Ganesha Gita

January 14, 2003

Namaste friends,

This is one of the sites from the list of links I just sent in. I wished to

draw your attention to it because of its Ganesh scriptural work. This page can

be found at http://www.a.com/ggita.html Hope you enjoy the read.

Om Shanti

Neil

OM GRANTHA GEETAYAGUNAYA NAMAH Salutations to Lord Ganesha who is the song of the scriptures

Ganesha Gita

Intro

Varenya said, 'In the world of birth and death many difficulties arise, and they

are very hard to endure. Remover of obstacles, kindly show me the path to

liberation now. How can there be bondage in the realization of You,

Dviradånana? Declare to me that teaching by which I will attain liberation,

that yoga through which I will give up desire, anger and the fear of death.'

Brahmå said, "After having listened to this speech, Gajånana kindly sat Varenya

on a comfortable seat and placed his hand on his head. Then he began to teach

him the Ganesha Gita, casting away all his doubts by presenting His universal

form. As soon as he understood the essence of the Gita from Ganesha's

instruction and having transferred the kingdom to his ministers, he went to the

forest. Filled with detachment, the accomplished King meditated on Gajånana,

fixed on nothing else, and always preached the Gita. Just as water thrown into

water stays only as water, so he came to consist of Him by meditating on Him.'

Vyasa said, 'Four-faced one, Lord of the gods, recite the Ganesha Gita with the

highest compassion. For it removes all ignorance.'" Brahmå said, "This very

thing was previously requested by the great Saunaka Rsi. The sage recited the

Gita as he had heard it from Vyåsa's mouth."

Chapter 1

Saunaka said, 'You have tasted this nectar which is told in the eighteen

Puranas. I also wish to drink this supreme nectar that has an extraordinary

taste, with which a man, having been filled with this nectar attains the

Supreme Brahman. Blessed one, tell me compassionately about that nectar of this

yoga.' Vyåsa said, 'Herewith I will tell you that Gita which presents the path

of yoga. Saunaka, it was entrusted to that inquisitive king by the

elephant-faced God.' Varenya said, 'Lord of obstacles, mighty-armed God, who is

skilled in all the sciences, and who knows the true meaning of all the sacred

texts, please tell me about this yoga.' Gajånana said, 'O King, your intention

has been well determined through my favour. I am going to tell you that Gita

which consists of the nectar of yoga. They say that this yoga is not the yoga

of prosperity, nor obtainable through the objects of the senses, nor obtainable

through the material elements either. The union of mother and father is not

yoga, overlord of men, nor is the union with sons, kinsmen and others, nor is

it the yoga with its eightfold mystic powers. It is not the yoga of union with

women as stated in the sutras. Nor is it the yoga of sovereignty over a

kingdom, nor the yoga of controlling elephants and horses, nor the union with

Indra's world, nor the yoga loved by those whose goal is yoga, nor do I

consider that yoga union with the heavenly realms. Yoga is not union with

Siva's abode, nor with the abode of Visnu. This yoga does not pertain to Surya,

Chandra, nor Kubera, nor Våyu, nor Agni, nor to become immortal, nor to surpass

time, nor to become Varuna or Nirriti, nor to reign over the entire earth.

Those without true spiritual knowledge practice yoga, Protector of the earth,

which is of various kinds. In the world those who have truly attained yoga have

overcome hunger, thirst and the desire for progeny. They purify all the worlds

and have brought the three worlds under their control. Their hearts are filled

with compassion and they enlighten everyone. They are liberated whilst alive

and are immersed in the pool that has the form of the highest bliss. After

closing their eyes they see the Supreme Brahman in their heart. They meditate

on the Supreme Brahman who has appeared in their heart by this yoga. They

consider all beings to be identical with their own self. With their hearts

filled with compassion, they wander on the Earth irrespective of whether anyone

cuts or strikes them, whether anyone is attracted to them or whether anyone

seeks refuge with them. For the purification of all living beings, their anger

and senses conquered, they merely carry their bodies. Protector of the earth, a

mound of dirt and gold are the same to them. Those who come into contact with

such a rare soul are very fortunate, dearest one. I will tell you about this

excellent yoga. Listen attentively, for hearing about it a man is released from

evil acts and from the ocean of material existence. Any yoga involving a fixed

mind resting on Siva, Visnu, Shakti, Surya and on me, protector of men, is the

right yoga in my opinion. I alone, having taken various froms, create, protect

and destroy the world for my own play. I alone am Maha Visnu, I alone am

Sadåsiva, I alone am the great Shakti, I alone am Aryaman, dear one. I alone am

the Lord of men who previously appeared as the five principle incarnations.

