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Post by clusium on Mar 24, 2024 21:58:25 GMT
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 5, 2024 21:34:12 GMT
Does anyone actually, really, believe in a blue elephant deity being literally true?
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Post by clusium on Apr 6, 2024 0:31:58 GMT
Does anyone actually, really, believe in a blue elephant deity being literally true? Ask Hindu people.
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 6, 2024 19:25:34 GMT
Does anyone actually, really, believe in a blue elephant deity being literally true? Ask Hindu people. Does this mean you have posted something about a god without believing in it? I can relate to that...
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The Lost One
Junior Member
@lostkiera
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Post by The Lost One on Apr 9, 2024 14:25:54 GMT
Does anyone actually, really, believe in a blue elephant deity being literally true? Generally Ganesha is depicted as red rather than blue. Not sure why he's blue here. Anyway, the depiction of Hindu Gods is often symbolic. Ganesha's elephant head for instance symbolises his strength, gentleness and memory. Ultimately all gods are manifestations of Brahman, whether that is seen as a physical manifestation or merely as a symbol representing an aspect of Brahman.
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Apr 9, 2024 19:13:58 GMT
Does anyone actually, really, believe in a blue elephant deity being literally true? Generally Ganesha is depicted as red rather than blue. Not sure why he's blue here. Anyway, the depiction of Hindu Gods is often symbolic. Ganesha's elephant head for instance symbolises his strength, gentleness and memory. Ultimately all gods are manifestations of Brahman, whether that is seen as a physical manifestation or merely as a symbol representing an aspect of Brahman. True, but then we have "how Ganesha came to have the head of an elephant is explained in various stories. One account of his birth is that Parvati formed him from the rubbings of her body so that he might stand guard at the door while she bathed. When Shiva approached, unaware this was his son, he was enraged at being kept away from his wife and proceeded to lop off the head of Ganesha. To ease Parvati's grief, Shiva promised to cut off the head of the first living thing he saw and attach it to the body. That creature was an elephant. The Hindu God Ganesha was thus restored to life and rewarded for his courage by being made lord of new beginnings and guardian of entrances. A prayer to Ganesha is invariably accompanied by smashing a coconut, symbolic of smashing the undesirable forces inherent in oneself." www.lotussculpture.com/ganesha-hindu-god-ganapati-elephant-meaning-symbolism.htmlThis all seems more concrete and detailed than a mere symbol.
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The Lost One
Junior Member
@lostkiera
Posts: 2,672
Likes: 1,297
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Post by The Lost One on Apr 9, 2024 20:32:32 GMT
Generally Ganesha is depicted as red rather than blue. Not sure why he's blue here. Anyway, the depiction of Hindu Gods is often symbolic. Ganesha's elephant head for instance symbolises his strength, gentleness and memory. Ultimately all gods are manifestations of Brahman, whether that is seen as a physical manifestation or merely as a symbol representing an aspect of Brahman. True, but then we have "how Ganesha came to have the head of an elephant is explained in various stories. One account of his birth is that Parvati formed him from the rubbings of her body so that he might stand guard at the door while she bathed. When Shiva approached, unaware this was his son, he was enraged at being kept away from his wife and proceeded to lop off the head of Ganesha. To ease Parvati's grief, Shiva promised to cut off the head of the first living thing he saw and attach it to the body. That creature was an elephant. The Hindu God Ganesha was thus restored to life and rewarded for his courage by being made lord of new beginnings and guardian of entrances. A prayer to Ganesha is invariably accompanied by smashing a coconut, symbolic of smashing the undesirable forces inherent in oneself." www.lotussculpture.com/ganesha-hindu-god-ganapati-elephant-meaning-symbolism.htmlThis all seems more concrete and detailed than a mere symbol. I reckon such stories are a bit like the Garden of Eden, with some believers taking them literally and others figuratively. Of course, it's more complicated in Hinduism than in the Abrahamic religions since the former posits that we live in a false reality, the only true reality being Brahman. So it becomes a bit difficult to say whether Shiva really beheaded Ganesha. In a sense, all of Maya is metaphor.
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