The Obstacles We Need -Ganapati
A common phrase my generation and every generation before might've heard is 'You kids complain to much, back in my day things were so hard.' I feel like I'm definitely on my way to say the very same phrase to young people I meet these days. Lately I've been thinking about the nature of what we consider to be difficult or annoying in our lives and how sometimes it's those very things that make us more resilient and capable people.
Everyone loves praying to Ganapati as 'Vighneshwara' —the remover of obstacles. Almost to the point of begging sometimes because we love a life of joy and ease. But I wonder, what if the obstacle isn't the problem and it is our perspective that everything in life must be easy is the real obstacle?
In the Lalita Sahasranama, we come across this name of Ganapati that has a beautiful story.
Mahaganesha Nirbhinna Vighna Yantra Praharshita
The battle of Lalita Devi and Bhandasurea is going on in full force and then one of the leaders from Bhandasura's army named Vishukra (his name literally means without juice/life force) deploys the Jaya Vighna which is a weapon that completely disorients the Shaktis. The become hopeless, lazy, confused and feel directionless. Sounds like pretty much everyone who's just starting in the spiritual path or any new creative project.
The obstacle has therefore done something more profound than stopping them physically. It has interfered with their relationship to their own shakti. We also see the same in Ramayana, when Hanuman forgets all of his powers and Jambavan makes Him aware of the fact that there are many many obstacles to pass to get to his goal. The obstacle leads to awareness.
At the request of Mantrini Devi, Maa Lalita then smiles at Her beautiful consort Kameshwara and creates Mahaganapati, a being who has all of his senses and the 5 elements under control. Mahaganapati then creates the Vighna Yantra as a way to counteract the effects of the Jaya Vighna (the name implies winning of obstacles/distractions) and to bring the Shakti army back into alignment of what their real goal is.
The sanskrit word for procrastination is 'dirghasutrata' which means to literally stretch out a thread or a task. We keep drawing the thread out and the task keeps looking more meaningless, pointless and scary. Perfectionism is definitely one of the ways of lengthening this thread, we want to reach the idealized end state without even starting at all.
The action or the way to begin something is the difficult part actually when you're in the middle of doing something, there's a sense of calm and ease. Or the flow state that we know of.
But why are beginnings so difficult? Well, why is birth difficult? Every beginning is also a rebirth of you, but you want to run before you learn how to walk. We have this fantasy of the easy life that we love so much.
Easy sadhana, fast and easy meals, easy knowledge and an easy healthy body.
This fantasy of ease combined with not being able to see the end of the practice is why many people fall off the path and have a hard time with consistency. However, this is why rituals are practiced so that one can understand their relationship with time effectively.
Perhaps we need to reconsider our language around what we ask of God, in our spiritual path, are we asking only for the ease and prosperity or are we asking Ganapati to transform us by using the obstacles as a way to challenge ourselves and propel ourselves into inviting more grace.
I know certainly, that a life without both Vighna and Vighnesha are no fun.
And this is the whole point, Ganapati is born out of play and fun, a smile. In another story, Maa Parvati creates Him from the dirt of Her body out of fascination and play. Devi is obviously the greatest standard for everything and here we look at Her as someone who simply enjoys being and doesn't fall prey to perfectionism.
Perfectionism is living in a fantasy idea of who you want to become and procrastination emerges out of not being able to find congruence in the now and the future. This is literally how we lose our shaktis, via distraction and consuming hopeless media.
But Ganapati won't let you, His sadhana and stories are a testament of what resourcefulness can do. Even if the original plan fails, there is another way. Even if the path is blocked, perhaps you go around it. Even if you don't know where you're ultimately going, you can establish enough stability to take one step.
Ganapati gives you the capacity and the grace to move through complexity and obstacles without feeling disoriented by them. The question He leaves us with is, 'Can we remain stable enough to act when we're not certain about the outcomes?'
vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha
nirvighnam kuru me deva sarvakaryeshu sarvada
O Lord with a curved trunk and a large body, whose splendour is equal to that of a million suns, remove all obstacles from my tasks, always and in all undertakings.
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