Lord Ganesha is hailed as the symbol of prosperity, knowledge, wisdom and destroyer of obstacles. People seek his blessings in times of happiness and uncertainty alike. Through his many forms, he teaches us valuable lessons. There is a lot to take as inspiration and learn from Lord Ganesh, especially when it comes to managing finances.

Take the First Step
It is believed that Lord Ganesha rules the Muldhara Chakra, which claims that the human life is split into two parts – material and spiritual. Coincidentally, Lord Ganesha controls both of them. The material way fulfils the expectations and wants of the humans whereas the spiritual way represents the life cycle of a person from birth till death. Therefore, Lord Ganesha is worshipped at the time of beginning of new ventures, because of his influence on human life.

And what better time than Ganesh festival to embark on a journey of your financial freedom! Save or invest a fixed sum every month and see your finances grow healthily. You can choose to invest in a simple product such as recurring deposit or even a mutual fund systematic investment plan. Take the auspicious occasion to mark your journey towards financial awareness and wealth creation.

Think Out of the Box
Once, Shiva and Parvati were having ‘the fruit of knowledge’, which both Kartikeya and Ganesha wanted to have. So, Lord Shiva threw a challenge to both his sons asking them to take three rounds of the world and the one who returned first would receive the fruit. Kartikeya flew away on his pet peacock but Ganesha only had the little mouse as his vehicle. So he circled around his parents and told them that his whole world lies in their feet. Shiva and Parvati were impressed with their son’s answer and Ganesha ended up getting the fruit! Lord Ganesha is therefore known as a God of intellect and wisdom. Through large ears and small eyes he accentuates the importance of keen and thorough observation combined with awareness while taking in information.

The lesson to be learnt is to not follow the herd mentality and think out of the box. Just because all your friends are investing in stocks doesn’t mean you should too. Maybe an investment in a debt instruments is more suitable for your short term goals. Besides, it is never too late to start learning and exploring more about the world of investments and staying updated with new investment options. You must also aim to become financially literate so that you are sure about obtaining good returns for short-term and long-term financial plans and become your own money manager.

Digest Financial Uncertainties
It is widely known that Lord Ganesha has an insatiable appetite, for which he is known as “Lambodara” – meaning possessing a large stomach with an extensive appetite.
This symbolism of having a large stomach goes just beyond consuming food. Lord Ganesha is also known to digest all the problems, issues, evils and uncertainties in the world. Financial uncertainty is by definition unpredictable, be it in the form of natural disaster where you lose a lot of resources or face a monetary hurdle, where you land in a difficult situation by making some poor financial choices. The knowledge about asset classes and investing enhances the ability of individual to stomach volatility. It helps people maintain calm when the markets are stormy.

Frugality is sometimes just enough
We know Lord Ganesha’s preferred vehicle is the mouse. Lord Ganesha was able to reach all the nooks and crannies of the world and serve his duty as the destroyer of obstacles because his vehicle was a mouse.Despite being small the mouse assisted Lord Ganesha in some big ways.

The lesson we can take from this choice of vehicle is that sometimes being frugal can have its own advantages. It can help in satisfy our needs just enough that we don’t have to go above and beyond in order to fulfil them. Avoiding being impulsive buyers, distinguishing between our needs and wants, spending on what we need and avoiding buying things just because of peer pressure are all ways to help us save money and invest more.

These are just a few ways in which you can take lessons from Lord Ganesh and become financially aware and literate. And remember, even though these lessons are inspired by the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, they are going to help you only if you continue practicing them throughout your financial journey.