Hindu Culture

mayo 31, 2018

Hi there!

How are you? Freezing? Me too! And winter doesn't come yet! OMG! Meanwhile, I'm enjoying a delicious cup of coffee with milk. Hope you're doing the same. If not, take some minutes FOR YOU and RELAX for a while. Believe me, at this time of the year and with this kind of weather, it's worthy of consideration!

Well, let's start with this new post. I wanted to write and I didn't know what about. So, I thought, thought and thought and there it was! Elephants. But not any elephant, I mean Ganesha (apart from that, one of my favourite animals are elephants haha). Some people know me really well and notice I love Hindu culture. I can spend hours writing or talking about this beautiful culture.

GANESHA

The Lord of all these groups of atoms and energies is called Ganesha. He is the supreme consciousness that pervades everything and brings order to this universe. Ganesha is energy itself, that is why he is the reason of this universe. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, intellect and wisdom. Ganesha is also the Lord of Good Fortune who provides prosperity, fortune and success.

HOW DID GANESHA BECOME AND ELEPHANT-HEADED GOD?

Parvati (Hindu goddess of devotion and love) got dirty while celebrating with Shiva. When she realized, she cleaned her body and created a young man whom she asked to stand guard while she was bathing. When Shiva returned, the boy didn't recognize him and, therefore, didn't let him enter the house. Consequently, Shiva cut off the boy's head and entered. Parvati was shocked and explained to Shiva that the young man was their son and begged Shiva to save him at any cost. Moreover, he instructed his servants to go and get the head of someone who was looking at the north. So, they obtained the head of an elephant, which was fixed by Shiva to the torso of the boy and thus Ganesha was born.

BUT... WHY AN ELEPHANT HEAD?

Resultado de imagen para elefantes hindues

The elephants represent wisdom and strength. His huge head represents knowledge. Elephants don't walk around obstacles, nor do obstacles stop them. They take them out of the way and keep walking. So, when we worship Lord Ganesha, these elephants' qualities are transmitted to us.

AND... WHY GANESHA TRAVEL IN SOMETHING AS SMALL AS A MOUSE?

Again, the symbolism is profound. The mouse gnaws and cuts the rope that bind. The mouse is like the mantra that can break the ignorance and lead to knowledge represented by Ganesha.

GANESH CHATURTHI

It is a 10-day festival marking the birth of the elephant-headed deity Ganesha, the god of prosperity and wisdom. It begins on the fourth day of August or September depending on the moon calendar. At the conclusion of the festival, some statues are carried to local rivers in huge processions accompanied by drumbeats, devotional singing, and dancing. There, they are immersed, a ritual symbolizing Ganesha’s journey to Mount Kailas to gather with his parents Shiva and Parvati.