Hari Sree Maha Ganapathaye Namaha

I so much wanted to at least begin writing this piece before this special day, Vijayadasami ends. Thanks to the Lord that I have been able to get hold of the keyboard and begin writing! Vijayadasami day has always been close to my heart , true to its significance, removing the darkness of ignorance and ushering in the light of knowledge, quite categorically, the essence of the Bhagvad Gita. Having been born into  in an orthodox Kerala-brahm family, we had all the rituals and traditions kept intact followed till the last word; which as a child, I did not quite comprehend in its quintessence, but of course with age and maturity, I only grew up to realize that I have been blessed.

This day Vijayadasami to me is a celebration of knowledge and empowerment. The books, pens and sruthi box that go into the Pooja are symbolic representations of surrendering anything you are learning to the Godess of Knowledge, Saraswathi Devi. The books are then taken out from the Pooja, this is followed by writing on a platter of rice, again, Annapoorna Devi. Somehow, though the books that I keep in the Pooja have almost always been in English, when I am handed over the platter of rice to write a few letters, marking the beginning of a new year, for the year’s blessing,  I automatically begin writing in the vernacular, Hindi was my second language back in school. Each time, till date, when I hold the platter of rice to write, I experience child-like delight, reminding myself that I am an eternal student. Learning never ends, for it never can. Everything else could be completed; a course for instance but its constant application, is a learning experience in itself.

This year as well, that is today, I had my neatly bound good old Oxford dictionary, the ubiquitous Wren and Martin, sruthi box, a black ball-point Cross pen which was gifted by my American client at work, a few other additions and of course the Bhagvad Gita, of which we are all eternal students, part of the Pooja. Elders at home always encouraged us to study or write something from the chapters of the books that went into the Pooja; we always started, still do with Hari Sree Maha Ganapathaye Namaha. I thus began with the Ganesha mantra and end with this piece Hari Sree Maha Ganapathaye Namaha.