Lord Ganesha And The Fruit Of Self Realization

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Saint Narada once handed over a mango to Shiva and Parvati. He said that it was a special mango which would bestow eternal wisdom on whoever savours it. There was also a hitch that the mango should not be shared and had to be consumed by one person. Though Shiva and Parvati wanted to handover it over to either of their sons Ganesha and Karthikeya, they were perplexed as to whom they should give it.

Narada stepped in and suggested a solution to the issue. He said that the mango can be given to the one who first succeeds in going around the world thrice . Shiva and Parvati consented to Narada's suggestion. Karthikeya immediately mounted his peacock and set out to accomplish the mission. Lord Ganesha on the other hand simply circumambulated his parents thrice and requested the fruit to be given to him.

When demanded an explanation, Lord Ganesha humbly said that his parents were his world and that no other world existed apart from them.

Respect for parents would be the moral of the story on the superficial level. However the very essence of the story stretches beyond the superficially portrayed moral.

It is a fact that eternal wisdom or self realization (the mango) can be cherished only when one is centred in the truth (Siva and Parvati) and nothing exists apart from the truth. A mind (the act of Karthikeya) that is focused in the outer world is incapable of attaining the truth. An inward turned mind (Lord Ganesha) that is in constant communion with the truth is that which is capable of realising the truth or attaining wisdom.

Lord Ganesha in thus short story reveals the fact that self realization can be attained only with one's vision focused inwards.