Lord Ganesh

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Namaste Mates... about Lord Ganesh..

 

GANAH in Sanskrit means 'multitude'. Isa means 'Lord'. Lord Ganesh

therefore literally means the 'Lord of all beings'. Lord Ganesh is

the first son of Lord Siva. Siva represents the supreme Reality. The

son of Siva symbolises one who has realised the Reality. One who has

discovered the godhood in him. Such a man is said to be the Lord of

all beings.

 

Lord Ganesh is known by other names as well. Ganapati, Gajanana,

Vinayaka, Vighneshwara. Ganapati has the same literal meaning as Lord

Ganesh. Gajanana means 'elephant-faced'. Gaja=elephant, anana=ia.ce.

Vinayaka means the supreme leader, literally one who has no leader

himself. Vighneshwara is the Lord of all obstacles, worshipped in the

initiation of Hindu rituals and ceremonies. As his name suggests

Vighneshwara removes all obstacles, overcomes all challenges of life.

There is a belief that no undertaking will meet with failure if the

grace of Vighneshwara is invoked.

 

In Hindu mythological literature Lord Ganesh is described as having

a human form with an elephant's head. One of the tusks in his head is

broken. He has a conspicuously large stomach. He sits with one leg

folded in. At his feet a variety of food is spread. A rat sits near

the food and looks up at him as if it were asking him for sanction to

eat the food. This mystical form of Lord Lord Ganesh represents not

only the supreme state of human perfection but the practical path to

reach that state. The details of his description suggest deep

philosophical significance which can guide you to reach that ultimate

state.

 

The first step of spiritual education is sravana which means

listening to the eternal truths of Vedanta. The second step is manana

which is independent reflection upon those truths. The large ears and

head of Lord Ganesh indicate that he had gained previous wisdom

through sravana and manana. An elephant's head on a human body in

Lord Ganesh is meant to represent supreme wisdom.

 

The trunk which springs from his head represents the intellect, the

faculty of discrimination which necessarily arises out of wisdom.

Intellect is the discriminating faculty, the discerning ability or

the judging capacity in man. Man's intellect is of two distinct

types, namely the gross and the subtle. Gross intellect is that

aspect of his discrimination which is applicable to the realm of the

terrestrial world, that part of the intellect which distinguishes

between the pairs of opposites existing in this world, distinguishes

between day and night, black and white, joy and sorrow etc. Subtle

intellect is the other aspect of his discrimination which

distinguishes between the infinite and the finite, the real and the

unreal, the transcendental and the terrestrial. A man of realisation

like Lord Ganesh is one who has fully developed both his gross and

subtle intellects. He has perfect understanding and knowledge of the

terrestrial as well as transcendental.

 

The trunk of an elephant has the unique capacity of performing both

gross and subtle activities. A trunk can uproot a tree. It can pick

up a needle from the ground. One rarely finds gross and subtle

operations being performed by a single instrument. A spanner which is

used for fitting a locomotive is useless for repairing a wrist-watch.

The elephant's trunk is an exception to this rule. It serves both

ways. So does Lord Ganesh's intellect penetrate the realms of the

material and spiritual worlds. That is the state which man must

aspire to reach. A man of Perfection is thus rooted in the supreme

wisdom. He is not victimised by likes (raaga) and dislikes (dwesha).

 

He is not swayed by agreeable and disagreeable circumstances,

pleasant and unpleasant happenings, good and bad environment. In

other words, he is not victimised by the pairs of opposites existing

in this world. Heat and cold, joy and sorrow, honour and .dishonour

do not affect him, influence him or harass him. He has transcended

the limitations of opposites in the world. He is dwandwa-ateetha,

beyond opposites. This idea is well represented in Lord Ganesh by

having one of his tusks broken. The common man is tossed between the

two opposites (tusks). He should endeavour to overcome the influence

of the pairs of opposites in him. Man ought not to act merely by his

likes and dislikes, these are his worst enemies he has to control and

conquer. When he has completely mastered the influence of these pairs

in him, he becomes a Lord Ganesh.

 

Lord Ganesh's large belly is meant to convey that a man of

Perfection can consume and digest whatever experiences he undergoes.

Heat or cold, war or peace, birth or death and other such trials and

tribulations do not toss him up and down. He maintains an unaffected

grace in and through all these fluctuations of the world.

Figuratively, he is represented as being able to stomach and digest

all types of experiences.In Hindu mythology, Kubera, the god of

wealth offered a dinner to Lord Ganesh in his palace. Lord Ganesh ate

all the food that was prepared for the entire gathering of guests.

