Japanese Folktale: Visu the Woodsman and the Old Priest
Many years ago there lived on the then barren plain of Suruga a woodsman by the name of Visu. He was a giant in stature, and lived in a hut with his wife and children.
One day Visu received a visit from an old priest, who said to him: "Honorable woodsman, I am afraid you never pray."
Visureplied: "If you had a wife and a large family to keep, you would never have time to pray."
This remark made the priest angry, and the old man gave the woodcutter a vivid description of the horror of being reborn as a toad, or a mouse, or an insect for millions of years. Such lurid details were not to Visu's liking, and he accordingly promised the priest that in future he would pray.
"Work and pray," said the priest as he took his departure.
UnfortunatelyVisu did nothing but pray. He prayed all day long and refused to do any work, so that his rice crops withered and his wife and family starved. Visu's wife, who had hitherto never said a harsh or bitter word to her husband, now became extremely angry, and, pointing to the poor thin bodies of her children, she exclaimed: "Rise, Visu, take up your ax and do something more helpful to us all than the mere mumbling of prayers!"
Visu was so utterly amazed at what his wife had said that it was some time before he could think of a fitting reply. When he did so his words came hot and strong to the ears of his poor, much-wronged wife.
"Woman," said he, "the Gods come first. You are an impertinent creature to speak to me so, and I will have nothing more to do with you!" Visu snatched up his ax and, without looking round to say farewell, he left the hut, strode out of the wood, and climbed up Fujiyama, where a mist hid him from sight.
When Visu had seated himself upon the mountain he heard a soft rustling sound, and immediately afterward saw a fox dart into a thicket. Now Visu deemed it extremely lucky to see a fox, and, forgetting his prayers, he sprang up, and ran hither and thither in the hope of again finding this sharp-nosed little creature.
He was about to give up the chase when, coming to an open space in a wood, he saw two ladies sitting down by a brook playing go. The woodsman was so completely fascinated that he could do nothing but sit down and watch them. There was no sound except the soft click of pieces on the board and the song of the running brook. The ladies took no notice of Visu, for they seemed to be playing a strange game that had no end, a game that entirely absorbed their attention. Visu could not keep his eyes off these fair women. He watched their long black hair and the little quick hands that shot out now and again from their big silk sleeves in order to move the pieces.
After he had been sitting there for three hundred years, though to him it was but a summer's afternoon, he saw that one of the players had made a false move. "Wrong, most lovely lady!" he exclaimed excitedly. In a moment these women turned into foxes and ran away.
When Visu attempted to pursue them he found to his horror that his limbs were terribly stiff, that his hair was very long, and that his beard touched the ground. He discovered, moreover, that the handle of his ax, though made of the hardest wood, had crumbled away into a little heap of dust.
After many painful effortsVisu was able to stand on his feet and proceed very slowly toward his little home. When he reached the spot he was surprised to see no hut, and, perceiving a very old woman, he said: "Good lady, I am amazed to find that my little home has disappeared. I went away this afternoon, and now in the evening it has vanished!"
The old woman, who believed that a madman was addressing her, inquired his name. When she was told, she exclaimed: "Bah! You must indeed be mad! Visu lived three hundred years ago! He went away one day, and he never came back again."
"Three hundred years!" murmured Visu. "It cannot be possible. Where are my dear wife and children?"
"Buried!" hissed the old woman, "and, if what you say is true, you children's children too. The Gods have prolonged your miserable life in punishment for having neglected your wife and little children."
Big tears ran down Visu's withered cheeks as he said in a husky voice: "I have lost my manhood. I have prayed when my dear ones starved and needed the labor of my once strong hands. Old woman, remember my last words: "If you pray, work too!"
We do not know how long the poor but repentant Visu lived after he returned from his strange adventures. His white spirit is still said to haunt Fujiyama when the moon shines brightly.
