Ganesha Festival

On September 15th we celebrated the Ganesha Festival. Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — is the most common Hindu deity we see here. Ganesha is the son of the god Shiva and Parvati, and has an elephantine head with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.
We started mid-day at a lane party which included the blessings for the idol and having children sing. Even Caden sang a little tune when we were all asked to pass the microphone to introduce ourselves. It was well-attended and a lot of fun, with great food pot luck style (including some traditional foods for the festival which Caden of course refused to eat). Interestingly, we were asked to bring the juice... hmmm. And Angela tells me its impossible not to feel under-dressed with all the women and their elaborate saris and jewelry. Still, everyone was very hospitable and explained the process and offering, and it was great to be included. Another reminder of the great neighborhood and the wonder of living here in India.

During our attendance at this, our driver, Lokesh had gone to our house with a friend and set up a “shrine” inside our house. We again went through the blessing and applied new bindis (the red spot on the forehead).

The story of Ganesha’s elephant head is: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, Parvati’s husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.