Conversation With The Lord

Part I – Written in 2014

Tomorrow being Ganesh Chathurthi day, I wanted to interview the Lord myself to get to know Him better and perform my actions that would be pleasing my dearest Lord. As I thought holding my ears across with my crossed hands and doing sit ups is favorite way to invoke him, He did not fail to appear before me. The conversation with Him started.

Me: Namaskaram, My dear Lord of Wisdom, what do you do so well to be so popular among children to elders and be present in every nook and corner of India?

Ganesha: It is simple. I listen to everyone’s prayers without interrupting them. I have all the patience in the world to let people talk whatever they want in my presence. Eventually, they find answers to their own questions and walk away praising me.

Me: How do people find answers themselves in your presence?

Ganesha: It has nothing to do with my presence. If they share their feelings, emotions and desires with other human beings, depending on their own mindset, they say things that complicate the matter further. When people talk to me with a hope and confidence that I would resolve their problems and provide solutions, they invoke the power within them to resolve their own issues. I only facilitate the process.

Me: Why do you have an elephant face?

Ganesha: Did you think the intention is to be different than the rest of the Gods? Certainly, not. My long ears are to communicate that I have all the patience to listen to the prayers of everyone (in other words to make people listen to their own inner voice), my tusk is the reflection of the Self-confidence of the people and my big forehead is the reflection of the knowledge everyone possesses, my eyes are reflection of love inherent in each one of you and my trunk is the effort everyone makes to live happily.

Me: Are you the Lord of knowledge and wisdom?

Ganesha: You are not following my words. I am what you see in yourself. If you dig deep into yourself until you see the surface of the seat of wisdom, you will find me.

Me: What is the significance of Ganesh Chathurthi?

Ganesha: It is a day when you realize that you are no longer your body or mind but a divine being having a human experience. You make Modhagams and present it to me as a symbol of recognizing that within your nice-looking body, there is a seat of Ananda. You break the shell of the coconut to get the white substance to understand that within this hard-core body and mind, there is a pure divine being. The day you realize that you are a divine being is the day your knowledge is complete and that is Ganesh Chathurthi.

Me: Let me ask you the question that bothers my mind a lot. Why do you practice celibacy? What is the message you are giving to all of us through your practice of celibacy?

Ganesha: I only want each one of you to know that your journey of life is alone towards the goal of merging with the Universal Absolute. Every other relationship you establish in life are transient in nature. You come alone into the world and you leave alone from the world. No one comes with you because they love you. In fact, your life’s goal should be to help each other to achieve your ultimate goal and not to dwell on transient happiness. Whatever life you choose, your goal should be to love everyone as your family. If you know exploring yourselves changes your perception of the world that is knowledge. If you know yourself before your spouse tells who you are, that is wisdom. If you abstain from ignorance and experience the light of knowledge, that is celibacy.

Me: Thank you, Lord. I am not sure I have understood everything you said but let me digest all that you shared today. I understand that the key to my future is in my hands.

Ganesh: I wish you happy Ganesh Chathurthi.

Part II – written in 2015

Having introduced myself to the Lord a day before Ganesh Chathurthi last year, this year I decided to enter into another conversation with the Lord Ganesha to ask Him the rationale for certain human behavior, the Lord's own appearance and the significance of what human beings offer to the Lord. Even though Ganesh Chathurthi used to be a major event in Mumbai with the Lord Himself taken on a procession towards the end of the celebration to be immersed in the sea, in South India, it used to be a simple celebration with everyone buying a Vinayaka Idol made out of clay, performing Pooja and offer prasadam to the Lord at home. Of late, this celebration has been upgraded to processions on the street giving enormous amount of tension to the police personnel to guard such processions from clash between the religious fanatics. The following is my conversation with Lord Ganesha:

Me: You are in every nook and corner of the streets (if human beings don’t understand your omnipresent nature) and can you explain to me the rationale behind some deciding to take you on a procession to immerse you in the sea?

Lord: I am trying to understand the rationale myself. I don’t expect them to worship me leave alone taking me on a procession in the city to immerse in the sea or river. When people talk about thinking of me first before starting anything is nothing more than having self-confidence to perform the action. My devotees pour so much water, milk, etc. on me and decorate me so nicely throughout my birthday only to throw me out at the end of the celebration. Will they throw their self-confidence out?

Me: What is the significance of offering Modak to worship you?

Lord: (Laughs) You know what, it is to let everyone know that their inner core of each of you is nothing but Anandha Kosha and all of you need not look for happiness from outside. It is residing right inside of each one of you. Whether one has black or white or brown skin, the inner core is always sweet.

Me: Can you explained to me the significance of holding a rope, angusha, modak and a pen-like broken tusk in your four hands? Also, what is the significance of a snake around your waist?

Lord: You must be well-trained to ask so many questions every time you get my audience. Last time you asked the reason for my elephant face and now this. Hmmm…… The rope in my hand signifies that there is no human being who is not tied by the desires and attachments. I was trying to convey that they could pursue only until the life is taken away by Yama using his rope. Angusha as you know is the instrument one uses to control the elephant. Similarly, those who control their mind and senses (two mighty elephants) would conquer their lives. I have already explained the rationale for modak. The broken tusk is to explain to the people that I have written so many scriptures to make the life easier for all human beings. Lastly the snake around my waist is to let everyone know that no matter how rich or poor a person is, he or she needs to satisfy the hunger that arises from the digestive system existing like a snake inside.

