July/August/September 2003

IN MY OPINION

Working with Ganesha

How the Lord of Obstacles landed me a job

KAMALA VEYLAN

I grew up in Edmonton, Canada in a Hindu community that is very devoted to Lord Ganesha. For 30 years, my parents were devotees of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (founder of Hinduism Today). It was through his blessings that the Tamil community here became so deeply involved in Ganesha worship and eventually built the Maha Ganapati Temple of Edmonton.

I have always been told that regular temple worship should be an important part of every Hindu's life, and that good Hindus go to the temple at least once a week. When I made worship at the Ganapati Temple part of my weekly routine, life was good and I felt great. I think, however, that we should be able to expect more from our temple worship then just feeling good. Going to the temple should also bring practical results of a beneficial nature. I strongly feel this way, because I have personally been blessed with some of these benefits.

While I was attending the University of Alberta in the Food Science and Nutrition Program a few years ago, it was my general practice to vow to Lord Ganesha to perform a certain religious activity for a prescribed length of time for the purpose of receiving blessings and assistance with my schoolwork and exams. An example of such a vow would be my promise to attend puja at the temple every day for one week.

During my last year at the university, I had to face an important interview to qualify for entrance into a dietetic internship program. Without this entrance acceptance, I would not have been able to receive the professional designation of "Registered Dietitian," a title which represented the culmination of my four-year university education. The process was highly competitive.

As the interview drew near, I prayed to Lord Ganesha. I promised Him that I would make worshiping Him at the temple a daily priority for a minimum of two weeks and as long after that as I could. Then I asked Him to remove any obstacles blocking my path to success in the interview.

The next day, the routine began. I woke up very early in the morning and went to the temple for the first puja of the day. Only after this worship did the rest of my daily activities begin. I continued to follow this routine to the letter, just as I had promised Lord Ganesha. As I was preparing to leave my home on the day of the interview, I reviewed a very complete list of possible questions that I thought might be asked at the interview. But as I was brushing my teeth, three more questions occurred to me. It wasn't like these questions just popped into my mind, or that they came up suddenly like a bolt of lighting. It was more like they were there, in the same way that I knew my name.

These last three questions were somewhat unusual and required thoughtful answers. Yet with this ample time to reflect, I was able to leisurely prepare insightful answers. To my amazement, all three questions were asked, in the same order and in the same way they had come to me:

"One: Please provide an example of when you were given some constructive criticism, and describe how you handled it.
“Two: Please provide an example of when you were working in a group and everyone did not contribute equally. Describe how you handled the situation.
“Three: Please describe three of your strengths and three of your weaknesses.”

I left the interview just knowing I had done well. That night I went to the temple and thanked Lord Ganesha for helping me. A few months later, I received a letter offering me an internship position. I was the only one in my class to receive this offer.
I truly believe that if we can fully trust Lord Ganesha and open ourselves completely to His influence, He can be our best friend and greatest helper, not only in being happy, but in dealing with the practical challenges of life as well.

Kamala Veylan, 28, is currently working as a Registered Dietitian in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada.