Lord Ganesha’s festival is here. Our beautiful city, Mumbai shines brighter with lights and colors. The vibe is festive, streets are energetic and people are all smiles. Mumbai is His city and He brings along unadulterated joy. Communities prepare for the 10 days with enthusiasm. People keep their commitments on hold, they forget their schedules and be around the deity.
I feel motivated to pay my tribute to Lord Ganesha. Here is an article that narrates 3 important things that he symbolizes, he teaches, he depicts.
Beauty is within. It is not in your body shape or structure; it is your deeds and soul that matters. An ancient story says that when Gods went to attend Lord Vishnu’s wedding, they did not take Lord Ganesha along because he looked odd and ate too much. When Ganesha came to know about the reason he told his confidante, the little mouse to dig the mud on the entire route which the procession was going to take. The wheels of the wedding chariot got stuck in the mud. When they called a local farmer to help, he said, “Oh Lord Ganesha, please help!!!” All the Gods felt small and ugly because of their thoughts. They apologized to Him and requested him to accompany them.
Let there be playfulness in life. Lord Ganesha reminds us of cheerfulness. Even when he reached adulthood, he retained his happy go luckiness. One story aptly narrates that how even while taking up important tasks we can be playful. Ganesha was known to be a good scribe and Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa approached Him to pen the epic of Mahabharata for him. He agreed but with a condition that Vyasa must recite all the verses without a pause. Vyasa knew that Ganesha wrote at a good speed and he understood the trickery. He put a reverse condition where he said that Ganesha would write the verse only after he fully understood the meaning. The duo – Ganesha and Vyasa took over three years to complete the epic with over 100,000 verses.
Forgiveness is a mark of wisdom. Lord Ganesha was known for forgiving easily. Once Matsaryasur, a dangerous demon managed to please Lord Shiva and took from him a boon of immortality. He was blessed and Shiva said he will not be destroyed by any human, God or demon. Lost in his power he started committing atrocities on the innocent beings of the three worlds. Ganesha took the form of Vakratunda, fought ferociously and captured him. However, when Matsaryasur asked for forgiveness, he set him free and upheld peace over vengeance. We hold grudges against our near and dear ones. Petty issues keep us from rising to higher levels of love and friendliness. It is time to give a thought – Is all the bitterness worth your time?
In India we celebrate numerous festivals. We should spend some time learning about the relevance of the same. Lord Ganesha is always regarded as a friend who helps in time of trouble. Easily approachable, it is even easier to please him with simple acts of love and kindness.
This Ganesh Chaturthi let us resolve to imbibe the above values in our life. If you know about others, please share in the comments section.