The Hindu God Ganesh Represents Wisdom and Success

A couple of years ago I finally met someone I hadhas only one tusk.
known for many years, but only on the Internet. IThere are many stories of the reason for the broken
noticed that she always wore the same pendant, atusk; the most popular is that Ganesh was given the
strange figure of a man with an elephants head andjob of writing down the epic tale known as the
wondered why such an elegant lady would be soMahabharata. At one point his pen failed and rather
attached to what looked like a funny plastic figure.than stop, Ganesh removed his tusk and carried on,
When I finally got round to asking her about it, I wasshowing he was willing to make a sacrifice to acquire
ashamed of my ignorance. It was the first time I hadknowledge. Other, less poetic stories say that the
heard of the Hindu God Ganesh.tusk was removed by a villain who stole it to make
To a western eye, Ganesh looks really strange; anivory earrings for beautiful ladies.
almost comical figure who has a man's body (and aIt's not always immediately obvious that statues of
bit of a paunch) an elephants head, four hands (atGanesh have four (and sometimes more) hands. One
least), only one tusk, and spends his time ridingis usually shown in abhaya pose that is held up with
around on a very small mouse. But Ganesh is not apalm out and fingers pointing upwards, while the
clown and to see him as a joke is to misunderstandsecond holds a sweet, a symbol of the inner self.
centuries of belief and symbolism. He is highly reveredThe other two hands will usually contain a goad and a
in the Hindu religion, where the same attributes,noose, the former being used to prod followers along
looked at in a different way, make him thethe path of truth, while the latter represents the
embodiment of wisdom and learning, the patron ofsnare of earthly desires. At his feet most statues of
science and the arts, the remover of obstacles, andGanesh show a mouse, his traditional steed. The
hence called on at the beginning of every enterprisemouse is the symbol of the intellect, wandering in and
as the god of success. It was as such that my friendout, but tamed by the greater power of the whole.
wore her pendant, not plastic but very old jade, aMany devotees believe that the strange shape of
talisman designed to bring success to each one ofthe one tusked elephant headed God mirrors the
her ventures.symbol AUM, a symbol which represents the primeval
The Hindu religion is very old and practiced over asound which was the first thing to be created and
wide area, so it isn't surprising that there are manyfrom which the rest of the universe arose. This is the
stories about the origin of the Hindu gods. In mostsymbol which is commonly used to represent all of
Hindu traditions, Ganesh is the son of Shiva and hisHinduism and its beliefs.
wife Parvati. Hindu's recognize four majorAlthough the Hindu religion has four main
denominations all of whom regard Parvati and Shivadenominations, all worship Ganesh, whose image can
as important, but for the Shakta, Parvati, whosebe found across India, Nepal and many areas of the
name means 'she of the mountains' is the SupremeFar East. For Buddhists, Ganesh appears as the god
Being and Shiva is her consort. It was Parvati whoVinayaka and is usually shown dancing. His statues
created Ganesh.appear in Nepal and Tibet. In Japan he is seen as a
Parvati is said to value her privacy, so one day whenminor god and young people call on him when looking
she wanted to bathe and had no-one around to keepfor success in love. Throughout Malaysia, Java, Bali
watch for her, Parvati used turmeric paste to createand Borneo there are temples to Ganesh and in
a boy. She gave him life and asked him to be sure toThailand his position as remover of obstacles and
guard her privacy, and this is how Ganesh was born,patron of the arts mean that there is a ceremony
without any real intervention from his 'father' Shiva.where offerings are made to Ganesh before any
When Shiva returned home he wanted to go inside,movie or TV series starts shooting.
but Ganesh followed his Mother's instructions andIndonesia is a Muslim country, but even there Ganesh
stopped him. There was a battle, and Shiva, who isis revered and his image can be found in many
Lord of Destruction, cut off the boy's head.Cambodian temples. Yet despite spreading across the
When she saw what had happened, Parvati's angerEastern world Ganesh was unknown in Europe until
knew no bounds. She demanded that Shiva amendrelatively recently, though some scholars, commenting
the situation, so he sent his servants to bring backon a statue of Ganesh where he is shown with two
the head of the first living thing they found. Theheads (one of an elephant one of a man) facing in
head belonged to an elderly elephant they had foundopposite directions have likened the image to that of
just as he was about to die, so Ganesh was broughtJanus, the two headed God of the Romans, but no
back to life and given the elephant's head.actual link between the two has been found.
By association Ganesh is regarded as strong,Whatever your view on the gods of the east or of
affectionate and loyal. Such a large head can only bethe ancients, their statues and associated symbolism
a sign of wisdom and intelligence, while the huge earsare always thought provoking. However we view
are used to carefully separate the good and the badsomething, other cultures often see (or saw) it very
and to listen to the requests of supplicants. Like thedifferently; one reason why museum quality statues
elephant Ganesh is powerful if provoked, but lovingand other artifacts make fascinating and artistic
when shown kindness. Unlike most elephants, Ganeshconversation pieces for any home.