Selling Buddha and Stuff

I discovered the shop while wandering through Alexandria and I was immediately charmed.

If you look at the carving on the left, it's Ganesh, and the story goes like this:

God Shiva was far away from home and his wife, Goddes Parvathi, was missing him. So she made from powder a replica of Shiva: that way their son God Ganesh came into picture, so to speak.

As mothers always teach their sons, also Parvathi taught Ganesh not to open the door to anyone (Romanians have their own story about such teachings: Capra cu trei iezi, but let's not loose ourselves in intricacies). So when Shiva came back, he found the door locked. Parvathi was just taking a bath, and Ganesh did not know who Shiva was. What's worse, Shiva did not know about Ganesh either, so he forced the door and beheaded the boy.

Well, when Shiva realized that he had beheaded his son (or rather his replica, you'd say), he decided to do his best to fix the thing, so he went Far East up to a region inhabited by elephants. You'll guess, he beheaded there an elephant and came back to revive his boy. So, since that time Ganesh keeps on carrying an elephant head on his shoulders.

You'd say that the story goes against our environmental concerns, but I can tell you: elephants have always been unfriendly to Shiva, so there is an excuse.

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The sacred stories seem sometimes childish: actually there is much subtlety within. They tell us apparently about gods; actually they refer to us, humans. This story about Shiva, Parvathy and Ganesh tells us about the responsibility we carry upon ourselves for our deeds. We carry this responsibility for ever. There is no perfect reparation for our deeds. We could go up to Far East, up to the borders of Earth, but in vain: we will not have again what we have destroyed; we can get only a substitute, a head of an elephant; the real head is lost for ever. Once a deed is done, it is done. And we will face for ever the consequences of what we have done.

Yes, sacred stories seem sometimes childish; actually each of us repeat them in our own journey through life.


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I would like to thank here to my two young friends from India for their generosity to share with me the sacred story of Shiva, Parvathy and Ganesh.


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Holly stories seem sometimes childish; actually they have a charm: the holly world is a charming world and gods let you in if you open your heart the way kids do.


(Alexandria)