Ganesh Chaturthi by Sri Swami Sivananda

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Again namaste to you all,

 

Another piece straight from the quality Sivananda/Divine Life Society site. The

URL for this particular piece on Ganesh Chaturthi festival is

http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/religions/ganesh.htm Hopefully this is piece is

not a repeat, excuse me if it is.

 

In the words of Swami Sivananda "May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all!"

 

Om Gam,

 

Neil

GANESH CHATURTHI

By

SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA

SALUTATIONS to Lord Ganesha who is Brahman Himself, who is the Supreme Lord, who

is the energy of Lord Shiva, who is the source of all bliss, and who is the

bestower of all virtuous qualities and success in all undertakings.

Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra, Vaamana rupa

maheshwara putra,Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe

MEANING: "O Lord Vinayaka! the remover of all obstacles, the son of Lord Shiva,

with a form which is very short, with mouse as Thy vehicle, with sweet pudding

in hand, with wide ears and long hanging trunk, I prostrate at Thy lotus-like

Feet!"

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. This is the

birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is the day most sacred to Lord Ganesha. It falls

on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is

observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the

world.

Clay figures of the Deity are made and after being worshipped for two days, or

in some cases ten days, they are thrown into water.

Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God. He is worshipped first in any prayers.

His Names are repeated first before any auspicious work is begun, before any

kind of worship is begun.

He is the Lord of power and wisdom. He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva and the

elder brother of Skanda or Kartikeya. He is the energy of Lord Shiva and so He

is called the son of Shankar and Umadevi. By worshipping Lord Ganesha mothers

hope to earn for their sons the sterling virtues of Ganesha.

The following story is narrated about His birth and how He came to have the head of an elephant:

Once upon a time, the Goddess Gauri (consort of Lord Shiva), while bathing,

created Ganesha as a pure white being out of the mud of Her Body and placed Him

at the entrance of the house. She told Him not to allow anyone to enter while

she went inside for a bath. Lord Shiva Himself was returning home quite thirsty

and was stopped by Ganesha at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesha's

head as He thought Ganesha was an outsider.

When Gauri came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console her grief,

Shiva ordered His servants to cut off and bring to Him the head of any creature

that might be sleeping with its head facing north. The servants went on their

mission and found only an elephant in that position. The sacrifice was thus

made and the elephant's head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the

elephant's head onto the body of Ganesha.

Lord Shiva made His son worthy of worship at the beginning of all undertakings,

marriages, expeditions, studies, etc. He ordained that the annual worship of

Ganesha should take place on the 4th day of the bright half of Bhadrapada.

Without the Grace of Sri Ganesha and His help nothing whatsoever can be

achieved. No action can be undertaken without His support, Grace or blessing.

In his first lesson in the alphabet a Maharashtrian child is initiated into the

Mantra of Lord Ganesha, Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah. Only then is the alphabet

taught.

The following are some of the common Names of Lord Ganesha: Dhoomraketu,

Sumukha, Ekadantha, Gajakarnaka, Lambodara, Vignaraja, Ganadhyaksha,

Phalachandra, Gajanana, Vinayaka, Vakratunda, Siddhivinayaka, Surpakarna,

Heramba, Skandapurvaja, Kapila and Vigneshwara. He is also known by many as

Maha-Ganapathi.

His Mantra is Om Gung Ganapathaye Namah. Spiritual aspirants who worship Ganesha

as their tutelary Deity repeat this Mantra or Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah.

The devotees of Ganesha also do Japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra. This is as follows.

Tat purushaaya vidmahe Vakratundaaya dheemahi Tanno dhanti prachodayaat.

Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom and bliss. He is the Lord of

Brahmacharins. He is foremost amongst the celibates.

He has as his vehicle a small mouse. He is the presiding Deity of the Muladhara

Chakra, the psychic centre in the body in which the Kundalini Shakti resides.

He is the Lord who removes all obstacles on the path of the spiritual aspirant,

and bestows upon him worldly as well as spiritual success. Hence He is called

Vigna Vinayaka. His Bija Akshara (root syllable) is Gung, pronounced to rhyme

with the English word "sung". He is the Lord of harmony and peace.

