Meeting Lord Ganesh | By 9 year old Aashi from Kolkata

One day, in the middle of the night, I had a wonderful dream. I dreamt I was  walking on a path that went through the white clouds leading to a grand  palace in front. Below the clouds there were many stars, all glowing brightly  and I could touch them with my fingers.

Then my gaze went further to a beautiful white palace which was tipped with  golden in some places. It had a grand dark brown door in the middle. Curiously,  I knocked on the door. It was opened by a man who was wearing silver and  shining armour and bore a cheerful smile. He looked at me, eyeing carefully  and asked,”Is your name Aashi? I was surprised. I said, “Yes, but how do you know”? He laughed and escorted me in.

I was amazed as I saw a man standing in a golden, shining robe and wearing a  lot of jewellery. He wore a wonderful royal crown studded with sapphires on  his head. He had an elephant shaped nose and warm loving eyes. The man was so enormous that I felt I was just a tiny girl. This was probably the best day of  my life.

He came forward and took hold of my hand and said warmly, “Hello Aashi, I  have heard a lot about you. Don’t be afraid of me. I am Lord Ganesha. Welcome to my palace.” I could just manage to squeak “Namaste.” He was calm and  serene but I was trembling inside. It looked as if I was about to faint!
I let my eyes roam in fascination.

We were in a large hall with royal stairs. The floor was covered with  a large, ruby red carpet with a lot of beautiful designs of birds on it. The room was  decorated with beautiful orchids and carnations and had a pleasant smell. In  the middle there was a fantastic fountain, its fresh water coming on my face  like a mist, making me feel refreshed.

I found Lord Ganesha leading me to a door at the end of the hall. It was pure  golden and shining brightly. Lord Ganesha opened the door. I could not wait to  see what was inside the door. My mind raced to many thoughts-Will he know  that I am a naughty kid? Will he know my secrets?Will he show me some magic?

I was scared and nervous as I entered the room. The room was filled with  bright and big pictures of Lord Ganesha with his pet Mushakji. Suddenly, there was a little tinkling light in the air that transformed into six magical chairs,  forming into a circle and in each chair were Gods and Goddesses sitting whom  I worshipped everyday in my puja temple at home.

It was so hard to believe that I made my eyes sore by rubbing it. Lord Ganesha led me to Lord Vishnu with Sheshnaag over his head and Goddess Lakshmi  beside him sitting on a lotus, Lord Shiva with his Trishul in his hand and consort  Goddess Parvati, Lord Brahma sitting on a lotus and Goddess  Saraswati playing her veena, sitting on a swan. Intuitively, I joined my hands  and lied down, bowing before each one of them to give respect. I was very  happy. The Gods and Goddesses blessed me and said that I was a good and  brave girl. They also said that I was the lucky one to be given the responsibility to help people around me. Saying this they blessed me and disappeared.

Lord Ganesha said that this place was called heaven- Abode of Gods. He took  hold of my hand and magically took me to another room of his palace, which  was white in colour with lots of antique objects covering the entire room. There was one particular object that caught my eye. It was a very huge and  beautiful chandelier, golden in colour and embedded with gems and jewels of
every type and colours. Now Lord Ganesha said, “Let’s go to the dining table.  We will have our lunch there.”

Now in my dream I was dreaming that, I was eating the most delicious food ever- Modak and Laddoo, Kheer, Puri, Sabji and a special Sandesh for me! While eating we had a conversation about many things and what all is happening  around us. He was eating his favourite Modak when he asked me if I had a  wish. I said that we need help in facing Corona Virus, a deadly virus, which can  travel from one body to another. We are locked in at home and cannot go to  schools, offices and colleges. People are losing their jobs, dying, getting poor  and have nothing to eat. We do not have a vaccine yet and cannot live a normal  life freely as we used to do.

Ganeshji explained to me that we are getting to spend more time with our  family members and enjoy quality time. We have learnt to do our own work  and are eating healthier food. Mother Earth is healing. So I should appreciate the good things. I told him that I wished the pandemic ends soon  and we all are safe and healthy again. So, Ganeshji said that all will be good and he will solve our problems soon, as he was the Vighna Harta too!

Ganeshji promised that he will come to visit me soon on Ganesh Chaturthi.“May your wish comes true,” he said and suddenly everything  vanished. It was dark and suddenly I felt like I was falling from the heaven to earth at  great speed.

I found myself lying on my soft bed shouting, “Ganeshji, Ganeshji !” I  opened my eyes slowly as if they were heavy and found that it was pitch dark and I  am staring at the ceiling. I sat up and understood that it was a dream and wished to meet Ganeshji again on Ganesh Chaturthi. But, people don’t meet Gods directly. They believe in them in their hearts and worship them.  That’s how they meet them and I snuggled down in my bed for a long, good and peaceful sleep!