Because they are ignorant they do not know me as the cause of the cause of the

world. I am considered to be fire, water, earth and I am considered to be ether

and air, Brahmå, Visnu, Rudra, the world protectors and all the directions, the

Vasus, the Maruts, the cows, the sages and the animals, rivers, oceans, yaksas,

trees and flocks of birds, and the twenty-one heavens, the snakes and the seven

forests, humans, mountains, the sådhyas, perfected beings and hosts of

raksasas. I am the witness, the eye of the world, untouched by all actions, the

unchangeable, the immeasurable, I am the un-manifest, omnipresent and

imperishable. I alone am the Supreme Brahman who possesses everlasting bliss,

King. My power of maya deludes all these excellent men. The material elements

are perceived by the six senses. A person should always concentrate intensely

on Me, after gradually leaving behind the veil of illusion over many births.

After becoming indifferent to the objects of the senses, one should know

Brahman through right knowledge. Brahman cannot be cut by strokes of a sword,

nor burnt by fire, nor can it be made wet by living creatures, nor dried up by

the wind. Nor can it be killed, even when the body is destroyed, Protector of

men. Those ignorant people who are obsessed with the Vedas praise the flowery

words uttered in the Vedas and think of nothing other than that. They always

engage in activities that produce birth and death as its result. They are

obsessed with power and heaven, their minds are scattered and their intellect

absorbed in carnal enjoyment. They produce their own bondage by themselves,

Protector of the Earth. Those ignorant men obsessed with activity are joined to

the wheel of samsara. One engaged in activity should do it and offer the results

to Me, because the huge sprouts of the seeds of karma will be cut off for him.

His mind will be greatly purified. and he will gain spiritual knowledge. The

Supreme Brahman is known (by the sages) through this knowledge. Therefore,

Overlord of men, one should perform actions with the intellect absorbed in Me.

But nobody should not act and abandon his own duty. If one gives up actions,

then one will not find success. Initially he has no command over knowledge and

it is appropriate to focus on action. One whose heart is purified by action

achieves a unified intellect. Moreover, that yoga is declared to be conducive

to the state of immortality. I will describe another yoga. Hear about it,

Protector of the Earth, as it is superb. A man should see with equal vision an

animal, a son, a friend, an enemy, kinsman and a good friend. With detachment

he should have the same attitude towards joy, pain, patience, elation and fear,

sickness, carnal enjoyments, victory and defeat, acquisition and loss of wealth.

In gain and loss and in death, he is the same and sees Me within and outside all

things. Who sees Me always in Surya, Soma, water, fire, Siva, Shakti, in the

heavenly musicians, humans and the lower creatures, he is the knower of yoga,

it is said. And within the brahmin, in the heart, in the great river, in the

sacred ford, in the sacred place, in the removal of evil, in Visnu, in all the

gods, and Yaksas and Uragas. After comprehensively removing the senses from

their own objects by means of discrimination, the intellect assumes

impartiality in regard to everything. I consider this to be yoga, Protector of

the Earth. Through the discrimination of the self by the self the intellect of

that man, attached to his own duty, emerges by the power of providence. Hence

it is that yoga that is said to be real yoga. United with the intellect, a man

now abandons both action and non-action. After that, he should continually

practice yoga. Yoga is prosperity in what is enjoined in the sastras. After

giving up the results both action and non-action, a man of integrity, his

senses conquered, is freed from bondage and birth and goes to the salubrious

place. When a man's intellect will overcome the turbidity of ignorance, then he

gradually becomes dispassionate towards the words of the Vedas and so forth.

When the intellect of that person whose mind diverges from the three Vedas

becomes stable and rests on the Supreme Self, then he attains yoga. When a wise

man gives up all the desires in his mind, dear king, wholly satisfied with

himself in his own self, then his intellect is said to be firm. The man who has

no desire in respect of any of his friends and who is not agitated when

encountering pain, and who is without fear, pain or passion, is then said to

have a firm intellect. Just as the tortoise contracts its limbs, so too should

a person absorbed in yoga withdrawal his own senses from their objects. The

objects of the senses disperse for the embodied person who fasts. He comes to

be without passion and when passion disappears he will see Brahman. On assuming

the steadiness of the yogi, the learned person always strives for yoga (because

the senses which become agitated can at any time forcibly draw away the mind).

