Some Thoughts on Rhinos

By Dawn Raffel

On a recent visit to Providence, while a group was sitting around the kitchen table, Swami Yogatmananda suggested I write a blog post about rhinoceroses. At first, I thought this was a joke, but after pondering it for a while, I decided to take the challenge.

The topic arose because I had been talking about my abiding interest in elephants. I wrote a blog post about them over a year ago and am enmeshed in writing a novel in which an elephant figures prominently. I mentioned that while visiting an elephant orphanage in Nairobi, I also saw an orphaned baby rhino.

"Why don't you write a blog post about rhinos?" Swami said.

"But I don't know anything about rhinos."

Swami laughed. "You don't know anything about elephants either, and still you wrote about them."

Well, that is true. But still--what could I say about rhinos? Many people share my fascination with elephants. We might view these highly intelligent creatures as majestic or fearsome, sacred or utilitarian, or even, in the context of an orphanage or circus, cute. Rhinos are funny-looking. They invite sympathetic curiosity and we may very well regret that they are hunted to the point of near-extinction, but they don't hold much of a place in our imagination. We seldom incorporate a rhinoceros into artwork or mythology, nor do we project our own stories and emotions onto these animals.

I was still thinking about this the next day, when Swami led a guided meditation. Swami explained that the ultimate goal of meditation is to experience God within--and also, upon opening our eyes, to see God everywhere. This goal can take many, many years, decades, and lifetimes to achieve.

A daylong silent meditation followed. Later that night and for several days afterward, I contemplated the rhino some more. It's quick to the lips to say that rhinos, like all animals and, for that matter, all people, are God's creatures, belonging to God, made by God. Those sneaky little possessives and prepositions, which we use reflexively, bake duality into the language. Labels establish difference. But is this the Truth?

Swami has frequently used the example of Animal Crackers to teach a lesson about oneness. The cookies come in different shapes but they are all exactly the same thing. Elephant, rhino, monkey, this and that person...all these shapes, differences, and distinctions are not real.

Many years ago, I had a writing teacher who used to say, "Put your pencil in the right place." What he meant was, "Choose your topic wisely." But perhaps I could argue that the "topic" doesn't matter because, as with all the labels, it is also not real. So why not the rhinoceros? One could select any topic. Ultimately, wouldn't our inquiries point us to the same Truth? Rhinos are famous for their thick skin (undeterred by public opinion), fearless and dashing. Good qualities for a spiritual aspirant, aren’t they? Swami Vivekananda, in a letter to his brother disciples, advised them to move fearlessly like a rhino.