Ganesha Gauri Relationship As the 9th of September 2013 comes closer, the whole world and particularly all

of India is setting things in order to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in honourof the Vighneshwara, Lord Ganesha- remover of all obstacles. The internet is literally flooded with millions of people trying to find out more and more about this strange yet obviously popular Hindu elephant headed God Lord Ganesha. Especially on the occasion of Chaturthi and throughout the year, people continuously search for more information on Lord Ganesha and those who wish to follow him even more closely, go ahead and try to acquire Ganesha Mantras or sacred Vedic and Puranic chants that have been used by people for over three thousand years in order to invoke the blessings of the God with curved tusks- Vakratunda. It is during these searches that people come across the fabulous stories about Lord Ganeshas birth and of his life. The most powerful Mantra used to invoke the Lord is known as the Ganesha Mool Mantra or the Ganesh Beej Mantra. This Mantra is also related to Gayatri and Gauri. Some of the more avid initiates in the legends of Ganesha try to find out everything about the Lords personal life, including the relationships he may have with other Gods and Goddesses. The most significant relationship Ganesha has, more than with any other deity happens to be his relationship with Gauri. Gauri is another name for Goddess Parvati who s in fact Lord Ganeshas mother. Gauri is a Sanskrit word that signifies a certain kind of divine glow, emitted by Goddess Parvati. Since Goddess Parvati is also known as Shakti which again literally translates from Sanskrit to English as Power, signifies the bond She shares with Lord Shiva. Shiva and Shakti are the male and female principle that come together to make all life and creation possible. Shiva is incomplete without Shakti and vice-versa. Lord Ganesha holds the rare distinction of being born out of pure power. He was birthed by Goddess Parvati without any contribution from Lord Shiva. It is said that Parvati wanted a child but Shiva somehow felt that a child would be a distraction to his life as an ascetic. Despondent but determined, Parvati was said to have gone into a deep meditation. When she emerge out of it, she removed the bathing paste off her body and made a statue of a boy out of it, much like a potter shaping clay. Then, she went a step further and breathed life into it, thus Lord Ganesha was born. The important thing to remember about this is the fact that the turmeric and sandalwood paste that is traditionally used by women in India for beautification purpose was the same that Parvati used. She is the fair one, and the ritual bath always added to her beauty. Lord Shiva always interrupted this bath despite clear instructions from Parvati. Nobody in Kailash dared to stop Lord Shiva until Ganesha came into the

scene. So the creation of Ganesha by Gauri is a highly political act that expresses the issue of womens agency and their rights even within the private sphere of their homes. The pleasantly surprising fact is that such an advanced idea about social rights and responsibility had found utterance in legends of India that literally go back thousands of years. The Ganesha Gauri relationship therefore brings to us tales of union between the truly beautiful and the truly capable. Ganesha is so capable that he can fight all the Gods including Lord Shiva to defend the promise he made to his mother and Gauri in turn is so brutally fair that the mellow beauty she possesses can transform into the most destructive feminine energy as Shakti. Parvatis nine avatars of destruction, which included Gauri can unleash havoc on all of creation in order to avenge the wrong done to Ganesha by every other male God, including Shiva. This beautiful relationship between mother and child exhibited by Ganesha and Gauri not only sets an admirable example but also serves to foreground the fact that Lord Ganesha at a philosophical level, stands for success and prosperity, but only when their pursuit is undertaken with honesty and in all fairness. Earnestness and single-minded focus with which Ganesha blesses his devotees actually serves to remind us of the true, unlimited potential each of us has by the simple virtue of being human. One does not have to be a Hindu to appreciate the messages; one has to simply have a rational and open mind, receptive to life changing paradigms. For more visit : http://www.theganeshaexperience.com