The man who is self-controlled and has brought the senses under control will

always be absorbed in Me. Whoever has their senses restrained is considered to

be one who has attained intelligence. For the person who reflects on the

objects of the senses, attachment to them arises. Desire then arises and anger

increases from that. From anger ignorance arises, then loss of memory. From

loss of memory, there is a failure in correct thinking. From that, his

spiritual life is ruined. Without hatred, passion and the objects of the

senses, that man should act through the senses. The heart, which is free from

the control of the senses, increases its satisfaction. When one is satisfied

there will be a casting away of the three kinds of pain. And the person who has

situated himself within wisdom will have a peaceful heart. Without peace, there

is no correct thinking. And without that, there is no contemplation, there is

no peace, and without peace where does happiness come from? Since the mind

follows the senses, which are like horses wandering after their objects, it

will, therefore, destroy correct thinking, like the wind destroys a boat in

water. What is night for all beings, he never slumbers. What is day for all

beings, that is his night, Protector of the earth. Just as rivers come to the

ocean from everywhere, so one who has material desires will never have peace.

Therefore, after the man has completely blocked the senses from everything in

the world, they flee from their objects and his intellect is then firm. After

giving up all thoughts of 'Me-ness' and 'I- ness', he should give up all his

desires and should then focus on intuitive knowledge. From intuitive knowledge

he will become liberated. Protector of the Earth, you are he who knows the

wisdom of Brahman because of fate, and after obtaining yoga you will become

liberated by your nature."

Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The Essence of Sånkhyå Yoga' in the

conversation between Lord Ganesha and King Varenya in the Uttarakhanda of the

blessed and great Ganesha Purana in the learned treatise on the immortality of

yoga, in the blessed Ganesha Gita which is the essence of the Upanisads.'

Chapter 2

Varenya said, 'Lord, you have declared yoga in knowledge and yoga in activity as

being two spiritual paths . After comtemplating the two, tell me which one

produces the best result.' Gajånana said, 'In this world of moving and

non-moving beings these two were initially declared by me, dear King, in

respect to the yoga of the intellect for those of the Sånkhyå school and the

yoga of prescribed actions for those who discharge duties in the world. By not

undertaking prescribed actions a man becomes inactive. He gains no success

simply by abandoning his duties, King. No one ever remains inactive even for a

moment. He is subject to the cosmic forces produced from nature and is

compelled to act. But by continually restraining the senses, the man who

performs actions remains fixed in consciousness. But because of one's

attachment to sense objects, the fool declares this as stupid behavior. Having

first restrained all of the senses with the mind, he should undertake his

duties as the yoga of action by means of the senses. Because he has no material

desires, he is superior, King. Action, done without attachment, is superior to

non-action. Even the maintenance of the body will not be achieved by inaction.

