The
Hindu religion tells the story of Lord Ganesh, lord of success and destroyer of
evil and pride.
The
story goes that the goddess Parvati created a boy out of the dirt of her body
and told him to guard the entrance of her house while she bathed.
When
her husband, Lord Shiva, came
home, the boy Ganesh would not let him in, like he was instructed. Unimpressed
and growing madder and madder as the boy continued to refuse him entry, he took
a sword and in his rage, cut the boy's head off.
When
Parvati saw what had happened she broke down in grief, for she loved this boy
as her son. To make amends, Shiva sent his guards out to search the lands for a
any child who was sleeping facing north, not facing his mother.
The
guards returned with the severed head of an elephant.
Lord Shiva started to
protest but Parvati stepped in. It didn't matter if Ganesh had the head of an
elephant, he was her son, and she would love him, no matter what he looked
like.
It is
a reminder that we should not judge others by appearances. And this is the
biggest take away from my weekend yoga retreat at Swami's.
The
place was not luxurious, the reviews were less than encouraging, and Swami, her
son Sanjay and Gavin the masseuse did not
on first glance appear to be the gurus/mentors/spiritual guides we were looking
for.
I
could not have been more wrong. The weekend was enriching, nurturing and
relaxing. The people were warm, welcoming and insightful.
Sure
there were some funny moments, when dear Swami
who seems to be suffering the ailments of old age told the same stories over
and over, when she almost forgot to feed us dinner and when we were
woken every 15 minutes by smoke alarms with low batteries.
But
when the retreat was over, I felt something had shifted. And I left feeling
clearer and calmer. I left feeling loved. I don't think I will forget my
weekend at Swami's.
(Image via Pinterest)