Ganesh is probably the most widely recognized and loved gods within the Hindu pantheon. He is lord of Beginnings, Good Fortune and is the Remover of Obstacles. He is the ichor of prosperity and success running through our veins and he is a symbol for life’s journey and is most widely embodied by the entrepreneur.
Origin
Wishing to bath in quiet comfort, the goddess Parvati created a young boy named Ganesh to guard the door. When her husband Shiva returned from battle, Ganesh denied him entrance and in a fit of rage, Shiva cut off his head. Parvati was of course rather upset and demanded Shiva to bring him back to life. So he sent his warriors out to find the head of the first dead animal they came across. They of course found an elephant’s head which they reattached to Ganesh and brought him back to life.
The elephant is a powerful symbol pervading much of Eastern mythology. The head of which symbolizes unmatched wisdom and the gaining of knowledge through reflection and listening to others. Only the elephant, the wisest of the animals can lead us out of the jungle of ignorance.
Meaning
What he “really” represents is the courage to use the rationalizing faculty of the mind in order to Remove the Obstacles barring our own paths. A reminder to think about what we are doing and where we are going and to have patience on life’s journey. He represents the internal struggle of all people when they are stumbling towards success. He is a reminder to understand that when we encounter those unforeseeable but inevitable problems on the road to success that we handle them with grace and poise by patiently employing our intellect. He is about the courage to make decisions fearlessly and wholeheartedly, knowing our actions will be rewarded.
In this way, every one of us embodies Ganesh. He is in all of us. We “channel” him whenever we contemplate “what to do next” or “where do we go from here.” And if we can but trust in him, he—who is in us, may we light our own way out the jungle of ignorance and be liberated by success.