God of Success
Ganesha
An elephant deity riding a mouse is one of the best known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. Ganesha, also called Ganapati, is the god of wisdom, prudence, and salvation. Ga means "knowledge", na means "salvation", and isa and pati mean "lord". His image is found throughout India. Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
The son of the Hindu deities Siva and Durga is a god of luck and of "opening the way." Rotund and generally jolly, Ganesha is distinguished from other Hindu deities because he has the head of an elephant. His image appears on numerous Hindu products, such as incense and foods. His symbol is the swastika, which he bears in the palm of his hand. His identifying weapon is an elephant goad, to move stubborn people, but he is not always shown bearing it. Sometimes he carries a conch shell, holds a book, or receives offerings of sweet foods. Usually, one of his tusks is broken and his vehicle is a rat, who may be shown stealing one of the food offerings placed at his feet.
Ganesha became the Lord (Isha) of all existing beings (Gana) after winning a contest from his brother Kartikay. When given the task to race around the universe, Ganesha did not start the race likeKartikey did, but simply walked around Shiva and Parvati, both his father and mother as the source of all existence.
He is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
He is also the most widely worshipped deity. All ceremonies, religious or secular, begin with an invocation to Ganesha. His image is printed on cards sent out for any happy occasion, like for the announcement of birth in the family or a wedding. Usually before beginning any religious writing, he is invoked with words 'Om Shri GaneshayaNamaha', literally meaning "Ganesha, I pray to you".
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
At birth, Ganesha was a perfectly normal boy, with perfect features and body parts, as befits one conceived by a goddess. There are many stories that describe how Ganesha got his elephant head. One tells how Parvati created Ganesha in absence of Shiva to guard her quarters. When Shiva wanted to see her Ganesha forbid it, at which point Shiva cut of his head. Later Shiva restored Ganesha to life and provided him with the head off an elephant, because no other was available. In another story, Ganesha's head is burned to ashes when Saturn is forced by Parvati to look after her child and bless him.
Shiva was in the habit of intruding upon Parvati while she was bathing. However, Parvati found this habit of her forgetful lord rather annoying. One day, when the beautiful goddess was about to get a bath in the water of a pool inside a cave, she placed Ganesha, her favorite son, at the entrance of the cave and strictly instructed him not to let anybody in while she was inside. SoGanesha stood guard while his mother bathed inside till he spied his father ambling towards the cave. Shiva demanded admittance but Ganesha stood his ground bravely and refused to allow his father in.
Shiva was astounded at this. He protested that no one had the right to keep him away from his rightful wife but Ganesha did not budge from his post saying that he would not disobey his mother's instructions. Shiva flew into a terrific rage and attacked his own son. Ganesha parried his father's attack and both fought for quite some time. At the mean time, Parvati unwittingly went on bathing inside, unaware of what was happening. Eventually, Shiva hurled his trident, his supreme weapon, at his son. Ganesha would not parry this as that would show great disrespect for his father. Therefore, he took the blow from the trident on one tusk, which broke off. At this point in time, Parvati emerged from her bath and, perceiving what has been going on, hastened to bring amity back to her family. Since then Ganesha, benevolent initiator, has had one tusk.
Ganesha has become one of the commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also how popular and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.
Ganesha rides a rat that represents the subjugated demon of vanity and impertinence. The conch represents the sound that creates Akash. The laddu presents Sattva. The snakes represent control over the poisons of the passions and refer to Shiva, father of Ganesha. The hatchet cuts away the bondage of desires. The mudra grants fearlessness. The broken tusk is the one with which Ganesha wrote the Mahabaratha.
The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo – sweet - he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.
Acceptance of the somewhat funny looking elephant man Ganesha as the divine force stills the rational mind and it's doubts, forcing one to look beyond outer appearance. ThusGanesha creates the faith to remove all obstacles.
Name: ______
As we continue on our journey to develop a more refined definition of success, read the two fables and mythology of two different cultures.
While reading, be sure to use your thinking notes to highlight and interact with the text by writing ideas, questions, and summaries in the margins. Your thinking notes should focus on how these stories or figures define success.
Use complete sentences and at least one piece of textual evidence when you answer the reading questions below.
1.What is the definition of success expressed by each piece?
Ganesha piece:
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Japanese folktale:
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2. What are the criteria for the definition of success in the Japanese folktale?
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3. What are the criteria for the definition of success in the piece about Ganesha?
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4. How are the definitions of success in each piece similar and how are they different?
5. Consider these pieces as narratives. How do the characters in the story influence or even create the theme of success?
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