Shri Ganapati Deva

[Guest guest]

This is from: http://www.hubcom.com/tantric/ganesh.htm

There is a lot of information at this fantastic site which I hope you'll love as

much as I do. Please visit the site and find your way around. Aum Ganesa,

Sy

================

 

 

© 1975-1999. All rights reserved. None of this material may be reproduced, apart

from purely personal use, without the express permission of the Webmaster

Web pages designed by Mike Magee.

ac70 (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk

Original artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1996. Translations are © Mike Magee 1996.

The U.K. Main Site

at www.hubcom.com/tantric is

Hosted by Hubcom

The North American Mirror Site

at www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra is Hosted by Gene R. Thursby

 

Shri Ganapati DevaLet us think of the one-toothed, let us meditate on the

crooked trunk, may that tusk direct us - Ganapati Upanishad

If we look at a contemporary image of Ganesha, also known as Ganapati, the

iconography has preserved much of the esoteric side, although the exoteric side

has triumphed. We see a strange composite of elephant and man, and at the bottom

of the picture a mouse or rat. The image represents the three worlds - of

heaven, earth and the underworld, or sun, moon and fire. And in a very clever

and wise way the symbolism has been drawn from the animal or mammal kingdom. In

this picture mankind is the mean between the large universe and the small

universe. Because of this triple symbolism Ganesha is connected with the three

gunas. His association with obstacles comes from the great strength of the

elephant, the intelligence of the human and the subtelty or ability to

penetrate small spaces like a mouse or rat. Ganesha is usually shown with four

arms - these represent the four directions of space or the four elements - the

god being the spirit or quintessence of these. The word Ganesha means lord of

hosts. As usual in the tantrik symbolism the name is really an adjective and

this adjective is also applied to Shiva. The hosts are the hosts of spirits or

denizens of the three worlds. This yantra is the Mahaganapati Yantra (unknown

artist) and Ganesh has many different aspects including Heramba, Haridra and

Ucchishta Ganapati. The tantrik compilation Sharadatilaka gives a most

beautiful meditation on Mahaganapati (Arthur Avalon's English introduction):

"...he is to be meditated upon as seated on a lotus consisting of the letters

of the alphabet. The sadhaka should meditate upon an island composed of nine

gems, placed in an ocean of sugarcane juice; a soft gentle breeze blows over

the island and makes the waves wash the shore thereof. The place is a forest of

Mandara, Parijata and other Kalpa trees and creepers, and the light from the

gems thereon casts a red glow on the ground. The six gladdening seasons are

always there. The sun and moon brighten up the place. In the middle of the

island is a Parijata tree whereon are the nine gems and beneath it is the great

Pitha (altar) on which is the lotus whereon is seated Mahaganapati. His face is

that of the great elephant with the moon on it. He is red and has three eyes.

He is held in loving embrace by his beloved who is seated in his lap and has a

lotus in her hand. In each of his ten hands he is holding a pomegranate, a

mace, a bow, a trident, a discus, a lotus, a noose, a red water-lily, a sheaf

of paddy and his own tusk. He is holding a jewelled jar in his trunk. By the

flapping of his ears, he is driving away the bees attracted to his temples by

the fluid exuding therefrom, and he is scattering gems from out of the jar held

in his trunk. He is wearing a ruby-studded crown and is adorned with gem."

Sharadatilakatantra, Agamanusandhana Samiti, 1933. This is the bija or root

mantra of Ganesha, Gam.Before doing the puja, the sadhaka or sadhvini places

this bija on his or her body, using the long vowels of Sanskrit. Ganesh is

often pictured with the Hindu svastika (the word means little picture of good

fortune) and this is formed from four Gam bijas put together. Until the middle

ages c.e., it appears that there was a separate cult of tantriks, the

Ganapatyas, who followed this Deva and his Shakti. Like Shiva, he was

worshipped via a linga, but in this case red.

Other forms of GanapatiThere is clear evidence from the original tantrik texts

that Ganesh received extensive worship, simply from the number of different

forms, mantras and yantras that were worshipped. Ganesha His yantra consists of

a square, inside which is an eight petalled lotus, inside this is a hexagon and

in the centre an upward facing triangle. His mantra is om ganapataye namah,

while his tantrik gayatri is ekadantaya vidmahe, vakratundaya dhimahi, tanno

danti prachodayat. His dhyana (meditation image is as having one tusk, four

arms, carrying noose and elephant goad, with the other two hands bestowing

boons and dispelling fear. His vahana (vehicle) is a rat, while he has a big

belly and long winnowing ears. He is adorned with red flowers and various red

scents. But according to the Sharadatilaka tantra, he holds a noose, a goad, a

wine filled skull and his fourth hand touches his shakti. She is seated on his

lap and touches his penis with her right hand, while she holds a lotus in her

other hand. Heramba Ganapati The mantra is om gum namah. He is as bright as a

thousand suns and sits on a lion and has five faces, each of a different

colour. He has eight arms. Trailokyamohanakara Ganesh This name means the

Ganesh who is the cause of delusion in the three worlds. His yantra is similar

to the above, except there is no triangle in the centre of the hexagon, which

instead includes his mantra, which is vakratundayai klim klim klim gam ganapate

varavarada sarvajanam me vashamanaya svaha. The mantra's meaning shows that this

form of Ganesh is worshipped in specific rites (prayoga). Siddhivinayaka His

mantra is om namo siddhivinayaka sarvakaryakartrai sarvavighnaprashamanaya

sarvarajyavashyakaranaya sarvajanasarvastripurushakarshanaya shrim om svaha. As

this mantra indicates, again this is a form of Ganesh used in magical rites, in

this case to obtain the siddhi of subjugation over kings, men, women and the

alleviation of all obstacles. Siddhivinayaka Ganesh has three other mantras in

a similar vein. Shaktivinayaka The mantra of this form of Ganesh is om hrim

grim hrim. Bhargava is the rishi of the mantra, virat is the metre for

pronouncing it, grim (pronounced greem) is the bija, hrim is the shakti, and

the application is success in what is desired. The dhyana is Shaktivinaya, four

armed, carrying modaka, ankusha, and rosary. The yantra is of the hexagonal form

with the root mantra inscribed in the centre. Lakshmi Vinayaka Again, the

hexagon yantra is used, but with the mantra in the centre, which is om shrim

gam saumyaya ganapataye varavarada sarvajanam me vashamanaya svaha. The

application is the desired wish, which in this case is lakshmi, luck, good

fortune, money. Haridra Ganesha The word haridra is the yellow powder turmeric.

The mantra of this aspect of Ganesha is om hum gum glaum, and the yantra is

similar to Lakshmi Vinayaka, with, however, the appropriate mantra in the

centre. Here, Ganesha is clothed all in yellow, has four arms, one of which

touches his trunk, while the others hold noose, goad, and modaka bowl. The

application is success in desires. Ucchishta Ganapati Ucchishta are the

leftovers after puja (worship). This form of Ganapati comes with a nine

lettered mantra, a 12 lettered mantra, a 19 lettered mantra, a 32 lettered

mantra, and a 37 lettered mantra.

You can download the Ganapati Upanishad in Adobe Acrobat format from this site.

Artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1995. Translations are © Mike Magee 1995. Questions or

comments to ac70 (AT) cityscape (DOT) co.uk Home Page

http://www.hubcom.com/tantric/ganesh.htmDo You ?

Find a job, post your resume on Careers.