Ganesha

I have begun exploring Hindu and Indian philosophy and religion.  Lord Ganesh revealed himself to me a few months ago when I was in a store trying to decide on a shirt that I wanted to buy.  I was in a free trade shop and these shirts were made by hand in Thailand.  My favourite one and the one I ended up buying has a version of Lord Ganesh on the front.

Lord Ganesh is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.  He is revered as the god of beginnings, knowledge, wisdom, intellect and is most known for being the remover of obstacles.  Ganesh is identified by the mantra Aum or Om.

The Om symbol combined with Ganesha's trunk, ears, tusks and eyes.

I have been considering Lord Ganesh and the meanings that stand behind all he symbolizes.  Listen more, think big and talk less are actions that I am trying to follow every day.  As well as retaining the good and throwing away the bad or the unnecessary.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival held in India to celebrate the birth of Ganesh.  It usually occurs between mid August to mid September on the fourth day of the waxing moon and lasts for 10 days.  The celebrations that are held for Lord Ganesh today came to be in 1893 when an Indian freedom fighter, Lokmanya Tilak, reshaped the festival into a large community event where his goal was to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and non-Brahmins.  Ganesh was chosen to be the symbol of the festival because he is considered to be the "God of every man" (source).

Via Celestial Skeletons