Vinayagar or Ganesha is best known as the God of new beginnings. This aspect of the God can be explained by the stories of his origins. The Padma Purana tells that Ganesha was the son of Shiva and Parvati and was born a perfect and normal child. At Parvati's invitation, the other gods and goddesses came to see the new baby and to bestow their blessings upon him. Unfortunately, Parvati's brother Sani had been cursed by his wife so that if he looked at anyone, that person was reduced to ashes. Parvati was so proud of her son that she insisted that Sani come to admire him. Only a quick sideways glance from Sani was enough to cause Ganesha's head to fly off his shoulders. Brahma was also present and promised that the transplantation of the …show more content…
His right foot or leg is often crossed over his left, again demonstrating the need for knowledge and reason to overcome emotion. Ganesha is often depicted holding tray of ladoos, a popular sweet, which represents wealth and prosperity. Sometimes he is seen to be holding a ladoo in in his trunk, demonstrating the discovery of the sweetness of the atman.
There is a mouse at Ganesha's feet which represents the ego. When Ganesha rides this mouse, he is demonstrating the conquest of ego in order to obtain wisdom and humility. Mice are also known for their ability to gnaw through most anything, which further illustrates Ganesha's aspect as the remover of obstacles.
While the above description of Ganesha is the most common, this god has 32 forms in which he may appear, along with 108 names, each with its own meaning. Ningyo has previously posted a diagram which illustrates the some of the symbolism of Ganesha's form. Other examples of Ganesha's characteristics can be found in the traditional tales which are told about this god.
Ganesha's sacred day is the fourth day of each new moon. Ganesh Chaturthi, his birthday festival, falls in the Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada, which corresponds with our late August/early September. During this festival, worshippers celebrate by holding fund raising events, participating in or viewing public musical and dancing performances, and by feasting and noisemaking. People create artistic
Ganesha is thought of as one of the most caring god’s in the hindu religion as his ears represent being a good listener and his small mouth representing talking less, these two qualities together show that he is one to listen to other’s problems rather than talk about his own. In many images Ganesha is shown holding three items, a noose, an elephant goad, and sweet candy called laddoo the objects in his lower right hand represent his blessings and protection. Ganesha is known to reduce karma and guide you in your difficult journeys. These are one of many qualities portrayed by Ganesha.
The creator god Prajapati is described in several ways as being the founder of the world and creating the earth and heaven. He is considered a being who impregnated himself by combining the many aspects of speech and mind. Prajapati is produced in the form of a golden egg which was made by the waters. Prajapati is also a god of the animals and protector of the male sex organ which connects him with nature and acts as a creator of the universe in the Brahmanas. Since his period of gestation was one year and his lifespan is one thousand years, he was also linked with time.
The central Buddha figure, Shakyamuni is the original Buddha who can not be spoken or thought of in terms of birth or death, self or other and is the source of all other manifestation of Buddha hood. He appears cross-legged on a pedestal representing the “cosmic mountain.” The Shaka displays several of the important iconographic, symbolic traits of the Buddha, including the usis, a cranial protrubence; the snail-shell curls of hair the urna, a mark on the brow between the eyes; the elongated ears; and the gilt which indicates the golden color of the Buddha’s skin. He holds his right hand in a gesture of protection or reassurances known as abhaya mudra, the left in the vara mudra. These features appear
It is an important dreaming figure from aboriginal dreamtime stories. The aboriginals referred to it as the creator.
Walking through life admiring everything it brings upon you, can bring upon many question about life and what you are meant to be. You can begin questioning yourself and who you are. What your future would look like and how would you get there. All these question are things that cross our minds at one point in our lives. A reason this happens is because of everything we go through and experience in life that makes us want to know and understand who we are as a person. Like Gandhi once said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.”(Gandhi, Mahatma). This wise words said by Gandhi
The three-legged stool that carried the black box up is also a symbol in the story. The article “Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory: The Black Box and The Three Legged Stool” declares “The three legs of the stool are like the three aspects of the Christian Trinity.” The Holy Trinity in Christianity is known as the holder of life and all things good. To the villagers, the stool holding up the black box is
right is what appears to be a lion. In Chinese culture, lions are a symbol of strength and
Continuing with the theme of visual imagery from this icon, Buddhist icons often carry much meaning in the orientation of the body of figurines, and hand gestures. This standing Bodhisattva has his eyes shut in a meditative state, while the hands
represents a pagan spirit of vegetation, very much like a tree with the ability to
It is based from December 26th to January 1st. This holiday is also based on the African harvest celebrations.
Since Buddhism and Hinduism have different believes they also have different holy days. Moreover, because Hindus worship variety of gods they have a variety of festivals. The three main festivals of Hinduism are: Holi, Divali, and Dasehra. Holi is the most popular festival. This holy day is celebrated each year during February-March to welcome spring. “Holi is dedicated to god Krishna and it was once a fertility ceremony (104).” Throughout the days of Holi, many of the casts and taboo restrictions are set aside and pleasure is emphasized. The second ceremony Divali, celebrated in November, is a festival to welcome a new year. Finally the third festival, the Dasehra, celebrated up to nine days in October, in honor of Durga, a consort of Shiva. On the other hand Buddhism is divided in many ways according to philosophy and geography. The major festivals that are celebrated by most Buddhists are New Year, Buddha’s birthday, the festival of souls, and robe offering. In
An important symbol that was present in Siddhartha was Kamala’s songbird. Such a little detail had a lot of deeper meanings and was almost a parallel for Siddhartha’s life. When Siddhartha returns to a life of greed, gambling, and pleasuring himself, he loses sight of his path. While he had originally set out to rid himself of desire and possession in order to achieve peace within himself, he leaves it all behind to remain with Kamala and Kamaswami.
From the information given, New Year in each country has a unique celebration; especially there is a big
The begging-bowl symbolizes Buddha entering the final steps of enlightenment because it is said that a woman offered him a bowl of milk rice while he was practicing austerity but accepted the bowl because he needed the energy to enter the final steps.
In Vedic Times, Emperor Vayu was known as one of the Hindu Triad. In Vedic beliefs, most of the gods and goddesses represented nature. Which meant that Vayu was one of the three main gods in Hindu belief. In Hinduism, the wind symbolized freedom, fate, illness and bad spirits. Since Vayu was known as the emperor of the sky, people believed that a person would feel sick because of their “evil spirt,” which they thought to be punishment by Lord Vayu. There were a few temples dedicated to emperor Vayu as Mukhyapana, the most significant one located at Udupi in Karnataka. He was also known to be the father of Bhima and Hanuman.