Everyone comes across obstacles in their lives. In spite of many attempts, some of the tasks that we undertake or propose to complete remain unfinished. We face several hurdles, and the activities get post poned.
During such situations, our elders and wise men suggest that we worship Lord Ganesha.
Lord Ganesha is loved by people of all ages. Ganesh Chathurthi festival is celebrated with a lot of festivity. Different and creative forms of Ganesha can be seen during this festival.
There are several ways to interpret the form of Ganesha and the meaning behind them.
Hoeever, I always wondered as to why one worships Lord Ganesha or Lord Vighneshwara for clearing all the obstacles in whatever we undertake. ‘Vighna’ in sanskrit is obstacles, and ‘ishwara’ is Lord. As per Hindu custome ,during pujas, we first worship Lord Ganesha and then worship other God’s.
While trying to understand the concept of Ganesha ,I seriously pondered over the story of how Lord Shiva cuts the head of Ganesha when he refuses to permit him to go inside the house. Parvati devi ,the consort of Lord Shiva ,creates a boy using the dirt from her body and infuses life in him.This boy Ganesha is a conscious being and is blessed with free will too. Maa Parvati tells the boy to guard the main door and not permit anyone inside the house as she is taking a bath.
What i understand from this is that all creation is created by Maa Parvati, also called ‘Shakti’. Shakti is the power that creates all living and non-living things in the universe ,including the planets, the stars, the mountains, rivers,trees, animals ,insects, and humans. The creative principle of the Supreme is worshipped in the female form of Shakti, and the consciousness principle is worshipped in the male form of Lord Shiva.
Humans are the only animals that are blessed with consciousness and free will.
This boy Ganesha did not recognize Lord Shiva, who is the Supreme consciousness because of his ego and doesn’t permit him to go inside the house. The boy thinks that he is the most powerful. This is unacceptable to Lord Shiva and cuts off his head and replaces with the head of an elephant. An elephant has a big head, which symbolically implies being wise or intelligent.
The story is trying to convey that when we do not recognize the power of the Supreme Almighty and assume that we are all powerful, we will be punished. The punishment may also be in the form of all the hurdles that we come across in our day to day life.
When we worship Ganesha, we let go of our ego , become humble, and accept that there is a higher power, which is also present in everyone , in every being and everywhere. This Supreme consciousness knows what is best for us and also helps us in overcoming the obstacles in our lives.
Jai Ganesha !
