Guest guest Posted February 5, 2005 Report Share Posted February 5, 2005 A very simplistic answer, Mongo! In English, <ghouls> are monsters who feed on human flesh. This more describes the rakshasas, who fought against Lord Rama in the Ramayana war. The ganas are the servants and retinue of Lord Shiva. In various time periods, they were portrayed as chubby dwarves who banged on drums, or as animal-headed dancers (Bhairava ganas) who follow Shiva, or as an assortment of (usually male) folk-deities who are wild and uncontrollable. In Amar Chitra Katha comic books, they are often drawn as dark-complexioned "tribal" people of India. The ganas are full of mischief (compare them to Western Fairies or Goblins), and they can cause delays and obstacles to one's plans. Thus Ganesha, as their commander, can keep away thier mischief if the worshipper first pleases Ganesha with offerings. The term "gana" has been extended to all sorts of categories of beings, so that even folk-deities not normally associated with Shiva are called Ganas. The late Sivaya Subramunyaswami wrote prayers where human devotees of Ganesha ask to be treated as Ganas -- certainly the Swami had no intention to turn human devotees into "ghouls." -- Len/ Kalipadma --- Detective_Mongo_Phd <detective_mongo_phd wrote: > Ganas are ghouls. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I always thought that metaphorically speaking, one first invokes Ganapati to control the lower mind. Since Ganesha has been likened to the brain stem. The part of the brain which has to do with fight or flight. Once controlled the higher functions can be utilized. All another way of saying that one should still the vrittis of the mind when approximating yoga. As above so below. All processes of existence are mirrored in the human body. - Len Rosenberg Saturday, February 05, 2005 8:45 PM Are Ganas ghouls? A very simplistic answer, Mongo! In English, <ghouls> are monsters who feed on human flesh. This more describes the rakshasas, who fought against Lord Rama in the Ramayana war. The ganas are the servants and retinue of Lord Shiva. In various time periods, they were portrayed as chubby dwarves who banged on drums, or as animal-headed dancers (Bhairava ganas) who follow Shiva, or as an assortment of (usually male) folk-deities who are wild and uncontrollable. In Amar Chitra Katha comic books, they are often drawn as dark-complexioned "tribal" people of India. The ganas are full of mischief (compare them to Western Fairies or Goblins), and they can cause delays and obstacles to one's plans. Thus Ganesha, as their commander, can keep away thier mischief if the worshipper first pleases Ganesha with offerings. The term "gana" has been extended to all sorts of categories of beings, so that even folk-deities not normally associated with Shiva are called Ganas. The late Sivaya Subramunyaswami wrote prayers where human devotees of Ganesha ask to be treated as Ganas -- certainly the Swami had no intention to turn human devotees into "ghouls." -- Len/ Kalipadma --- Detective_Mongo_Phd <detective_mongo_phd wrote: > Ganas are ghouls. > Links / b.. c.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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