Praying for Ganesha’s Help
Mr. Sivanath felt a chill run through his spine as if hit by a blast of cold winter wind. Words he had never expected to hear from his boss had been spoken to him earlier today. His manager, Mr. Madan Mohan, repeated frightful words about the world’s economic plight, such as downturn and recession, over and over again as he explained why he had to let Sivanath go from the company. Madan could not look Sivanath in the eye as he fired him, even though they were friends.§
Before the recession, they often played golf together. Mr. Mohan had come to Sivanath’s house for dinner several times. As he got out of his car in front of his house, Sivanath thought, “Obviously it was a difficult task for Mr. Mohan. But as a manager in the company, he had to carry out his orders. He had no choice. I actually feel sorry for him,” Twilight had descended and the trees were covered with raindrops. The earth around him glowed with light from the moon, and he felt his feet sinking into the soft earth.§
How could he tell this sad news to his family? His wife Aparna was a housewife by choice. She had a good job before they were married. But once Siva and Vasuki were born, Aparna decided to stay at home and look after them. Money had never been a problem. With Sivanath working as a senior service engineer in a leading IT company, life seemed cozy and bright for this family. The future looked so good that last year Sivanath had invited his aged parents to stay with them. They needed care, so Aparna could not go back to work to help solve Sivanath’s new dilemma.§
As he walked towards the front door, Sivanath realized he should have seen it coming. There had been several rounds of budget cuts at the company. Other people had already been let go, and new projects were getting more and more rare. The senior executives were meeting in secret. “I should have been ready for this!”§
The scene inside the house was like a picture postcard. In the large sitting room, his father was dozing peacefully in a comfortable armchair. Mother was stitching a blouse. Twelve-year-old Vasuki was crouched on the floor doing a painting, and eight-year-old Siva was calling out, “Mom, Mom, Mom,” to show her a new discovery. Aparna was in the kitchen cooking. Delicious smells filled the rooms.§
Later that night, after his parents had retired to their room, Sivanath told Aparna what had happened. After a moment’s shocked silence, Aparna realized that Sivanath was really upset. She tried to cheer him up. “Oh! It is nothing!! If one door closes, Siva will open another!!! You are sure to get another job. Don’t worry.” Her kind words and bright smile lightened his mood. He would hunt for a job tomorrow morning. So thinking, Sivanath fell asleep.§
Meanwhile, little Vasuki had heard the whole conversation from the next room. She was worried. She recalled the day, last year, when her friend Reena had been picked from school up by her father in the middle of the day. “Probably they are going on a special vacation,” one girl suggested. But another explained, “Because Reena’s father has lost his job, he can’t afford to keep her in this school any longer.” Vasuki wondered, “Might that happen to me, too? Will I have to move to a new school? Will I have to say goodbye to all my friends?”§
Suddenly her conscience scolded her. It was so selfish to worry about herself when her father had so much more to worry about. She closed her eyes and prayed to Lord Ganesha, “Dearest Ganesha, I will come to the shrine room tomorrow and speak to you.”§
The next morning, Vasuki was determined that she would pray and pray to Ganesha until her father got a job. In their garden bloomed various flowers, but her favorites were marigolds and roses. Plucking a basketful, she sat down in the garden and made a simple garland out of them. Before going to school, she went into the family’s shrine, a large, beautifully decorated room with a big Ganesha statue on the altar.§
In the early morning light, the shrine glowed with freshness. She placed her garland around Ganesha’s neck with deep reverence. A few incense sticks still added a whiff of fragrance to the air from the family’s morning puja. She looked closely at Ganesha’s statue, which shone with a bright black tone. Her eyes roamed over His tender feet and the crisp white cloth covering His stomach. Her gaze then rested on His peaceful face. He was like a good friend to her. Closing her eyes, Vasuki said, “Dear Ganesha, as You know, my father has lost his job. He is so worried. I can’t bear to see him like that. You are the only one who can change this. I pray to You to please, please help him get a new job. I promise to come to the shrine room every day with a garland for You that I will make with my own hands. I will do this until You find a new job for my father.”§
The next three weeks seemed to go by in slow motion. Vasuki watched her father leave home in the mornings filled with hope and return in the evenings looking sad. Job hunting was hard work. He was visiting several companies every day and finding leads through friends and newspapers. He had a simple rule of thumb for the hunt: “Talk to the person who has the authority to hire you if he wants to.” It seemed obvious, but too many of his friends just went around handing in applications and chatting with the people at the front desk. They weren’t making a strong enough impression to get an interview with someone who could hire them. But her father went into every office full of energy, determined to get an interview. He got the interviews, but none had resulted in a job.§
The stress began to show. Vasuki saw that look of worry on mom’s face. Aparna was determined to remain at home to care for her children and her husband’s parents. It would not be good for any of them if she had to leave home to work.§
For Vasuki, it seemed as though her whole life was about to fall apart. Without talking about it to anyone, she worried, “What if we lose our house and I have to move? I would have to go to a different school! My friends would be gone....” But she found strength in her morning meetings with Ganesha, when she placed the garland around His neck and prayed fervently for His blessings.§
One day before leaving for school, she peeked into her parent’s bedroom. Her father was sitting on the bed, pale and unshaven. His hands were folded in prayer. A tear rolled down his cheek. Moved to tears herself, Vasuki ran to the shrine, “Please, please, Ganesha, You have to help us. My father really needs a job.” Suddenly, out of nowhere, Vasuki heard a voice, “At the right time and in the right way.”§
Vasuki looked around to see who had spoken, but the room was empty. Everyone was in the kitchen. Startled, she realized that Ganesha had given her a message! Everything was going to be alright. Vasuki smiled and went to school with a light heart.§
She continued her daily worship. When marigold season ended, she plucked the button roses for her garlands. Sometimes when she plucked the roses the thorns pricked her fingers. Once an ant bit her, but she smiled and went about her work with devotion and faith. January ended with the rains getting more forceful, and in February, the winds blew stronger.§
Just before she left for school on a Monday morning, exactly five weeks after she began her worship, she noticed that the shrine room looked brighter and more beautiful than usual. She placed her garland around Ganesha’s neck and looked intently into His face. For a second she felt as though He was watching her. She blinked her eyes and looked again. Yes! There was Ganesha looking at her. Then He smiled. Giddy with joy, Vasuki left the house for school. Without a doubt, she knew that Ganesha was with her.§
That evening, as Aparna prepared dinner, Vasuki waited for her father to come home. Something in his approaching footsteps told Vasuki that he had good news. The box of chocolates in his hands and the smile on his face added to her happiness. Appa had gotten a job!§
As the family sat for dinner, Appa gave her a special smile, “Vasuki, your faith and worship has changed our karma.” Vasuki blushed as she soaked in father’s sweet words.§
Appa leaned forward, “Of course, Amma and I knew that the garland on Ganesha every day was for me to get a job. Seeing my little girl show so much dedication made me strong and persistent in my search. Thank you! Did you know I was turned down 120 times? But the 121st was it! Ganesha found me a great job! It’s more pay and more responsibility than the last one, even! Will you thank Him for me?”§
The next morning, Vasuki went to the shrine room and thanked Ganesha for the boon. Ever since then, whenever she had a problem, she prayed to the benevolent, elephant-faced Deity for help. And she never forgot the message she had gotten in the shrine that special day, “The right thing will happen, at the right time and in the right way.” Vasuki had an encouraging thought at that moment: “It always does.”§