And those who have not offered the results of their actions to Me are bound by

them. The imperishable soul should, without attachment, always perform his

duties and offer the results to Me. Then any actions performed for Me will

never bind one to this world. Action contains unconscious psychic impressions

and forcibly binds the embodied soul. After having produced the social classes,

I first explained the sacrifices, dear King. One should continually perpetuate

the sacrifices as they satisfy all desires like the wish-fulfilling tree. You

must act to please the gods and they will in return please you. By pleasing

each other you will permanently obtain the highest goal. The chosen gods, when

well satiated, will give to you your desired corporeal enjoyments. A man who

consumes what has been given by the gods, without offering back to them, is a

verily a thief. Those who eat the remains of what has been offered as a

sacrifice will be freed from all reactions. Those who cook for themselves

without offering back to the gods eat selfishly. Beings arise from food. The

origin of food is from the gods and the origin of the gods is from the

prescribed sacrifices. The prescriptions originate from Brahma and Brahma

originates from Me. Hence, Protector of the earth, know that I am present in

all sacrifices. Those who are intelligent will easily cross the ocean of

material existence. But the ignorant man who dallies with the senses and

happily enjoys them will not. The man who is delighted with the inner self, who

rejoices in the self, who enjoys everything, who is satisfied with the self, has

no materials desires at all. He does not acquire the good and evil (results) of

those who do what should and should not be done. Amongst all men he really

accomplishes nothing at all. Therefore, with an attitude of non-attachment,

Protector of the Earth, men should undertake action in non-action. One who is

attached to the results of his actions, does not obtain the path, but such a

man never obtains Me. Previously, sages who were kings and brahmins obtained

the highest perfection. So one should undertake such activity for the benefit

of all the worlds. Because the prosperous person engages in action, so should

every man. Since he considers that the standard, therefore he also should

follow that. In the world there is no goal at all that is to be accomplished by

Me, Overlord of men. Though I do not need anything that should be gained, I too

engage in action. But if, individualistic and prompted by laziness, I do not

engage in action, all the social classes will follow my example, Oh intelligent

King. Then that world will fall in ruination. I will become known as the

destroyer of that world and the cause of collapse of the social classes. Those

who have material desires always perform action ignorantly through desire. The

wise man, his mind detached, will act for the benefit of all the worlds. One

should not associate with ignorant materialists. Absorbed in yoga, one who

engages in action should offer all the results to Me. Absorbed in ignorance

with lust, anger and greed as his companions, a person performs actions

tirelessly. His intellect contaminated by the ego, he has said, 'I am the

doer.' But he who knows the truth of the self, and has conquered his senses and

action, is detached, thinking, 'Action has occurred in the field of the senses.'

Those who are infatuated by the senses perform action for a result. The person

who has realized the self should not associate with those who are unreceptive

towards their own self and who are lacking in faith. Accordingly, the wise man

should offer the continual and occasional results of sacrifice to Me. After

giving up the idea of "I" and "mine", he will obtain My Supreme Abode. All

those without envy who possess devotion and practice righteous activity, as I

have described, are liberated through all their actions. But those whose minds

are dominated by what is inauspicious and do not practice this, know these

envious, foolish, ruined people, to be my enemies. In like manner a person who

has knowledge engages in activity due to the influence of cosmic nature.

However, one who stubbornly engages in activity selfishly is considered to do

so in vain. Desire and anger originate in the objects of the senses, but those

in knowledge do not work under the influence of either, since they destroy him.

One's own dharma whether it is done imperfectly is better than the perfect duty

of another. When one stays within one's own duty then liberation is awarded at

death. The other produces fear in the other world.' Varenya said, 'When a man

commits evil acts, by what is he urged, even against his own will? Though he

may not wish it, Heramba, he is impelled on as if by force.' The illustrious

Gajånana said, 'Anger and desire are huge evils which arise from two of the

cosmic strands - passion and ignorance. Both cause bondage in the world. Know

them both to be the worst enemies. Just as illusion covers the world, just as

steam covers water, just as a rain cloud covers the sun, so do desire and anger

cover everything. The intuitive knowledge of one who is in illusion is always

covered by hatred, itself filled with desire, energetic, difficult to nourish

and impetuous. He exists with the mind and the intellect depending on the pull

of the senses. When wisdom is covered by anger and desire, it confuses the

person who would otherwise possess intuitive knowledge. Hence, after first

restraining the senses, a man conquers his mind. Evil arises from the mind and

brings an end to intuitive and discriminating knowledge. The senses are

superior to the intelligence, yet the mind is superior to that. The intellect

is superior to the mind and the self is superior to the intellect. After

understanding the self by the self and having steadied the self by the self,

and after slaying the enemy which takes the form of desire, he attains the

highest peace."

Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The Yoga of Action'. It is the second

chapter in the conversation between Ganesha and Varenya in the Uttarakhanda of

the illustrious and great Ganesha Purana in the learned treatise on the

immortality of yoga, in the illustrious Ganesha Gita which is in the essence of

the Upanisads.

Chapter 3

The illustrious Ganesha said, 'Formerly, at the time of creation, having

produced three bodies relating to creation, maintenance and destruction, I

described the supreme yoga to Visnu. He told it to Aryaman and he to Manu, his

own son. From him the great sages knew it as it had come from their lineage.

