The 10-day celebration of Ganesh is nearly complete, ending on the full moon September 7th. If you read my last post, you will recall the story of Ganesh, the elephant God born from Parvathi’s desire to have a devoted protector If you haven’t checked it out, you might want to peek at that one first: LINK HERE. I shared the story of Ganesha’s birth, death, and return to life, all in the course of a single day!
Today’s post is a sweet share that tips a hat to another love of mine–Ayurveda–and the five constitutional elements, or pancha mahabhutas, that make up all of life: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Ganesh is well known as the stable, grounded, somewhat stubborn, loveable protector, associated with the element Earth. Thus, Ganesh rules the muladhara chakra, the root, the energy center of the body typically associated with earth and the qualities he embodies as a being. Ganesh is often seen with red flowers in his hands or adorning his forehead, red being the color of the root chakra and the red earth of India.
While balanced earth element brings physical and emotional stability and groundedness, too much earth can get you stuck. Likewise, too little earth and excess air, and we are floating away untethered. Let’s dig in a little deeper.
When the root chakra is out of balance, there is either too much or too little earth at play. Too much earth can show up as lethargy, depression, and resentment, being attached to things, ideas, people, food, etc. If there is too little earth, someone might lack grounding, experience anxiety or scattered thinking, and feel unstable in their body or mind, feel uncomfortably cold or experience dryness. When the root chakra is balanced, however, we feel calm, supported by and connected to our tribe, physically stable, and mentally put together (thank you earth+water=stability!).
The stories of Ganesh show us that our dear elephant god has the capacity to be overly attached to his sweets (too much earth element), while in other tales, Earth is his superpower, keeping him calm, slow, grounded, and content to just be. Let’s have a wee story or two, shall we?
Did you ever wonder how Ganesh ended up with a broken tusk? It’s one of my all-time favorite stories of the gods, and I think you’ll see why. It all begins with a grand feast held for Ganesha on his birthday. Picture sweets galore, so many you couldn’t possibly taste them all.. but one particular dessert is Ganesha’s fancy, and he loves it so much that his mother has made sure there is a mountain of them: modakas! These little rice dumplings brimming with coconut and jaggery are his very favorite, and so Ganesha can’t help himself. He eats and eats so many of the coconut treats that his belly balloons to capacity! After his birthday feast is over, Ganesh climbs precariously up onto his VERY undersized chariot driven by Mooshika, his devoted little mouse, who steers the diminutive cart down the moonlit road under Ganesha’s weight. Mooshika tries desperately to keep the rattling cart on the road, but it’s all over when the mouse sees a snake slither in front of them, and when he veers to the side, Ganesh tumbles out of the topsy turvy cart in a heap. His giant belly pops, exploding all of his sweets like a canon! In his distress, Ganesh bumbles around in the moonlight, desperately picking up all the modakas, and stuffs them back into his belly! In a flash of insight, he grabs the snake and quickly ties it around his belly to hold all the sweets inside! Can you imagine the scene?
Chandra, the full moon, who has been watching the whole fiasco unfold, is so amused and begins to chuckle and then to laugh out loud. Poor Ganesh, frustrated and embarrassed, cracks off one of his tusks, hurls it up at the laughing moon, and POP! Out goes the moonlight, and all the world is dark!
We can see how overindulgence, attachment to food (or anything), frustration and resentment (no one likes to be made fun of) can lead to a disastrous situation. Don’t worry, dear reader, I promise to continue this story in my 3rd and final post on Ganesh, but for now, let’s get back to the elements and another Ganesh tale that demonstrates the best of how Earth shows up in our dear Ganesh!
Because he is so rooted (and perhaps a little bit lazy), Ganesh often chooses the path of least resistance (and for Ganesh, least exertion is key); but his sweet temperament, paired with his deep wisdom makes up for his preference for moving a bit slower–or shall we say, more mindfully?
One day, Ganesh and his brother Kartikeya, the valiant God of War, are hanging with their parents Lord Shiva and the goddess Mata Parvathi, when they are challenged to a special task! Now, before I tell the story, know that Ganesh and Kartikeya are about as different as two brothers can be: Ganesh is portly and jolly, the epitome of gentleness, while Kartikeya is muscular and athletic–a total action man. They are equally smart and capable, just in very different ways, and although they adore each other, they are very competitive, especially when it means receiving the affection of their parents!
The story goes that Parvathi and Shiva have been given a sacred mango, which they don’t want to split in half (ahem, doesn’t sound like great parenting, but this isn’t my story). So instead they ask their sons to compete for the golden fruit. Ganesh, being the foodie that he is, sits at the feet of his parents ready to win the mango! Karthikeya mounts his beautiful peacock, ready to fly into action! The task: to circle the entire world three times. Whoever can do it fastest wins the sacred mango! Karti zips off on his peacock in a flash, the perfect demonstration of speed, skill, and athletic prowess. An observer would certainly think Kartikeya has left our gentle, grounded Ganesh in the dust! But at the end of it all, who gets the mango? Ganesh, who barely moves a muscle. How is this possible, you ask? In his wisdom, while his brother loops around the globe at warp speed, Ganesha slowly circles his parents three times, claiming that they are his whole world. Of course he completes the thrice circumnavigation first and wins their affection along with the succulent sacred mango! Smartypants Ganesh doesn’t have to break a sweat… he just takes his sweet time, leads with his heart, turns on his charm, and lets the mango come to him. HA! Kartikeya is quite angry, and feeling duped, turns on his heel in frustration. Legends say he became a monk for awhile, but that’s another story!
Clearly, we need a balance of all the elements in our being: Earth to keep us stable, calm, and grounded, water to bring buoyancy and hold earth together to create form, fire to transform matter, thought, and experiences, air to bring energy and enliven the subtle being, and ether / space to hold it all. Are you more like Kartikeya or Ganesh? There’s no wrong answer, just an awareness of what elements show up in our body, mind, heart, and spirit.
Sigh… I adore this elephant god with is coconut candy-filled belly and his flash of anger at the moon… his quick insight, charming humor, and conservation of energy in winning a delicious prize, despite his brother’s vast athletic talent. I also feel for Kartikeya who tries so hard to do what he has been asked, only to feel undermined by his quick-witted brother. Keeping the gods human so we can recognize ourselves is the brilliant fun of Hindu mythology. I have learned so much about myself over the years studying the gods and goddesses, their (our) pitfalls and triumphs, our human personalities intertwined with their divinity. It’s really like looking in the mirror. We are all sacred beings, part of the one divine cosmos, even if we each have our own distinctive character. I appreciate the reflection. I hope you’ll join me for the follow up story in my next post on Ganesh and the full moon!
With love and many blessings,
Katie
💜
