Ancient World's Prevalence of Ganesh

[Guest guest]

Worshipped Around the World

 

>From hinduism today

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No other religion offers such insight into the intricate workings of

our universe than Hinduism. More importantly, no other religion

offers the grace of a God that is within us as well as within all

things outside of ourselves, that is both within form as Saguna

Brahman and beyond form as Nirguna Brahman and that may be known my

the devout seeker even in this life. Little wonder that the Sanatana

Dharma, the Eternal Path, has withstood the ravages of time and

stands today as the most advanced system of philosophy and devotion

on the earth. It is fully in accord with, and in fact its sages

clearly anticipated, the advances of 20th Century science. Hinduism

today stands as the religion of the village community as well as the

urban family - an enlightened faith for all men in all times. The

single most unifying force within Hinduism is Lord Ganesha, son of

Siva/Sakti, beloved Deity of over 600 million Hindus.

 

It is an incontrovertible fact that Lord Ganesha is real, not a mere

symbol. He is a potent force in the universe, not a representation of

potent universal forces. Of course, Ganesha belongs to all mankind,

not to Hindus alone, though not all men on the planet call Him by our

name, Ganesha. To the Chinese He is embodied in the form of a massive

dragon, whose physical immensity depicts His incredible and

irresistible force. To some Chinese He is Kuan-shi t'ien or Ho Tei,

the large-bellied God of Happiness. To the Polynesians He is God

Lono. The Tamils call him by the affectionate term Pilliar, Noble

Child. The Tibetians know Him as ts' ogs-bdag, and the Burmese

worship Maha-Pienne. In Mongolia His name is Totkhar-our Khaghan.

Cambodians offer worship to Prah Kenes, and the Japanese supplicate

Vinayaksa or Sho-ten. By some He is envisioned as the feminine Mother

Nature, and even non-believers seek to understand Him through

personifying His great powers as Fate, Destiny or Numen. The Greeks

called Him Janus and sought His blessings at the outset of any new

venture. In the West He is revered as the corpulent Santa Claus, the

giver of boons and gifts. The Buddhists and Jains also honor Ganesha.

In one form or another, Lord Ganesha is honored throughout the world.

Hindus worship Him at countless pujas performed daily on every

continent. In temples and home shrines Ganesha is worshipped today in

India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malayasia, Java, Bali, Borneo, Tibet, Burma,

Siam, China, Indo-China, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago, Hawaii and the

Pacific Islands, Africa, Europe and North America.

 

Abundantly built Lord Ganesha is said to contain within Himself all

matter, all mind. He is the very personification of material

existence. We look upon this physical world as the body of Lord

Ganesha. Hindus do not believe that God is in heaven, aloof from His

creation. We believe in the divine immanence of God, that He is non-

different from the world that He has created. In seeing and

understanding the varied forces at work in the physical universe, we

are seeing and understanding the powers and the being of Lord

Ganesha. God is everywhere. Lord Ganesha is everywhere in this

physical universe. In looking upon the world and all that happens in

it and in our daily lives, we are learning to see God everywhere.

There is nothing that exists apart from God. If we know that, then

life becomes a joy, for We know that all that happens, whether it

brings sorrow or happiness, whether we personally wanted it to happen

or not, still we know that all that happens is right and good. This

is a wonderful spirit for all Hindus to carry into our daily lives -

a complete trust that all that happens is for the best, a full

knowing that God's Will prevails everywhere.

 

Article copyright Himalayan Academy.