But after a long time, it will be destroyed in the final cosmic period, because

it will not be fit for funerary rites, it will not be trusted and will be sung

imperfectly, King. You have heard from my mouth this yoga which originated in

the past. It is more secret than any secret, it is the secret of the Vedas,

supreme and auspicious.' Varenya said, 'Gajånana, being born into this world,

how did you first tell this superb yoga to Visnu?' Gajånana said, 'Both you and

I have had many past births. I remember them all. You cannot remember any of

them. Great-armed king, the gods led by Visnu, were born from Me alone and

after the cosmic destruction, everything is again absorbed in me alone. I alone

am the Supreme Brahman and I alone am the Great Rudra. And I alone am this world

and its moving and immovable things. I am unborn, imperishable, the elemental

self, having no beginning, the Lord. Though my illusory energy, between the

creation, maintenance and destruction of the worlds, I am born within many

wombs. When there is an increase in irreligion and a decrease in religion, I am

reborn to protect the good and to anilate the miscreants. Having destroyed the

evil ways, I will re-establish true religious principles, and, happily engaging

in divine pastimes, I will kill the malevolent and the demons. Taking many forms

I preserve the social classes, the ashrams, and the good. He who knows those

divine births of mine millennium after millennium, all my actions, heroic deeds

and diviner forms, and gives up the ideas of "I and Mine", he is not reborn in

this material world. Without desire, without fear and without anger are they

who take refuge in Me, who are absorbed in Me. Many who are purified by

austerities in the form of discriminating knowledge have approached me. With

whatever form of conviction, those excellent men worship Me, the imperishable,

I award them the corresponding result of their devotion. There will be other

men, King, who follow my other paths and in that manner alone they conduct

their daily business with self-interest and by helping others. Desiring the

fruit of their actions they please various deities. In this world they quickly

obtain the result that is derived from such acts. From portions of rajas,

sattva and tamas and from the portions of the results of past actions, the four

social classes were created by Me in the world of mortals. The wise know me as

both doer and non-doer, without beginning, the Lord, constant, untouched by the

qualities which arise from actions. Karma certainly does not bind him who knows

the absence of desire. Having first understood this, those who want liberation

perform action. Understanding this, a man is freed from all bondage to

ignorance that is certainly caused by connection with the psychic traces from

earlier actions, from what is eaten, and by transmigration in the world. Hence

I will now tell you about action and non-action, in respect of which the sages

who have understanding become free from delusion. The truth of action and

non-action are realized by a person who seeks liberation. The path of those who

are profound comprises three kinds of actions in the world, dear one. Whoever

has knowledge of inaction in action and the understanding of action in

inaction, will be liberated in this mortal world while performing all his

actions. Without the fruition of past actions what man would begin any actions.

The wise declare the intelligent man as one whose actions are consumed by a

vision of the truth. After giving up the desire for results of one's present

activities, he will always be satisfied, even without striving. Though ready to

undertake activity, he does nothing at all. Without desire, self-controlled,

given up possessiveness, doing only those duties required for his maintenance,

he does not fall from his position. Having adopted the view that there are no

opposites, being without greed and having the same attitude towards success and

failure, very happy in the world because he has attained such a state, he

engages in activity and is not bound. He who possesses intuitive and

discriminating knowledge is freed from all sense-objects. All the karmic

results of activity he engages in for the sake of sacrifice is destroyed.

Thinking, 'I am fire, the oblation, the offered, the burnt offering and I am

offered to You,' he should realize Brahman, since he is devoted to Brahman

alone. Some yogis speak that karmic destiny is the sacrifice. Others think that

the fire of Brahman is the sacrifice. Others offer the senses into the fire of

restraint, Protector of the earth. Others offer the sense objects, sound etc.,

into the fires of the sense organs. Others offer the actions of their vital

breaths and sense organs in the fire of the joy of their own Self kindled with

knowledge or with the austerity as the substance of recitation of the sacred

texts to oneself. Ascetics sacrifice to Me with severe vows and knowledge. They

cast their outgoing breath into their incoming breath and their incoming breath

into their outgoing breath. And after suppressing the movements of both, they

focus on restraint of the breath. Once he has conquered the breaths, he offers

the movements of the breath into them. In this way, devoted to various

sacrifices, their evil actions are destroyed by the sacrifice. Those who eat

the nectar of the remains of the sacrifice proceed to the eternal Brahman. This

world is not for the man who does not sacrifice. Whence where will there be

another world for him? By knowing, Protector of the Earth, that all these

sacrifices, which are of three kinds - pertaining to the body and the rest, are

grounded in the Vedas, you will become free of any attachment. Of all

sacrifices, the sacrifice of knowledge is considered the best. All results of

actions are dissolved in knowledge that leads to liberation. True knowledge, O

tiger of men, can be known by humbly questioning and serving the self-realized

soul. Those who are enlightened will speak only truth. A man who, due to many

attachments, does not hear from self-realized soul, will, in consequence, act

in the world of transmigration and enter material bondage. Through attachment

to the good soul there arises good qualities and the disappearance of

misfortunes. This sort of good fortune is gained in this world and in the next.

