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 - 
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