In India Ganesh's birthday was celebrated yesterday but now that the sun is shining in the west (Or, hiding behind the clouds in Seattle) today is the day to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi.
It is an auspicious time as it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. If you click these links to view the wiki page you'll understand why this is important. If you're an outsider to the Hindu religion I also recommend checking out the Hindu pantheon to understand some of the history, structure, and background of the deities. Even I have just scratched the surface of this.
I had a few thoughts on this recently due to some exciting events in my personal life. Let me digress a little and talk about my thoughts on religion growing up.
My mom was raised catholic and my dad was raised episcopalian. I was raised without any formal religious teachings about God. Basically I grew up without going to church, but mom kind of taught me that there is a God, this is how you pray, etc. We never said grace at dinner or anything like that, but if you really want to talk to God you can do it in your heart. I don't remember dad ever saying much on the subject. I remember visiting Grandma's place and she would sometimes have a priest at her house and she would take communion.
Sometime when I was about 5 or 6 years old I distinctly remember a time while riding in the car with my mom.
Me: Mommy, Santa Claus isn't real is he? You guys just put the presents.
My Mom: Sweetie, I don't want to get into a wreck. I was hoping it would take longer for you to figure out but that's right. He's a really cool guy who brings you presents and we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Me: Okay, so its still cool to celebrate the Holiday, but will you keep bringing me presents?
My Mom: Of course, and your birthday is very close so we'll celebrate the whole time
Me: Yay! Hey, does that mean God is fake too?
At this point my mom didn't crash the car but I can imagine after being indoctrinated with Catholic beliefs and guilt I really have to give her credit for being so level. She knew they were raising me to allow me to have my choice of what to believe, which is very wise, but I'm sure this is a difficult topic from the eyes of the parent.
So my mom's parents who were staunch Catholics felt I was praying and believing in God and all these things. After I asked this question to my mom I remember her asking me not to let my Grandma know that I didn't believe in God. In retrospect I find it kind of messed up yet harmless at the same time.
I went through a period where I was a complete atheist. Science and Logic were my friends, especially when it came to explaining things that went BUMP! in the night. For a while as a kid I was scared of the dark and that aliens would come beam me up and probe me. Also, possibly ghosts.
In time these feelings wore off and I went back and forth between atheist and agnostic. I felt a little redeemed that atheism is on the rise which means Americans are being less suppressed and can truly express their religious freedom - or freedom to lack of religion.
While all of this was going on, and only now at age 30 can I see it, I learned fantastic things about the universe. And Physics! and what a truly remarkable place we live in, that our tiny brains simply cannot comprehend. I would fall asleep at night when I wasn't able to sleep by trying to understand how vast the universe is, and what else could exist out there. My favorite thoughts were what the shape of the universe was like and what its edges are made out of - or if it doesn't have edges, how does that work?
I started to understand that faith doesn't need God - you can check what Secular humanism and maybe in a way it best describes me. I'm not sure, that keeps changing even now. I also began to realize that the Universe contains such wonderful seemingly magical mysteries- that I believe if we evolve enough we would somehow come to understand- but in my lifetime and next few generations it wont happen, that that child-like wonder towards the universe and its contents and my inability to fathom all it contains is kind of what God is to me. When people assume God has a toga and a beard and sports everlasting flipflops, it kind of makes me laugh. Why should I presume this shape and sense and things in the Bible which were man made things?
Throughout my life maybe I believe in God but just in a very different fantastic, typical Christie way.
And recently I had a revelation. In order to understand Hinduism and its various deities, maybe it has a place in my understanding of God. Deities would be conduits to connect my thoughts to the universe.
Praying, to me, has been willing the universe to do something in my favor, for which my willpower alone has accomplished many things for me. I never understood how it worked. Maybe I just asked nicely, or was in the right place at the right time, fate or kismet, something always worked out. In order to understand how Indians do poojas (a Hindu prayer) this is how I have begun to understand Hinduism.
Again, I'll never actually be a Hindu, I was not born to it - in the eyes of Indian people, but there is nothing stopping me, or anyone else who believes in the concept of God in any way, to think of the universe like this.
