Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Mouse of Lord Ganesha

Namaste, fair readers. I come to you in this post with an observation that I hope you will find insightful. It has to do with Lord Ganesha's vehicle, popularly depicted as a mouse.

I think I more clearly understand why Shri Ganesha has a mouse for His vehicle. I shall explain below.

Today, as I've mulled over the day's events in my life, I noticed something about myself, and this is a tendency I have observed in others as well - we, as human beings, get caught up in the little details of life. These little details can make or break our mood and our perspective on life. We could have an otherwise pleasant day, and then one small thing happens - someone is mean to us, some unfortunate circumstance happens, etc. - and suddenly our day is ruined. Our mood turns foul, and we have a negative perspective of life. But the converse is true as well - we could have a really terrible, horrible, no-good-very-bad day, but then a fortunate occurrence happens or a random act of kindness comes our way, and all is well again.

The trick, I've discovered, is knowing when to focus on the little, and when to focus on the big picture instead. Likewise, Ganesha, a deity with a large body and the head of an elephant, has a small vehicle of a mouse.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

There's probably a myriad of other historical and/or socio-biological reasons why Shri Ganesha has a mouse. I'm not discounting those. But for me, just now I understand another aspect of life and happiness thanks to His help.

And that is another reason why Lord Ganesha is my Ishta Devata. Jai Shri Ganesh!

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