India, Sept. 25 -- By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist

Narada said he had a mango for whoever was first to go around the world. Kartikeya immediately jumped on his peacock and flew around the earth. Ganesha simply walked around his parents and declared himself the winner.

Ganesha argued his parents were his world and so he went around 'his' world, not 'the' world. Narada had not clarified which world he was talking about - the objective world which is located outside the mind (the world, common to all) or the subjective world, which is inside the mind (our world, exclusive to us).

This simple story is not about loving our parents more than the world (which is how many children interpret the story). It i...