occasions, he uses his body language to communicate the
things.
Elephant creates arts by choosing different colors and
elements. They can recognize twelve distinct tones of music. They have sense of
empathy, altruism and justice. This is the only animal who performs the burial
rituals and returning to visit graves like humans. They show concern for other
species as well. Elephants safeguard human from injuries. He is one of the few
species who can recognize his faces in the mirror. They are conscious,
intelligent and emotional beings.
His trunk is the symbol of intelligence and sensitivity.
Even a small ant entered into the trunk of the elephant can take his life away,
it shows his sensitivity. His intelligence prevents insects entering into his
body. The elephant, by using the strength of his body, makes the way for other
animals in the dense forest, it means, he is a way maker for others. The small eyes of an elephant make the image of an object bigger than its original. It implies that he looks everyone big and ignore no one. With his small eyes, he can see the objects of far distance. It implies the vision.
In this way, the big head of elephant is the significance of
big thought, emotion, intelligence, vision, listening ability, caring for others and
wisdom. The wisdom is the most beautiful thing of all the other beauties. All
other beauties fade away with time, but the wisdom is the timeless beauty. That
is why, wisdom should be worshiped before any temporary things. This is the
reason, lord Ganesha head was chopped and replaced with an elephant head and he
is worshiped before any work.
