Aum Shri Ganeshaya Namah

I crossed the step
Into darkness, stillness
A step into cool air
Solidness, emptiness
Sunlight streamed in
Revealing feelings of holiness
There he was seated
Showing curves of godliness
Perfect respect
For what some may call happiness

I crossed Ganesha’s step…

So yes, a little Ode to Ganesh. Been on my mind a lot lately, possibly because I was discussing with Amy the acceptance of other Gods and Religeons by Christianity and her view on that, possibly because I was talking about Goa with someone I recently met and who came from Karnataka state (where my dad used to live and where we traveled), possibly because I have been dreaming of Elephants lately or maybe because I donated to some guy who was collecting money for a dinner for the homneless for thanksgiving and who gave me this little book on the Vedas (you know, Brahman, Hari Krishna etc...)

About Ganesha:
Ganesha is known as Aumkara, because his body mirrors the shape of the Aum (most sacred syllable in Hinduism), the elephant god is thus seen as the embodiment of the cosmos. His elephantine head symbolizes the intelligence and beatitude of the elephant, powerful, yet gentle.
The goad ganesha often holds is to prod man to the path of righteousness and truth. With it he can both strike and repel obstacles. His pot belly signifies the bounty of nature and also that Ganesha swallows the sorrows of the Universe and protects the world.
His vehicle is a mouse symbolizing intellect, small enough to find out any secret in the most remote of places. It also signifies his humility, that he takes the company of one of the smaller creatures.
He is the lord of wisdom, intelligence, education, prudence, luck and fortune, gates, doors, doorways, household and writing. He is the remover of obstacles, and as such it is normal to invoke him before the undertaking of any task.

So why am I writing all this? Well, when we were in India, I momentarily "came home" in this little temple in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Out of the heat and dust into humid, almost cold air. It was like entering a church where the air seems heavy with devotion from all the thousands of people that prayed there. It was one of the many temples we had seen that day but this one left a memory whicn is now one of the most vivid memories in my life.
So that is why.

Music- REM, Everybody Hurts (+TABS!) & Sinsemilia, Tout le Bonheure du Monde