Elephant goad: Difference between revisions

The elephant goad is a polysemic [[iconographic]] ritual tool in [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]], in the inclusive [[rubric]] of [[Dharmic Traditions]].{{citation needed|date=February 2011}}

The elephant has appeared in cultures across the world. They are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par with [[cetaceans]]<ref name="fusukt">{{cite web|url=http://tursiops.org/dolfin/guide/smart.html |title=What Makes Dolphins So Smart? |publisher=Discovery Communications |access-date=2007-07-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/68odq4rDt?url=http://tursiops.org/dolfin/guide/smart.html |archive-date=2012-06-30 }}</ref> and [[hominids]].<ref name = "hfezyk">{{cite web|url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/ar/2001/00000062/00000005/art01815|title=Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants: use and modification of branches for fly switching |publisher=BBC|access-date = 2007-07-31}}</ref> [[Aristotle]] once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind".<ref name=O>{{cite book | last = O'Connell | first = Caitlin | title = The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Lives of the Wild Herds of Africa | publisher = Simon & Schuster | year = 2007 | location = [[New York City]] | pages = [https://archive.org/details/elephantssecrets0000ocon/page/174 174, 184] | isbn = 978-0-7432-8441-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/elephantssecrets0000ocon/page/174 }}</ref> The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ἐλέφας|ἐλέφας]]}}, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".<ref name="COED">{{cite book |last=Soanes |first=Catherine |author2=Angus Stevenson |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-929634-0 |year=2006}}</ref>

In the above quotation the metaphor of 'directing' is employed. In 'directing' consciousness or the mind to introspectively [[apperceive]] the directive forded by the goad is key.