More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
As long as the lion is hungry, the deer is afraid. As soon as the lion is fed, it forgets its fear of scarcity and the deer no longer has to fear the predator. Food thus plays a fundamental role in allaying fear.
Unless the self-contained engage with the needy, the needy will never learn how to become self-contained.
When humanity ignores imagination, there is no growth, no quest to outgrow fear, no desire for spiritual reality. Evolution does not happen. Spiritual reality remains undiscovered. Only the self matters; others remain invisible. In other words, humans stay animals.
Regeneration is critical to survival. Regeneration compensates for losses incurred by death. A shepherd who loses sheep to a wolf depends on the ability of the other sheep to reproduce to make good his numbers. A farmer who has harvested the crop depends on the regeneration of earth’s fertility to ensure he does not starve the next season.
The tusks are symbols of aggressive power. Ganesha is breaking it so that strength is used only to defend and nourish, not dominate and exploit.
Animals never overeat. Humans, because of imagined and amplified fears, end up spending their lives gathering food like the Yakshas and forget to reflect on the meaning of food. By replacing the human head with an elephant head, Shiva draws attention to human greed that is rooted in fear and that prevents humanity from discovering bliss. With the head of an animal that knows neither scarcity nor predator, Ganesha becomes the symbol of contentment and wisdom. His corpulent form evokes not just power and abundance but also satisfaction.
