Ganesha Chaturthi

Happy Birthday Ganesha!

Ganesha is known to love his sweets… and so today on the eve of Ganesha’s birthday I am going to share another sweet story of his. (the first one was in my previous Ganesha post 

For you, the yogini, this is symbolic… his story is your story and encourages you to look for the sweetness in your own life! Even through the challenges and the obstacles that Ganesha might place before you, he’s encouraging you to seek the path of sweetness, to not be reactive like he was..

and I love this story as it is about the Moon too and as you know how I love my moon sadhana’s to invite you into the cycles of life. So this phase is potent as we go towards the end of the year. these ‘holi’days are opportunities to drop into sadhana, to re-commit and come into rhythm wit he universal cycles.

We have Ganesha birthday  Ganesha Chaturthi, to clear the path, followed by autumn equinox where we fall into the cycle of dissolution and ready for renewal, then a Blood Full Moon with total eclipse and i am soooooo excited as I will see here in Barbados!  then it is my Beloved Navratri, followed by Diwali when I am in the circel of my dear  Yogini circle in London… ahh so to the beginning

Ganesha and the Moon – how the moon became cyclic

On Ganesha Birthday, he was going around from house to house, accepting the offerings of sweets, why he just loves sweets. He was happily filling his belly and ate lots and lots and lots of sweets and then set off home, really happy, his belly full just like a full churning cauldron. He set off on his mouse. Suddenly, the mouse stumbled, as it became frightened seeing a snake an Ganesha fell down off the mouse and his stomach burst open and all the sweets fell out. Hmmm Ganesha thought, now look all my sweeties, but then smiled because he got to  pick up all the sweeties  again, putting them back into his belly and he then took the snake and tied it around his belly!

Meanwhile the moon saw Ganesha doing all this and found it so funny and started to laugh and laugh so much. Ganesha saw the moon laughing and was not happy, the moon’s behaviour annoyed the Ganesha immensely. So, he pulled out one of his tusks and hurled it against the moon. At the same time, Ganesha cursed the moon that no one would look at it, on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi.  Since then, people refrain from looking at the moon, on the night of the festival.

So the moon was dark. And this was at a time when the moon was always full and so the world went into despair, where was the moonlight, where has all the inspiration gone, the stars became sad. So then the gods ask Ganesha to reconsider his curse. Ganesha at first denied, but more pleaded with him, saying the skies are dark, there is no lovemaking under the stars, the poets are losing their inspiration.. On and on they went. Eventually Ganesha said “ok… but… from now on the moon will shine again but it will wax and wane, sometimes there will be light and others nights there will be none.  And so the face of the goddess has equal faces of light and dark. becoming full before turning inward once again.” this is how we got the  rhythm and cycles of the moon and life.

Symbolism for you

Ganesh riding his mouse represents the Truth Seeker, you yearning for more…

the sweeties are an invitation to always look for the sweeter aspect of a situation rather than react and curse, like Ganesha did and we all do. Sometimes honey in life isn’t sweet, yet look for the good, for the sweetness, embrace the dark like the dark of the moon after Ganesha placed a curse.

And the snake is the Kundalini Shakti, it’s tied around Ganesha belly because Ganesha clears the path for the Shakti in her form to rise and Kundalini Shakti rises as you as the yogini begins to rise and conquer the obstacles in life. Just like the mouse was frightened, you may fear the change as Kundalini awakens, yet remember the sweeties in the belly, the cauldron of Ganesha belly. the cauldron churns, you will churn in life, yet, always seek the sweetness in the many phases and changes will you digest all of life peacefully?. just like the moon got her waxing and waning… everything changes!

Ganesha is about thresholds. new beginnings… are you ready for this threshold now in 2015… preparing you for 2016 – yes I know universally it is… YET, As you start to evolve, you sit at a threshold, a place of old self and the unknown – new one – do you recognise this stage at any time in your life? or now?

This is a sign your in true transformation, expanding your edge and evolving, it’s empowering time yet it doesn’t always feel like that. Your Yoga practice helps to nurture to support, guide, release… and seek the sweetness Ganesha so loves.
When things become challenging, we become reactive and want to run the other way – compassion for your self is essential. Resting in the ground of your being, embracing your light and still staying open, not allowing the dark to consume , is where your personal practice is finding your edge and observe being at the threshold, discovering how you can go to your edge without running away or reacting so you can connect to all that is. – this is the place to B R E A T H E and deep and exhale with sounds of haaaaa soft or strong… in time this time will wane and begin to rise, just like the moon and the story.

Ganesha Chaturthi – Ganesha Birthday

On the eve of Ganesha Chaturthi, view it as another threshold, a gateway so over the next 11 days invoke and honour Ganesha. allow the obstacles to become the gateway,  a portal or a teacher within that is encouraging you towards deep growth and use the practices to breakthrough…

Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha

May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May He remove all the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

 

Aum shrim hrim klim glaum gam ganapataye vara varada sarva janamme vashamanaya svaha

there are several bija (seed) mantras in this mantra, that contain all the teachings. Shower Your blessings, O Ganapati. I offer my ego in devotion…