Ganesh Chaturthi is being celebrated in literally half of the country, as Ganesha is loved by many. He is one of the favorite Gods and is dearly loved and therefore it is not surprising the number of people that throng the pandals to pay a visit and catch a glimpse of Lord Ganesha during this 11 day festival. We all celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with much fervor and excitement, however, not many are aware that Lord Ganesha can teach us important lessons to lead a happy and successful life. If we pay close attention, we can learn quite a bit from Lord Ganesha who ushers in hope and happiness in our lives.

1. It is believed that for Lord Ganesha duty always came first. According to legend, Parvati wanted a guard and therefore she created Ganesha from the dust of her body. Lord Ganesha was given the duty of protecting and safeguarding the home entrance. This cute little boy was guarding the home when Lord Shiva comes home and wants to enter. Not knowing who he is, the little Ganesha doesn’t allow him to enter and in a rage he cut’s off Ganesha’s head. Parvati can’t believe this can happen and she wants him back.
2. Lord Ganesha was willing to die but couldn’t be deterred from carrying out his duty. This shows his relentless perseverance to continue the task that was given to him. He was no deterred by the fact that Lord Shiva was the Supreme Lord and he stuck to the order of guarding the house. This teaches us to keep aside our fears and take on the challenge of completing a particular task head on.
3. Human nature’s basic characteristic is to be greedy and this also results in our unhappiness, as accumulation of wealth or possessions is never enough for us. Lord Ganesha teaches us this lesson of making the most from what we have through a simple story. It is believed that once Lord Ganesha was given the challenge of running a race against his brother Kartik where both of them had to take three rounds of the entire universe and whoever won was the winner. Lord Kartik took off on his peacock to complete this race, however, Lord Ganesha was aware of his limitations and devised an intelligent way of finishing this race. For him, his world were his parents and therefore he circumnavigated around them and he won the race because of his prudence and wisdom.
4. We all know Lord Ganesha has huge ears and it is believed that he is an extremely good listener. Before he is immersed, devotees share their secrets, wishes and problems with the lord and he helps them solve those problems and fulfil their desires. Therefore it is important that we try and listen more rather than speak more, as we will eventually gain more by listening.
5. We are aware that Lord Ganesha’s head is of an elephant as after Shiva cut his head off, on Parvati’s insistence he got an elephant’s head and revived Lord Ganesha. The trunk is an important part of of an elephant as it helps in various ways including picking up heavy objects, drinking water or even destroying any kind of obstruction that may come in the way. However, we all have noticed that Lord Ganesha’s trunk is knotted, which symbolizes control. If Lord Ganesha being all powerful can control his powers then we definitely can learn from him and try and control our emotions and powers and never misuse or become arrogant of what we possess.