Happy birthday, Ganesha! (and why I love elephants)

Who doesn’t love a baby elephant? I’m a sucker for the long lashes, the sweet smile, and the undeniably cuddly look of these soon-to-be-majestic creatures.  Combining snuggly vulnerability with the promise of enormous power and strength as they do, it’s no wonder that elephants are such popular creatures with children.

When I was a child in New York City, my bedroom was protected at night by an elephant nightlight, my mother read me Jean de Brunhof’s wonderful Babar books, and I had a gray and pink plush toy to sleep with. I knew elephants as friendly companions, smaller than my small self. It came as something of a shock, when I grew up and went to India, to encounter real elephants striding huge and majestic along the road, built on a grander scale than any creature I had yet come close to, and utterly indifferent to insignificant me.

Today, September 19, is Ganesha Chaturthi, the day that Hindus and elephant-lovers everywhere celebrate the birth of the beloved elephant-headed Ganesha. Ganesha is the son, sort of, of Shiva, the mythological lord of yogis, and his wife Parvati. The story goes, that while Shiva was away from home on one of his extended wanderings around the universe with his troop of goblins (think: biker buddies), Parvati wanted to bathe. Being modest, and wanting to protect her privacy from possible drop-ins from some of Shiva’s rowdier friends, she felt the need of a guardian. Mixing the dead skin from her body with sandalwood oil, she created a boy and stationed him at the door to her private suite with instructions to admit no one. While she was bathing, Shiva came home and called for his wife. “She’s taking a bath,” the stranger told him. “Wait here till she’s out of the tub.”  “And who are you?” demanded Shiva, annoyed but half-amused. “I’m her son, Ganesha.” Her son! “Well, I’m her husband, and you are definitely not my son. Now, get out of the way.” But the boy not only blocked Shiva from entering, he drew a weapon. Shiva, not about to stand for this from an unknown kid, drew his own weapon, and before long, Ganesha’s head was lying at Shiva’s feet.

When Parvati came out of the bathroom and saw her husband standing over the body of the child she had created, you can imagine her feelings. “Go get another head,” she told Shiva. “I don’t care, just take the head of the first creature you see, bring it here, and put it on my son. Now.”

The first creature Shiva met was an elephant. To make a long story short, he took the elephant’s head, brought it home, and put it on the pudgy pre-adolescent body of the boy, restoring him to life. And that, since you were wondering, is why Ganesha has a childish body, but an elephant’s head. And everyone was happy. In the picture above, you can see the whole family snuggled together, almost as if for a Christmas card:Shiva in the middle, Parvati on the left, Ganesha on the right. The bull in front is Nandi, who carries Shiva (and sometimes the whole family) on his back across the universe.

Because he was created to guard Parvati’s threshold, Ganesha is the patron deity of transitions. Because an elephant can use its powerful trunk to uproot or knock down virtually any obstacle, he is known as the “opener of the way”, invoked before beginning any new endeavor. It is fitting that his holiday should be celebrated as summer turns to fall, and a new season, or year, begins. Because he is still a child, he loves sweets, particularly an Indian dessert called laddoo, a ball made from flour and butter, and dripping with honey. So if you are starting something new – and who isn’t, this time of year? – or if you want the solid strength and protection that an elephant (even a nightlight, or a plush one) can bring, remember Ganesha, and honor him with something sweet.

Coincidentally – or not – Ganesha’s birthday holiday falls, this year, during the Jewish New Year, when people traditionally feast on apples and honey. So, as I see it, there is no excuse not to join in celebrating the earth’s bounty of fruit and grain, and the sweetness of new beginnings. Jai Ganesha, and a sweet year to us all!