Once upon a time there was a family- Shiva and Parvati, the father and mother, and 2 sons- Ganesh and Skanda. Shiva and Parvati found a near perfect mango, ripe and beautiful. So beautiful that they had the sons compete for the mango by proposing a race around the universe. Skanda immediately went to his vehicle, a peacock, and sped away. Ganesh, on the other hand, first sat in meditation. Skanda was already 3/4 of the way before Ganesh finally got up and went to his vehicle, a mouse. Ganesh and his vehicle made a circle around his parents and he said you are my universe and I have completed a circle around you. And so Ganesh won the race and collected his prize, the nearly perfect mango.
The lesson from the story is that there are always many different paths available to us. There is not one perfect way to get from point a to point b but rather a choice of different means and methods to accomplish the task and to arrive at the desired destination. Ganesh as an archetype represents the energy that clears obstacles- sometimes Ganesh goes around an obstacle and sometimes he pushes right through the obstacle in order to clear the path.
Ganesh is an elephant god. He has enormous ears for listening. In our story, Ganesh first sits in meditation before the race while his brother immediately dashes off. Meditation is the act of actively listening to the Divine- whatever your name is for the Divine. When we study the Ganesh story, we are reminded that we get more clarity on the different paths that are always available to us when we sit regularly in meditation. It is by quieting the mind and listening regularly that the possible pros and pitfalls associated with each distinct path are made clear to us. When Ganesh meditated he discovered that his parents were his universe- when we meditate we naturally begin to see what is most important to us in life and we tend to focus more on what we do want rather than obsessing about what we do not want. Ganesh has a huge belly and it is said that in his belly he holds the entire universe. In Tantra we are taught that all humans are an exact replica of the universe- microcosm/macrocosm. We really do hold the entire universe in our bellies, just like Ganesh.
There is not one perfect, one size fits all way to practice asana. Because all humans are beautifully unique, there are many different traditions and ways to practice asana- some styles are heated, some are not, some practice the inverted poses, some do not, backbends may come first, forward bends may come first, some use the ujjayi method of breathing, some do not- the list and differences go on and on. One point we stress in our Yoga teacher trainings is that in Yoga it is not a question of what is right and what is wrong, but rather what is appropriate and therapeutic for me right now. This week in the shala, we will practice our asana sequences without sun salutations at the beginning of our practices (gasp!), which is a departure from our normal flows. There are different paths to get from point a to point b and we can prepare for meditation with or without sun salutations.
Ganesh has long twisting trunk which represents the kundalini energy- the highly creative energy that in Tantra we are taught is inherent in every single human being in a dormant seed like form. Spiritual practice awakens this energy and when it is awakened it is called Shakti- a vibrant force of Grace and Transformation. This week we will also explore the many means and methods for awakening Shakti- to get Shaktified. We will work with mantra, mudra, bandha and meditation. The awakening of Shakti is the quickening, the fire lighting that propels human beings toward enlightenment- the realization of our greatest potential.
Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha is the mantra, the sound vibration that brings us into alignment with the Ganesh wisdom.
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