Ganesa/Ganapathi/Vinayaka

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Ganesa, also known as Ganapathi or Vinayaka, is the son of Shiva and Parvati,

and is the first deity to be worshipped during any ritual as he is considered

the remover of all obstacles. His huge body represents the Cosmos or Universe,

and his trunk,

The PRANAVA or OM, the symbol of the Brahman. His elephant's head denotes

superior intelligence, and the snake around his waist represents cosmic energy.

The noose is to remind us that worldly attachments are a trap, and the hook in

his hand is to prod human beings on to the path of righteousness. The rosary

beads are for the pursuit of prayer, and the broken tusk is symbolic of

knowledge as it is with this tusk that he is believed to have acted as the

scribe who wrote down the Mahabharata as dictated by Sage Vyasa. The MODAKA, or

sweet, in his hand is to remind us of hte sweetness of one's inner self. The

physical form of Ganesha is corpulent and awkward to teach us that beauty of

the outward form has no connection with inner beauty or spiritual perfection.

Ganesha, on his vehicle, the mouse, symbolizes the equal importance of the

biggest and smallest creatures to God.

Shiva, the Destroyer of the Universe, is often shown as Nataraja, the King of

Dancers, his dance depicting Cosmic Energy. He dances on the demon, Apasmara

Purusha, who represents our egos. Only by destroying one's ego can one attain

Godhead. In one hand Shiva holds a deer which denotes the human beings'

unsteady mind which darts hither and thither like the deer but which has to be

brought under control. In another, he holds a rattle-drum, the symbol of

creative activity, and in the third, the fire, the symbol of destruction. His

fourth hand, the ABHAYA MUDRA, says, "Do not fear, I shall also protect even as

I destroy." The circle of fire behind him symbolizes the continuity and eternal

motion of the Universe through the paths of Creation, Preservation and

Destruction. The river goddess Ganga, on Shiva's head, denotes eternity and

purity, and the crescent moon reminds us of the waxing and waning of the Moon

and the movement of Time. The cobra coiling around him is, again, the symbol of

Cosmic Energy. Shiva's garland of skulls reminds human beings that death comes

to all, and his third eye depicts that God is all-seeing and wise. Placed in

the center of his forehead on which the Yogi concentrates while in meditation,

this spot is symbolic of the seat of wisdom. Shiva opens his third eye to

destroy evil. The ashes worn by Shiva tell us that the body is transient and

ends in ashes. The tiger-skin that he wears around his waist is the AHAMKARA,

or arrogant pride, which like the tiger, springs out of us but has to be

suppressed. Shiva not only destroys the Universe but also is the destroyer of

human beings' illusions, and the cycle of birth and death which binds us to

this world.

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