Ganesha Festival — the elephant headed boy riding a mouse

Ganesha is one of the most well-known Gods of Hindu religion, which has five prime Deity’s. He is the
destroyer of obstacles, vanity and pride.  The Lord of success, knowledge and wealth.  He is a symbol, just as Jesus, Buddha, Thoth, Horus and the life giving omnipotent Sun is to their respective religions.

How this boy got the head of an elephant is another story of which I won’t go into here.

“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.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.”  - Source: Hinduism Guide

Note the Om symbol on the left and Svastika on the right.

Another

If one were interested, you could look up the ancient meanings behind “Amen” and “Om”. You would find some similarities. J

No matter what religion you are or are not, the lessons are all the same. In the texts of sacred writings, almost nothing is meant to be taken in a literal sense. Even the scriptures that seem to have a simple straight forward understanding are still a parable to the hidden truth.  Just as the Masonic degrees to me and countless others, are parables to a deeper lesson. One Word, or one Symbol, once understood properly can point to volumes of knowledge you never knew existed.  You know what you know; you know what you don’t know. But you don’t know what you don’t know until you stumble upon a new Truth

Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha’s birthday is celebrated every year in India for almost a month. His birthday comes during the Hindu month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). from mid August to mid September. Here in Palolem, Heidi and I got to participate in the celebration on many nights of this month-long event. Almost every night around 7pm we would hear fireworks randomly exploding in the distance. Once darkness came the fireworks became more frequent. Soon we would hear loud music coming from the edge of town. Eventually the parade of cars, scooters and people dancing would make it to main street of Palolem. One car, or large truck, if the Ganesha was very large, would have the Ganesha in the rear hatchback. It would be decorated with flowers, Indian treats, and other alms, all as offerings to the Deity.  The treats were also handed out to anyone present for the celebration, including us.  Another vehicle would be blasting Hindu music and the streets would resemble a moving Disco. After slowly moving through town the Ganesha vehicle would back up to the entrance of the beach. The Ganesha would be unloaded with all reverence and carried to the beach and placed on a pedestal. More dancing, offerings, singing, and loads of fireworks continued, some blasts sounded like dynamite. 

When the ceremony was properly completed, Ganesha would be taken to the sea and submerged in the waters, eventually carried out to the depths of the ocean by the tide regularly ebbing and flowing. With it taking the misfortunes of all mankind, until the next year, when Hindu’s with great misfortune wish he would come early to relieve their troubles J

Below are some video’s of the celebration. Usually this party would last until at least 2am.

 

Can you find the man who had too much to drink?

Even the dogs were celebrating.

Last one, on the beach