Ganesha Vs Kartikeya — The game of Mindset

Lord Shiva and Parvati are blessed with two sons i.e. Kartikeya, Ganesha, and one daughter i.e. Ashokhasundari. Both the sons are the epitome of supreme power and knowledge. Still, we worship Ganesha as the first deity in Hindu Mythology.

 

Kartikeya, one of the most handsome gods of Hindu Mythology, the God of War, the god with 6 faces, the god who drives peacock, is one of the most powerful gods. On the other hand Ganesha, the younger brother has an elephant head, drives a rat, and loves eating modakas. Then why Ganesha, the first deity? Let’s try to understand it with folklore.

Once upon a time, Asura king Mahabali decided to conduct a Maha Yagya with all deities and devotees of the whole universe. A conflict arose during the Yagya on whom to worship first. The discord reached to Lord Shiva for a solution. Lord Shiva pronounced a competition of all Gods to decide the first deity. The god who completes three rounds of the world first will be the winner and the first deity. Kartikeya with his peacock, Indra with his Airavat, Vayu deva with his Gazella accelerated to cover the race. On the other hand, Ganesha with his rat, was no match to the speed of other gods’ vehicles. Ganesha calmly thought through the situation and decided to complete three rounds of his parents Shiva and Paravati. Parents are any child’s only world, so three rounds around them complete the task. In this way, Ganesha completed the task beforehand all other Gods and became the first deity.

 This story leaves us with a question of what actually differentiated Ganesha with other Gods. The answer is a Mindset. In simple words, mindset is the way we think, it a belief in one’s qualities. According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, your beliefs play a pivotal role in what you want and whether you achieve it. Carol writes in her famous book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, how our conscious and unconscious thoughts affect us, and the way we work. One of the major beliefs we carry about ourselves is directly correlated to how we perceive our personality. She categorizes mindset into two forms — Fixed and Growth. Ganesha epitomizes a Growth mindset while Kartikeya a fixed one.

 Let’s try to understand what are these two mindsets and why it actually matters.

 Fixed Mindset —

 A fixed mindset assumes that our abilities, characters, creativity, intelligence are static and can’t be changed in any meaningful way. It tends to create a need for approval. Every situation is seen as a test of their abilities. Kartikeya signifies a fixed mindset. He never thinks of the situation with a different lens. He rushes to prove his innate capabilities of power. The power which helped him kill Asura Tarkasura.

 People with a fixed mindset never challenge themselves. They always feel threatened by the success of others. This stagnates their outlook towards everything.

 Growth Mindset —

 A growth mindset thrives on challenges and sees failures as a launchpad for success. It embraces feedback to grow. It always experiments and nurtures creative solutions. Ganesha brings in a growth mindset when Lord Shiva asks for covering the world three times. He doesn’t think what people will think of his slow vehicle and brings his creative thinking to win.

 People with a growth mindset persist in the face of setbacks. They learn from criticism. They are boundaryless and always see things with a free will.

 Now it's up to us, what we want to become in our lives Ganesha or Kartikeya.

Reference - 

1. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Janmashtami - The Road less travelled from Mathura to Gokul

Ours is a country of festivals. Recently the whole country celebrated a long weekend with Krishna Janmashtami. A weekend when most of the bachelors fled to there long dreamt solo trips across the globe while married people flocked all social media channels with pictures of there young ones either as Lord Krishna or Radha. Really fascinating to see such a divine incarnation of so many Krishna and Radha.

Janmashtami is a Hindu festival which signifies birthday of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu on Earth. Lord Krishna eliminated the atrocities of his maternal uncle Kansa. But the journey from birth to becoming Lord Krishna has some hidden lessons. 

Kansa knew that his sister, Devaki's eight son will be his doom beforehand. In order to secure his life, he imprisoned Devaki and her husband Vasudeva in Mathura after there marriage. And killed any new born of Devaki the same night. Years passed and Kansa had killed seven children of Vasudev and Devaki. On the eighth night of Bhadra (as per Gregorian calendar - August/September), Devaki and Vasudev were expecting birth of their eight child. The couple was really scared as Kansa was eager to kill the eight child and overcome his doom. But that something divine happened. It was a stormy night and with the birth of Lord Krishna , Vasudev's chains opened , all the prisons opened, guards became unconscious. Vasudev decided to safeguard the eighth child and took him to his friend Nanda in Gokul. The journey where Vasudev crossed the flooding river Yamuna and reached Gokul safely. After reaching Gokul, he secretly exchanged Nanda and Yashoda's new born girl with Lord Krishna. And returned back to Mathura. After 12 years, Lord Krishna killed his maternal uncle Kansa in Mathura. Most of us are aware of this lore from our childhood. It is source of great motivation and inspiration. The journey of a helpless father taking leap of faith and crossing all barriers to safeguard his son. It is a Road less travelled.