Me: Thank you for taking the time to give me an opportunity to ask you questions. This one is a little difficult question as no interview is over without a tough question. Can you explain to me the rationale for your snatching away the mango fruit from your younger brother without physically going around the globe? Isn’t it cheating?

Lord: (Laughs aloud) You really made my day. As expected, you have not understood the lessons out of that incident. Every Atma requires a vehicle of body to perform actions in the world. That body is gifted to each one of you because of the parents. The world appears real only after the Atma gets a body. In order to let the human-beings know that the world that every one of you see is a gift of the parents. It is a drama played by the first family with the consent of all. There is no real dispute.

Me: One last question, Lord. Can you explain to me the significance of breaking coconuts as an offering in front of you?

Lord: The hard shell in the coconut reflects the outer shells of the human beings called Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manamaya and Vijnanamaya Koshas. The white kernel inside the coconut reflects the purest form of every human being called Anandamaya Kosha also known as Atma. The coconut water inside is the universal love that the human being has for the fellow beings. It is a symbolic representation to advise the human beings that they should really offer their hard shell and white kernel to perform the mission of the Lord and demonstrate the purest form of love for the fellow beings. I hope this concludes our conversation.

Me: I learned so much today but as usual, my appetite to learn more is eternal, Lord. Please forgive me if I come again during your next birthday for another interview. Thank you, Lord.

Lord: You are welcome, son. Until we see again, behave yourself. I allow you this one time to torture others with what you learned out of me. Unless it is well received, you should not bother them again with another snippet about my conversation with you.

Part III – written in 2017

I had a serious afflatus to have a conversation with the Lord and hence I said, “Welcome back”! He stared at me as though I have committed a felony and not knowing what it was about, I asked, “What is the matter with you, Lord?” He shot back, “Despite your father being a great worshipper of mine, you haven’t picked up a little bit of knowledge even to know that I am always there before you initiate anything in your life”. I was biting by tongue for irritating the Lord who had so many appointments on that day and sincerely apologized to Him. He smiled and asked, “Did you do all the rituals you need to complete for your father who merged with me on Chathurthi day 30 years back?” Respectfully I said, “Yes Lord, that is why I am late at home to celebrate your presence”.

He gladly accepted our worship with Payasam and Modak. Suddenly, a silly question came to my mind again and I asked, “Eating so many Modaks in a day, won’t it cause sugar trouble?” He replied with sarcasm, “That shows how much faith you have in the Lord”. I had a slap in my hand from my dear spouse and before I could say sorry again, he continued, “First, I am above all the diseases that one could get as human and secondly, most of you keep the Modaks in front of me, sprinkle water on it and conclude that as the end of offering. Where is the opportunity for me to reach out to the Modaks?” Now, it is my turn to smile at the Lord’s response visualizing how the human beings enjoy the Modaks as Prasadam without worrying about the blood sugar levels.

“Do you have any further questions?” He asked looking at my sudden demeanor to keep quiet. “Yes. There are a couple” I answered. When he looked at me with a frown and I reluctantly asked, “You are being such a busy Lord, why did you choose mouse as your vehicle? This issue even came up in discussions among the devotees”. This time he wasn’t angry but responded, “My brother chose Peacock as His vehicle so that he could fly all over the world quickly to fight wars for the well-being of Devas. I realized that being the foremost Lord worshiped for complexities in life, I thought it is much more important to choose Mouse capable of penetrating even a small hole to find out what is inside. You must have read what happened when Rishi Narada brought a unique Mango fruit, right?” He asked. I affirmatively nodded my head trying to comprehend the unique choice the Lord had made with His stunning intellect to win the fruit from His parents.

“I need to run and what is your next question?” He asked. “When the whole world is worshiping you and when you need to visit so many people in a day, how do you have time to visit even the atheists who don’t even go to your Temple and don’t even celebrate Ganesh Chathurthi?” He replied, “They don’t worship me, but they go and help so many people who are worshipers of me. If they lead an ideal and purposeful life, I am here to bless everyone, and they need not worship me”.

My wife and I prostrated to the Lord seeking His blessings, He used His trunk to bless both of us. Suddenly, I heard a voice, “How long are you going to sleep? Today is your father’s ceremony and Ganesh Chathurthi as well and we have million things to do. Please wake up and go get some banana leaves for me”. My dream came to an end. I realized the Lord is a teacher who takes every teachable opportunity to teach something to me.

 

It is being written as we speak going through review for content.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. GeetaKashyap:

Thank you for your excellent response. Sanatana Dharma is universal and hence fitting under one religion is injustice to its teachings. You are right that Sanatana Dharma leaves a lot to be inquired and experienced rather than prescribing the path in one size fit all model. That is the beauty of Sanatana Dharma and the reason why everyone from other religions also explore the possibilities.

Regarding Lord Ganesha, what can I say? One who can remove obstacles and provide wisdom to us has to be always in a pedestal.

Viswa

 

Dear Thyagarajan Sir,

Thank you for your response. This is an imagination of conversation with Lord Ganesha to teach the children about the significance of Lord Ganesha, prayer to Him, and the properties attached to Him. This style of teaching makes it easier for the children to digest the facts rather than dumbing information into their heads. In fact, I am going to ask the children to enact a play around this topic and do it in a social/cultural event.