And at this auspicious time, I've found a friend in Ganesha.
It is an auspicious time as it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. If you click these links to view the wiki page you'll understand why this is important. If you're an outsider to the Hindu religion I also recommend checking out the Hindu pantheon to understand some of the history, structure, and background of the deities. Even I have just scratched the surface of this.
I had a few thoughts on this recently due to some exciting events in my personal life. Let me digress a little and talk about my thoughts on religion growing up.
My mom was raised catholic and my dad was raised episcopalian. I was raised without any formal religious teachings about God. Basically I grew up without going to church, but mom kind of taught me that there is a God, this is how you pray, etc. We never said grace at dinner or anything like that, but if you really want to talk to God you can do it in your heart. I don't remember dad ever saying much on the subject. I remember visiting Grandma's place and she would sometimes have a priest at her house and she would take communion.
Sometime when I was about 5 or 6 years old I distinctly remember a time while riding in the car with my mom.
Me: Mommy, Santa Claus isn't real is he? You guys just put the presents.
My Mom: Sweetie, I don't want to get into a wreck. I was hoping it would take longer for you to figure out but that's right. He's a really cool guy who brings you presents and we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Me: Okay, so its still cool to celebrate the Holiday, but will you keep bringing me presents?
My Mom: Of course, and your birthday is very close so we'll celebrate the whole time
Me: Yay! Hey, does that mean God is fake too?
At this point my mom didn't crash the car but I can imagine after being indoctrinated with Catholic beliefs and guilt I really have to give her credit for being so level. She knew they were raising me to allow me to have my choice of what to believe, which is very wise, but I'm sure this is a difficult topic from the eyes of the parent.
So my mom's parents who were staunch Catholics felt I was praying and believing in God and all these things. After I asked this question to my mom I remember her asking me not to let my Grandma know that I didn't believe in God. In retrospect I find it kind of messed up yet harmless at the same time.
I went through a period where I was a complete atheist. Science and Logic were my friends, especially when it came to explaining things that went BUMP! in the night. For a while as a kid I was scared of the dark and that aliens would come beam me up and probe me. Also, possibly ghosts.
In time these feelings wore off and I went back and forth between atheist and agnostic. I felt a little redeemed that atheism is on the rise which means Americans are being less suppressed and can truly express their religious freedom - or freedom to lack of religion.
While all of this was going on, and only now at age 30 can I see it, I learned fantastic things about the universe. And Physics! and what a truly remarkable place we live in, that our tiny brains simply cannot comprehend. I would fall asleep at night when I wasn't able to sleep by trying to understand how vast the universe is, and what else could exist out there. My favorite thoughts were what the shape of the universe was like and what its edges are made out of - or if it doesn't have edges, how does that work?
I started to understand that faith doesn't need God - you can check what Secular humanism and maybe in a way it best describes me. I'm not sure, that keeps changing even now. I also began to realize that the Universe contains such wonderful seemingly magical mysteries- that I believe if we evolve enough we would somehow come to understand- but in my lifetime and next few generations it wont happen, that that child-like wonder towards the universe and its contents and my inability to fathom all it contains is kind of what God is to me. When people assume God has a toga and a beard and sports everlasting flipflops, it kind of makes me laugh. Why should I presume this shape and sense and things in the Bible which were man made things?
Throughout my life maybe I believe in God but just in a very different fantastic, typical Christie way.
And recently I had a revelation. In order to understand Hinduism and its various deities, maybe it has a place in my understanding of God. Deities would be conduits to connect my thoughts to the universe.
Praying, to me, has been willing the universe to do something in my favor, for which my willpower alone has accomplished many things for me. I never understood how it worked. Maybe I just asked nicely, or was in the right place at the right time, fate or kismet, something always worked out. In order to understand how Indians do poojas (a Hindu prayer) this is how I have begun to understand Hinduism.
Again, I'll never actually be a Hindu, I was not born to it - in the eyes of Indian people, but there is nothing stopping me, or anyone else who believes in the concept of God in any way, to think of the universe like this.
And at this auspicious time, I've found a friend in Ganesha.