But what made Devaki and Vasudev sacrifice their whole life for a child? How was Vasudev able to cross the mighty Yamuna? Was there any benefit of delaying one's freedom for Lord Krishna? Famous author M Scott Peck talks about problems and pain in his famous book The Road Less Travelled  that 

" Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters" 

Problems are part and parcel of everyone's life. It is the problems that defines the direction and magnitude of our lives. The pain one bears to solve a problem is never easy, the journey of solving a problem be it professional or personal will always be tough and tiring. But people who overcome the pain and delay instant gratification of shortcuts are the one's who succeed . Vasudev and Devaki had waited for years in the prison of Mathura. Even when their chains were broken at the birth of Lord Krishna they did not run away from the prison. But took the pain to transfer lord Krishna from Mathura to Gokul. The problem they were trying to solve was never their own freedom, it was freedom of the society from the atrocities of Kansa. They never sought instant gratification but took pain of twelve more years in the prison for a better future of the society.

We need to start seeing our problems as a opportunity to better oneself. The path of solving a problem will never be easy, it will be full of anxiety, frustration, demotivation and self doubt. But  if we discipline ourselves and remain consistent in our approach, anyone can be successful in there respective lives. 

Reference - 

• The Road Less Travelled - M Scott Peck
• Janmashtami celebrations across India

Self Awareness - In Search of Shambhu

The holy month of Shrawan or Savan (as per Vedic calendar), which is filled with the divine energy and bliss of Lord Shiva  is about to end.  Shiva also known as Shambu or Swayambhu, which means self sustained /created / or independent. As per Hindu mythology, it is believed that Lord Shiva emerged from a pillar of fire which has no source or fuel, hence Swayambhu (Swayam - self, bhu - source). Shambu has been a source of inspiration and worship for ages. But what is it that makes Shiva, Shambu, let's find out.  

As per the Shiva Purana, once upon a time Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu were having argument on being the Supreme lord of the universe. Lord Brahma cited being the creator of the universe which makes him superior to anyone else, while Lord Vishnu being the protector of the universe disagreed with Lord Brahma. Suddenly, an infinite pillar of fire emerged in front of them. In order to satisfy one's ego, both Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu decided to compete. The person who will reach to the end of the fire pillar will be the supreme of all Gods is what they decided for. 

Lord Vishnu transformed into a boar and started moving downwards, while Lord Brahma transformed into a swan and flew upwards. Eons passed and no one was able to find the end of the fire pillar. Finally, lord Vishnu decided to return to the center of the pillar i.e. origin point of their journey. While traversing to the top, Lord Brahma found a Ketaki flower which fell down from the top of the pillar by a gust of wind. Lord Brahma convinced the Ketaki flower to say as desired by him , when they meet lord Vishnu. After reaching the origin point, Ketaki flower said that Lord Brahma met him at the top of the fire pillar, which makes him win the competition. 

Immediately, the fire pillar burst with anger and transformed into Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva called Ketaki flower a liar as Lord Brahma had never made it to the top of the fire pillar and denounced it from being used in any of the holy rituals. Lord Shiva cursed Lord Brahma by cutting his fifth head which spoke the lie and denounce him from being worshipped in any temples. From that day, lord Brahma has four heads and no temples. 

This story leaves us with few important questions - who is supreme? what makes one supreme? is self awareness important or show off? and most importantly - what makes a person Swayambhu?

Being supreme be in the modern corporate world or in the Vedic times is never about being more powerful. But it is about knowing one's power and using it when required. The ladders of hierarchy do  infuse us with power, but it is the use of the power that makes a person - a leader. Lord Shiva has always been the destroyer in the Hindu trinity. A person who can destroy anything is powerful, but destruction also is the first step of creation. It is a cycle. The above story is not about the destroyer or protector being more powerful. It is about knowing one's power and using it when required makes on Mahadev - the god of the Gods. 

One can be as perfect as Lord Vishnu or as witty as Lord Brahma, but the one who knows his/her form (self aware) in any form/formless is what makes one Shambu. Bestselling author Tasha Eurich talks about self awareness in a HBR article - What Self Awareness Really Is in two dimensions i.e. internal and external. Internal self awareness is how we see ourselves, our own values, passion, feelings, thoughts while external is all how about how others view us. Though both are independent, but leaders be it Lord Shiva in the above story or our modern era leaders i.e. Ratan Tata, M.S Dhoni, Narendra Modi and many more are good at one thing i.e. balancing both internal and external self awareness and being Shambhu.

References - 

• What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)
• Battle between Brahma and Vishnu
• Power corrupts
• Lord Shiva image credit - Diginirmaan