Thereafter still dissatisfied, he started eating the festive

decorations that were used for the occasion. At this juncture his

father Lord Siva approached him and offered him a handful of roasted

rice. Lord Ganesh consumed the roasted rice and his hunger was

satisfied immediately. This story is a directive to mankind that man

can never be satisfied with the joys provided by the world of objects

represented by Kubera's feast. Material pursuits can never give

peace, contentment or happiness to mankind. The only way to attain

absolute fulfilment or peace is by consuming your own vasanas which

are the unmanifest desires in you. The destruction of vasanas is

represented by the consumption of roasted rice. When rice is roasted

it loses its capacity to germinate. The consumption of roasted rice

indicates the destruction of vasanas or desires in you. Thereafter

you remain in a state of absolute peace and bliss.

 

Lord Ganesh sits with one leg folded up and the other leg resting on

the ground. The leg on the ground indicates that one aspect of his

personality is dealing with the world while the other is ever-rooted

in single-pointed concentration upon the supreme Reality. Such a man

lives in the world like anyone else, but his concentration and

meditation are ever- rooted in the Atman within himself. This idea is

symbolised in the above posture. At the feet of the Lord is spread

abundance of food. Food represents material wealth, power and

prosperity. When a man follows the high principles of living

indicated above he achieves these material gains. He has them always

at his command though he has an attitude of indifference towards

them. Beside the food is a tiny rat looking up towards Lord Ganesh.

The rat does not touch the food but waits for the master's sanction

as it were for consuming it. The rat represents desire. A rat has a

small mouth and tiny sharp teeth. But it is the greediest of all

animals. Its greed and acquisitiveness are so great that it steals

more than it can eat and hoards more than it can remember, often

abandoning burrows full of hoarded grains through forgetfulness. This

predominant trait in a rat justifies amply its symbolism as desire.

One little desire entering man's mind can destroy all his material

and spiritual wealth earned for many long years. The rat looking up

therefore denotes that the desires in a perfect man are absolutely

under control. The activities of such a man are motivated by his

clear discrimination and judgement rather than by an emotional

craving to enjoy the variety of sense objects of the world.

 

There is a belief amongst the Hindus that it is inauspicious to see

the moon on the Vinayaka Chaturthi day, that is, the birthday of Lord

Ganesh. The Puranic story says that the moon saw Lord Ganesh riding

on his tiny rat and laughed at the ludicrous scene. For this reason

the moon is condemned and people are forbidden to see it on this day.

Lord Ganesh riding on his rat indicates a man of Perfection trying to

use his limited body, mind and intellect to convey the illimitable

Truth. The body, mind and intellect are finite. They cannot express

the infinite Atman. A man of Realisation finds it almost impossible

to convey his infinite experience through his finite equipments.

Hence we find the words and deeds of all spiritual masters are

peculiar and incomprehensible. The common man's intellect cannot

comprehend the Truth. The moon is the presiding deity of the mind.

The moon laughing at Ganapati riding on the rat indicates the

ignorant scoffing at the man of Realisation's attempt to convey the

Truth. This attitude of scoffing at spiritual preceptors and precepts

is detrimental to humanity. The generations are therefore warned not

to laugh or scoff at the spiritual messages. If they do, they meet

with degradation and disaster.

 

Lord Ganesh has four arms. The four arms represent the four inner

equipments of the subtle body, namely mind (manas), intellect

(buddhi), ego (aharnkar) and conditionedconsciousness {chitta). Lord

Ganesh represents the pure Consciousness, the Atman which enables

these four equipments to function in you. In one hand he holds an axe

and in another a rope. The axe symbolises the destruction of all

desires and attachments and their consequent agitations and sorrows.

The rope is meant to pull the seeker out of his worldly entanglements

and bind him to the everlasting and enduring bliss of his own Self.

In the third hand he holds a rice ball {modaka). Modaka represents

the joyous rewards of spiritual seeking. A seeker gains the joy of

satisfaction and contentment as he progresses on the path of

spiritual evolution. In the fourth hand he holds a lotus (padma). The

lotus represents the supreme goal of human evolution. By holding the

lotus in his hand he draws the attention of all seekers to that

supreme state that each one of them can aspire for and reach through

proper spiritual practices. He blesses all his devotees to reach the

supreme state of Reality. Thus by indicating to mankind the goal of

human evolution and the path to reach the same. Lord Lord Ganesh

occupies a place of distinction in the Hindu pantheon. May he give us

all the strength and courage to pursue the path which he has led and

may we gain that supreme goal which he has reached.