Introduction
We follow a lot of traditions and rituals when we pray to
God but how many of us really know the meaning and significance behind them? A
difficult question I suppose. Our parents and grandparents did a wonderful job
of carrying on the family tradition from one generation to another but
somewhere in the midst the real meaning of all this was lost.
99 thoughts on
Ganesha Published by Jaico Books [ISBN-13: 978-81-8495-152-3], is an attempt by
Devdutt Pattanaik to bring forth those hidden meanings behind all those
rituals.
Behind the book
This book brings together 99 meditations to better
understand the stories, symbols and rituals of that adorable elephant headed
Hindu God who removes hurdles and brings prosperity and peace. Known variously
as Ganapati, Gajanana, Vinayaka or Pillayar, He can help all of us score a
century in the game called life.
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| Source: Google Images |
About the Author
Devdutt Pattanaik is a bestselling author whose works focus
on myth and mythology and their relevance in modern times. To know more, do
visit www.devdutt.com
Me thinks
I have been an ardent follower of
Lord Ganesha since my childhood. Maybe the ease with which I can connect with
Him makes it all the more special. I have a personal collection of about some
40+ statues of Him in various forms and my eyes are not tired of still
searching for something new to be added to that collection. He is simply
adorable in each of His forms and I can very easily give Him the tag of being
‘easily approachable’ at least for Me. I had read once that He is one of those
few Gods who has been constantly updated with the changing times and has tried
to keep up with the new trends every time. So please don’t be surprised if you
see Him in yoga postures or wearing a business suit with a laptop in any of the
statues. I am sure by now you must have guessed He is really special for Me and
hence this book was an unavoidable read for Me.
I have always been a very curious
child and have always asked a lot of questions to my parents. Even today I
Google a lot to understand a lot of things in a better manner. Our country
India has such a wonderful and diverse culture that its depth cannot be
measured. The amount of knowledge you can gather is infinite and probably you
can spend your entire life looking for answers.
Surprisingly for Me this book has
managed to answer a lot of Whys for Me. Like for e.g. why does every statue of
Lord Krishna have Him standing with one leg behind the other? Why does Lord
Vishnu always stand on both His legs and Lord Shiva on one? Why is the
shoe-flower a favourite of Lord Ganesha? Like the Shaktipithas across our
country, the various temples of Lord Ganesha also have a story behind them. Did
you know that? Oh I could go on and on
and on about the latest findings that I have managed to lay my hands on.
And I won’t spoil the suspense
for you by revealing all those things here. To know each of these answers you
need to read the book and believe Me it is a wonderful read. Page after page I
could just exclaim Oh! I did not know that. I was pleasantly surprised by each
of those stories and rituals that I was following till now.
The author has done a tremendous
job in bringing all of them together in one book. The language is also very
coherent with a very absorbing narrative. It literally tempts you to turn the
page and secretly wish for it to not end at all. The major drawback is after
the 50th meditation things somehow get a bit repetitive in nature as
the description seems very similar to the previous ones. Otherwise the book
does a wonderful job of being a captivating read. This book is a light read with the left side pages have beautiful sketches of Lord Ganesha and the right ones having the meditations. I finished reading it in one ago in about 1 hour 15 mins flat.
Over all a wonderful attempt by
the author as a tribute to the Lord – who removes all the hurdles always!
Foodie Verdict
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| Source: Google Images |
This book can only be compared to
a modak as after reading it that is the only thing that comes to my mind.