Is Ganesh A Science Fiction?

The popular Shiva-Parvati’s romantic story originates in Kalidasa’s Kumar-Sambhava, a classic poetry in which the poet beautifully describes the Himalayn princess on the snowy peaks trying to seduce a young mandicant Shiva. Probably scientists (Rishis) around 2nd century, in search of the source of the Holy Ganga, had launched expeditions to the glaciatic region of Kailash-Manasarover. But at a young age when I read Kalidasa I was so mesmarised that I decided one day to visit Mt. Kailash and go to the Gauri –kund to see if there was any sign of that divine beauty where my Lord was victim of the seduction, conspired by the gods in the heavens. In 1982, I visited Mt. Kailash and Manasarovar, and wish to go again in search of my Ardhnarishwar – Shiva in the embrace of Gauri.

Difference between animals and humans is that animals live by the laws of nature under the certainty principle of physics. Humans, under the certainty principles, apply the laws of physics for betterment of living. But to understand and explain the mysterious laws of physics we use creative means to explore, experiment, write thesis, develop theories and communicate findings to other humans. In order to explain the functioning of physics, particularly to the lay people and to children we apply creatively entertaining means called “Science Fiction”.

In earlier times, long before the term Science was coined, the creative communication method was “story telling” and that mixed with “belief systems” became “mythology”. All early societies, ancient civilizations and nations had their mythologies enshrined in their religious and cultural books. But the term “Science” stands for exact knowledge ( drawn from experimental process) came first in use as late as the 17th century in France (….??). There after, the use of mythological story telling went out of fashion. And in the post-modern Space age in the 21st century, creative communication of Knowledge is now marketed as “Science Fiction”. The difference between “mythology” and “science fiction” is however indicative of the level of technology of the time. Because science and technology are mutually synergic in effect. Both help each other in tandem –on the basis of new scientific discovery in due course of time we come up with new inventions, new technologies become possible. And the vice versa. Growth, development and advancement in Knowledge go hand-in-hand with Discovery and Invention.

Indian mythological stories contain information and the findings about creation, universe, Time and Space, Life hereafter, above the earth, beneath the ocean. The facts as known at the time are made attractive with stories of human passion and compassion. That was really efforts to study the interface between science and society. The puranic stories, e.g., narrate all social elements – of men, women and children- and describe saints, god and goddesses, on earth and in heavens – with human follies – like love, anger, passion, jealousies, fornification, adultery, cheating, favoritism, and hate-killing. Yet in the stories characters and description are related to some element of natural phenomenon as was known at that times. Moreover, the stories hint at the futuristic perspectives what possibly can be achieved by somehow either by human efforts or with supernatural powers or natural forces embodied in the form of a deity . All that now made easy in the Science Fiction churned out by popularizing science publications was presented in our Puranic stories.

Shankaracharya (7-8th century) had popularized five major deities - Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Devi and Ganesh (panch-ayatana) representing the five creative and cosmic elements – water, air, fire, earth and ether (akash). The most popular and highly venerated Ganesh is the presiding deity of water, the aquatic element that preceded all creation according to the ancient cosmology. Royina Grewal in her The Book of Ganesha (Penguin/Viking 2001) rightly says that Ganesha is many things to many people. “the portly, merry and mischievous childlike god, as well as the abstract philosopher..is the creator of the universe and the one bestows blessings. He is the lord of obstacles, who removes impediments, but also creates all manner of difficulties if not propitiated. He is the presiding deity of material riches, and also the lord of spirituality. He is the guardian of the threshold who combats evil influences..Above all, Ganesh, more than any other deity, satisfies human aspirations for worldly success and fulfillment.”

Such all pervasive god and in the image of Ganesh- must be considered a best cartoon character for our day cartoonist Lakshman. To me Ganesh is designed to attract lay citizens to otherwise dry scientific knowledge of universe. Without Ganesh who would be interested in the cosmic creation theory? Who would care to know what are the five fundamental elements when the water and air was flowing freely before you? But a funny cartoon - an unusual picture – a baby elephant –head fixed on a portly body and holding a laddu ( sweet), riding a nibbling mouse – ( of course, it was not a mouse of IT age) would attract any inquisitive youngster to ask how and why such an entity created?

And so the earlier science communicators must have devised Ganesh in order to popularize science through the Puranic writings. With attractive stories mixed with tech. Fiction integrated with divine romance, passions, and personal jealousies, depicting human emotions in the inhabitants of the divine habitat in the unknown space age colonies.

Notwithstanding the many worthy missions of Ganesh, there are several scientific possibilities associated with his birth pangs. In no story he had been allowed to enjoy nine months of peace in his surrogate mother’s womb. And yet, Ganesh-ji had been fathered by no one else but Lord Shiva – who wonders on the cold height of Himalaya. And the most beautiful moutain mother takes the cold bath in the frozen Gauri Kund, at the 18,000’, below the Dolma-la ( pass) just below the Mt. Kailash.

To attract the people to the expeditions, Kalidasa composed another romantic classics Meghdutam with description of Himalayan beauty. The science fiction writers around this time picked up the myth and with greater zeal marketed the vision of Ganga descending from the Heavens, and the beautiful nymphs (apasaras) were roaming at those heights attracting the lazy youth of the plains of Hindustan.

Whereas the creation of Ganesh cartoon proved exceedingly effective marketing tactics, the Shiva’s expeditions and feats were unprecedented in entire human history. Not only navigated the mighty Ganga, the wagabond mendicant snake-charmer Shiva was the inventor of anti-lightening devise Trishul - the conductor on the peaks of Himalaya. But to explain an elephant head on Ganesh, by inventing the story that all powerful Lord Shiva had beheaded an unarmed child who was cloned by Parvati from the scented unguents of her body. – is outright preposterous.

On 1 September 2004, Islamic Jihadis had massacred three hundred plus unarmed women and children at a children school in the small town of Beslan in
Chechenya, bordering Russia.

My Lord is Shiva - creator of Universe, and with the Himalayan Princess Parvati he is an explorer and inventor. So, to say that Shiva, could harm an unarmed kid in a jihadi style, who posed no threat to Shiva, is not acceptable to me.