Lord Ganesha represents Om or the Pranava, which is the chief Mantra among the

Hindus. Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of

invoking Ganesha before beginning any rite or undertaking any project. His two

feet represent the power of knowledge and the power of action. The elephant

head is significant in that it is the only figure in nature that has the form

of the symbol for Om.

The significance of riding on a mouse is the complete conquest over egoism. The

holding of the ankusha represents His rulership of the world. It is the emblem

of divine Royalty.

Ganesha is the first God. Riding on a mouse, one of nature's smallest creatures

and having the head of an elephant, the biggest of all animals, denotes that

Ganesha is the creator of all creatures. Elephants are very wise animals; this

indicates that Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom. It also denotes the

process of evolution--the mouse gradually evolves into an elephant and finally

becomes a man. This is why Ganesha has a human body, an elephant's head and a

mouse as His vehicle. This is the symbolic philosophy of His form.

He is the Lord of Ganas or groups, for instance groups of elements, groups of

senses, etc. He is the head of the followers of Shiva or the celestial servants

of Lord Shiva.

The Vaishnavas also worship Lord Ganesha. They have given Him the name of

Tumbikkai Alwar which means the divinity with the proboscis (the elephant's

trunk).

Lord Ganesha's two powers are the Kundalini and the Vallabha or power of love.

He is very fond of sweet pudding or balls of rice flour with a sweet core. On

one of His birthdays He was going around house to house accepting the offerings

of sweet puddings. Having eaten a good number of these, He set out moving on His

mouse at night. Suddenly the mouse stumbled--it had seen a snake and became

frightened--with the result that Ganesha fell down. His stomach burst open and

all the sweet puddings came out. But Ganesha stuffed them back into His stomach

and, catching hold of the snake, tied it around His belly.

Seeing all this, the moon in the sky had a hearty laugh. This unseemly behaviour

of the moon annoyed Him immensely and so he pulled out one of His tusks and

hurled it against the moon, and cursed that no one should look at the moon on

the Ganesh Chaturthi day. If anyone does, he will surely earn a bad name,

censure or ill-repute. However, if by mistake someone does happen to look at

the moon on this day, then the only way he can be freed from the curse is by

repeating or listening to the story of how Lord Krishna cleared His character

regarding the Syamantaka jewel. This story is quoted in the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Lord Ganesha was pleased to ordain thus. Glory to Lord Ganesha! How kind and

merciful He is unto His devotees!

Ganesha and His brother Lord Subramanya once had a dispute as to who was the

elder of the two. The matter was referred to Lord Shiva for final decision.

Shiva decided that whoever would make a tour of the whole world and come back

first to the starting point had the right to be the elder. Subramanya flew off

at once on his vehicle, the peacock, to make a circuit of the world. But the

wise Ganesha went, in loving worshipfulness, around His divine parents and

asked for the prize of His victory.

Lord Shiva said, "Beloved and wise Ganesha! But how can I give you the prize;

you did not go around the world?"

Ganesha replied, "No, but I have gone around my parents. My parents represent

the entire manifested universe!"

Thus the dispute was settled in favour of Lord Ganesha, who was thereafter

acknowledged as the elder of the two brothers. Mother Parvati also gave Him a

fruit as a prize for this victory.

In the Ganapathi Upanishad, Ganesha is identified with the Supreme Self. The

legends that are connected with Lord Ganesha are recorded in the Ganesha Khanda

of the Brahma Vivartha Purana.

On the Ganesh Chaturthi day, meditate on the stories connected with Lord Ganesha

early in the morning, during the Brahmamuhurta period. Then, after taking a

bath, go to the temple and do the prayers of Lord Ganesha. Offer Him some

coconut and sweet pudding. Pray with faith and devotion that He may remove all

the obstacles that you experience on the spiritual path. Worship Him at home,

too. You can get the assistance of a pundit. Have an image of Lord Ganesha in

your house. Feel His Presence in it.

Don't forget not to look at the moon on that day; remember that it behaved

unbecomingly towards the Lord. This really means avoid the company of all those

who have no faith in God, and who deride God, your Guru and religion, from this

very day.

Take fresh spiritual resolves and pray to Lord Ganesha for inner spiritual

strength to attain success in all your undertakings.

May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May He remove all the

obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material

prosperity as well as liberation!

 

 

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