Mike Magee's site

[Guest guest]

This is an excerpt from the highly respected Mr. Mike Magee's site (I'm pretty

sure I'd posted this a long time ago but can't really remember):

http://www.hubcom.com/magee/tantra/ganesh.htm

Shri Ganapati Deva

Let 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.

*********Note: To read the rest, please click on the Url:

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