The Erawan Shrine - A Source of Hope

In the mid-1950's Thailand had been selected to host a grand international conference. The government of the day were concerned that there was not a hotel of a standard to host the delegates. There was The Trocadero, The Ratanakosin, and The Oriental- La Grande Dame had yet to receive her makeover, the three just didn't make the grade. It therefore put out to tender the contract to build The Erawan Hotel, but there were no takers. The government was left with little choice than to build it for themselves.

Whoever was in charge of the project appears to have overlooked the importance of starting construction on an auspicious date. Every stage of the construction was delayed and it seemed as if everything was going wrong. The construction workers from up country had an uncanny knack for sensing when something was wrong, it was just a matter of time until there would be a serious injury. At this time Thailand had yet to have it's own marbel quarrying and the stone had to be imported from overseas. The final straw was the loss of a shipload of Italian Marble that simply never arrived in the Port of Bangkok.

Enough was enough, the construction workers en-mass down tools until something was done to appease the land spirts. The Board of Directors of Thai United Hotel and Tour Co Ltd, the company attempting build the hotel gave Police Major General M.L. Jare Suthat the task of sorting the problem out. He sought of the adviser of an eminent astrologer Real Admiral Luang Suwicharnpat as to what could possibly to done to correct the situation. After detailed studying of his chart and making various calculation he discovered that the foundation stone for the hotel was not laid at an auspicious time. This could have been disaster for the project as Thais are very superstious and always seek spirtitual guidance as when is best to sign a contract, marry or buy a car.

All was not lost, the Real Admiral had found a solution. It would be necessary to construct a shrine to Brahma and a shrine to the land spirit. It was built in honour of the highest ranking Brahma God - the four faced Than Tao Mahaprom as it was the most auspicious and would counter the oversight with the foundation stone. The image was designed by Jitr Pimkowit, a handicraft technician at the Fine Arts Department. It was cast in plaster of Paris and gilded with finest quality gold. It was put in it's home on the corner of Rajdamri and Ploenchit Roads on 9th November 1956 - the date that is regarded as the anniversary of the shrine and when thousands of faithful believers return to seek help and advice.

With the shrine in place the rest of the construction of the hotel was completed without a hitch. The magic worked.

Than Tao Mahaprom is believed to be a Brahma god full of kindness, mercy, sympathy and impartiality. Each virtue is represented in the four faces of the image, radiating serene grace. His name for most foreign visitors was to hard to remember let alone pronounce. So with time he became known as the Erawan Shrine, named after his personal vechile, the three headed Erawan Elephant. This symbol of to be adopted as the logo for the hotel and today is the sub-symbol for Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.

The Erawan Shrine is the first of many in Bangkok to be dedicated to Than Tao Mahaprom, and is unquestionably the most beautiful.

People quickly became to realize the power of the Erawan Shrine and it soon became a custom to come to the shrine to ask from something in either your personal or business life that you desperately needed. I will never know how it is known which flowers each of the Gods favour. But clearly for Than Tao Mahaprom its marigolds, a gold colour of prosperity and garlands of Jasmine. A herd of wooden elephant are delivered daily at his feet.

There is not enough space to accommodate the flow of offering and every couple of hours attendants have to clear what has been given to make space for that which will be delivered.

From time to time upcountry hospitals and hotel will seek permission to have one of the large wooden elephant to grace their lobby. This is willingly granted as it known that and elephant that has come from the Erawan Shrine will be treated with great respect and have a garland of golden marigolds placed daily around its neck.

Once the wish had been granted believers would return and hire two, four, six or eight dancers who will sing in praise of the shrine - a very appreciative thank you.

Daily busload of tourists from Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong visit the shrine as part of their tour of the capital to ask for good luck in their business. Believers pray for something they need rather than want. They will ask the spirits to show them how to improve their business or to have a new idea to solve a nagging problem. Beware that the request is not motivated by greed, asking for something that you want rather than need.

There is a tale of one lady that needed some help with important aspect of her personal life, no doubt the chance to marry, that she promised if her wish was granted, she would return and dance naked in the moonlight. She got what she wanted and duly returned. A screen was put up around the shrine and under the cover of darkness performed the dance, dressed as just as she had been born.

One can do nothing in Bangkok without someone gossiping about it. Tounges wagged as expected. While understanding the lady's wish to repay her debt of honour, it was felt to be lacking in respect for the God to expose oneself to him The practice was immediately discouraged.

The PR of a certain hotel in Bangkok confided in me that the morning of the day of the interview for the job that she so desperately wanted, she went to shrine to ask for help. Needless to say she got the job, and on her first morning returned to the shrine and hired eight dancers to show her heart felt gratitude.

The Erwan Shrine is cared for by the Than Tao Mahaprom Foundation and daily generous donations are received. In 1967 the Foundation Board of Directors realized that the donations they received were far in excess of what they needed for repair and maintenance of the Shrine Lt-Gen Chalermchai Charuvastr suggested a fund should be established to give the money to hospitals in rural areas to buy medical equipment to treat needy patients. This became "The Erawan Hotel Brahma Shrine Fund" and to date has donated 467 million bath.

What ever our religion we all need something to believe in during times of hardship and crisis. The Erawan Shrine has given many people the inner strength to ease the burden of their lives while struggling to overcome problems.