GANESH ! Remover of Obstacles
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Ganesh smooths the way for all good things to happen. He is often drawn as very sweet and not at all like the powerful force that he is - like here. He is in disguise...
Ganesh is like that uncle who knows everyone and can introduce you to anyone, and so when sadhus want help from the gods, or if they want to get anything done in the world, they ask for Ganesh’s help first. But how did this come to pass, you may ask?
Well. One day, the goddess Parvati asked Nandi the bull to guard the door while she was taking a bath. When Síva, her husband, came home, Nandi let him in, being Síva’s loyal servant. Parvati’s perfect immortal beauty was momentarily disrupted by the appearance of frown lines, the first time in, well, ever. Just as the furniture was beginning to shake as if an earthquake was imminent, she came up with an idea. Taking a handful of tumeric and mixing it with water, she made a little clay boy named Ganesh.
Ganesh guarded the door for Parvati’s next bath. Síva came home, and Ganesh refused to let him in. The impertinence! Síva asked the Creator to cut off the boy’s head and Brahma promptly did the deed. Parvati was livid — storm clouds hid, scuttling behind mountains, and all the people in the kingdom fled to the fields. Parvati screamed at the top of her lungs: “I will destroy all of creation unless Brahma brings Ganesh back to life — AND makes him supreme before all the gods!”
Viscerally feeling the fact that there is nothing as frightening as the wrath of a mother, Brahma and Síva scrambled to find a new head for the boy. The first they found was an elephant’s — “This will have to do,” Brahma huffed, out of breath, and they hurriedly placed the elephant head on Ganesha’s body and breathed the breath of life back into him. Brahma hastily fulfilled Parvati’s other demand and gave Ganesh dominion over all the gods of earth, sea and sky, and then slipped out the back door before he could get himself into any more trouble.
Finally Parvati and Síva were alone - Parvati smiled and nestled into her husband’s side and Síva tentatively placed his arm around her. They turned to watch the setting sun as Ganesh attempted to put a flower in Nandi’s ear while Nandi balanced Ganesh on his nose… and peace returned to the world.
© Laura Santi
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Ganesh has a large stomach to peacefully digest all the good and bad in life. He has multiple arms so he can do all his supernatural powers. His axe cuts off all bonds and attachments. His raised hand means he protects the people who love him. Sometimes he holds a radish – this symbolizes abundance, which helps devotees to grow. He holds sweets in another hand that represent Liberation, the reward of work, which is the sweetest thing of all. He only has one tusk, which reminds us to keep the good and throw the rest away. His large ears encourage us to listen, and his small eyes to concentrate. His friend is a mouse, which symbolizes that he has controlled his desires.
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