Inside the temple of Ganesh

[Deleted]

I have already shown the Ganesh procession numerous times, but it's time for a look inside the temple. The temple used to be almost next door to where I live, but it was much too small, so another location was found a couple of blocks away. The temple is still too small on festival days, but I'm sure that it is quite adequate most of the time.

Today the street in front of the temple was carpeted.



The decorative tarp is only temporary. It would be nice if they could find some permanent decoration for the exterior.





There were two large African security guards at the entrance, not just to check bags but also to ensure that nobody entered with any footwear.



So many things were happening, and some of us do not yet possess all of the keys of comprehension.



Besides Ganesh, there are a large number of other deities to honour.







The faithful touch every single statue or at least run their hands along the base.





Was he the priest? Shaman? Helper? In any case, he was in charge of the main altar today.









Here is the star of the show.









I guess I will never understand spirituality, but it can be interesting to watch.





Back outside, there was all sorts of other stuff happening, but that's another story.

[tod2]

I am so glad you posted these photos Kerouac. When I page through my very very tattered "Paris par Arrondisement" I see I have marked the temple at 17 Rue Pajol. Just in case I may venture past one day.

I too, can never understand this rigmarole spiritually, it seems to be the stuff of children believing in a cartoon, but there you are - takes all sorts to keep us entertained, and make the world go around.

[questa]

The chap with the bare chest is of the Brahman caste as signified by the white string around his body. This is the priestly caste and only they do some of the offering ceremonies on behalf of the whole community. It means that they must study all the old texts and know all the rituals as part of their schooling.

Re the elephant head...the great god Shiva left his consort and their young son, Ganesha, to go on a journey. He returned 18 years later to find a handsome young man chatting with his wife in her sleeping quarters. In a Fit of anger he cut the young man's head off. His wife told him it was his son, now grown up asking for motherly advice. Shiva ran out and seeing a baby elephant cut off its head and attached it to Ganesha's neck. He is regarded as the god who is in charge of communications and 'remover of obstacles' He is wise and jolly and would love to sit and watch cartoons.

An Indian professor told me that what really happened was as the Hindu population spread northward they clashed with tribes who worshipped the elephant as a god. After a few generations of hostilities the Hindus 'found' they had a god with elephants head and they all lived peacefully ever after.

The Hindus really have one god, but as this god is too great to visualize, each of the hundreds of gods is portraying a facet of the Original Being.

[htmb]

Thanks for this information, Questa. For one, it helps me understand the idea of different gods a little bit better.

Being the god of communications and remover of obstacles sounds like a full time job!

[Deleted]

I would have never thought a white string could be so important.

[bixaorellana]

Wow ~ you got some striking and very interesting pictures. That couldn't have been easy in such a crowd. The lamp with the multiple wicks is particularly lovely. I see other people with cameras there, so I suppose everyone was welcome.

I think the mosques I visited in Istanbul had a better way of dealing with shoes -- there were either open cabinets provided, and/or flimsy plastic grocery sacks so the shoes could be carried over ones arm. (although plastic bags are also problematic)

Is that decorative tarp there all the time, or just for this special day?

One quibble ~ there really is a difference between spirituality and religiosity, especially since in either case you could have one without the other.

Questa's succinct explanations are great, particularly the last sentence. That said, it is much easier to write a cohesive narrative for this thread if you can say "deity" or "god" without having to specify "manifestation of a facet of the Original Being" for each one.

[questa]

Ganesh is also the special deity for travellers and as such helps those who have difficulty with Indian travel and trade documents...now that is a full time job if ever there was one. You may notice that he has a broken tusk. There are several stories about this but my favourite is that when the old sage started telling the story of the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic, he asked Ganesha to write it all down. While doing so Ganesh's pen broke so he broke off the tip of his tusk to write with so the story would not be lost.

Ganesh has an older brother, Kumar. Their father, Shiva, The highest in the pantheon and god of death and regeneration, said he would give his highest blessing to the son who could fly around creation and return first. Kumar took off and flew like the wind around the worlds but Ganesh merely shuffled around his father and said "I have circumnavigated all the universes, because all creation is in you, Father" Kumar was not happy on return!

Last story...Kumar was caught being angry with some small children. Shiva told him that children are precious and need special care. He then made Kumar the god for children under 4 years old. Now when you see a baby smiling in its sleep it is because Kumar is telling it a story or singing to it.

Nicer than saying it has wind pains, isn't it?