Material fortune is easy to obtain, King, but association with the good soul is

difficult to find. Once he knows what should be known he is not reborn here or

there. Then he sees all beings as his own self, that same man intent upon

committing sin is freed from even that. Different kinds of actions are

instantly burnt in the fire of knowledge. Just as a fire that has been started

does not instantly turn everything to ashes, other purifications, King, are not

identical with knowledge. In time yogis realize the self through yoga. The

devotee who conquers the senses and concentrates the mind on the Self, he will

obtain divine knowledge. After gaining That, which is Supreme, he becomes

liberated after a short time. But the person who has no devotion, who has no

faith and always doubts, he has no discriminating knowledge that is a refuge

here or in other worlds. There are those who the results of actions have been

destroyed by yoga, who are intent upon knowledge of the self, and whose doubts

are destroyed through knowledge. These actions do not bind. Therefore, having

forcibly cut the doubts in the heart, which have arisen by ignorance, by the

sword of knowledge, a man should stay fixed in yoga."

Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The Attainment of Knowledge'. It is the

third chapter in the conversation between Ganesha and Varenya in the

Uttarakhanda of the illustrious and great Ganesha Purana in the learned

treatise on the immortality of yoga, in the illustrious Ganesha Gita which is

in the essence of the Upanisads. .

Chapter 4

Varenya said, 'You have described renunciation and the yoga of action. But of

these two, tell me Lord, which one is certainly the best. Gajånana said, 'The

yoga of action and the renunciation of action are both practices for

liberation. Between these two the yoga of action is distinguished from the

renunciation of action. That person who is not affected by duality, who does

not hate and desires nothing, renounces and is instantly and easily freed from

bondage. They say that the acceptance of action and the renunciation of action

have two different results. With just incomplete knowledge influenced by

attraction for that yoga, the wise man attaches him self to one. Whatever is

gained by renouncing the result of action is the fruit of yoga. Whoever knows

this yoga as the acceptance of action, knows truly. Only the wise know that

renunciation is not the abandonment of action. The yogi in action who acts

without desire becomes situated in Brahman. Pure, with his self and mind

restrained, his senses conquered, he is completely absorbed in yoga. Whilst

seeing the self in all beings, he acts without being tainted. The one who knows

the truth and whose self is controlled by yoga, does not think, 'I am acting'.

They regard the eleven senses as the enumeration of actions. He who acts should

offer all actions to God and is not tainted by evil or merit, in the same way as

the light of the sun, which moves, truly is not affected by which it touches.

After giving up desire - pertaining to the body, speech, intellect, the senses

and the mind - for the purification of consciousness, those who know yoga

perform actions. One who is not situated in yoga who simply desires the fruits

of action, is bound by the seeds of action. This eventually becomes one's

unhappiness. After mentally renouncing all action within the mind the yogi

becomes happy. Neither acting for his own enjoyment, nor causing others to act

in the same way, he rejoices in any condition either good or bad. Neither

action nor the vehicle of action is created for anyone by Me. There is no

interference and every action is done automatically through My energy. King, I

do not cause the good or evil reactions for anyone. Those who have a poor fund

of knowledge, their intellect covered by maya, are perplexed. Of those whose

ignorance is destroyed by the self through discrimination of the self, their

excellent knowledge shines like the sun. Those who are absorbed in Me, those

whose minds definitely rest in Me, whose thoughts are on Me, who are fixed on

Me, having discriminating knowledge, they are not reborn, their karmas

destroyed. Those great munis who see with equal vision a dog, a dog eater, cows

and elephants and all living creatures, and a brahmin who has discriminating and

intuitive knowledge, always experiences the world as heaven. Seeing all equally,

they are liberated whilst alive. Since Brahman is pure and equal, It is

therefore perceived by them. After having experienced what is considered

pleasant or unpleasant, they are neither elated nor distained. Resting in

Brahman, in full knowledge, they know Brahman, regarding all things as the same

spirit. Varenya said, 'What happiness is there in the three worlds when one is

born as a demigod or a heavenly musician? Kindly, tell me Lord, as you are

skilled in all knowledge.' Ganesha said, 'The man who delights in his own self

and is attached to his own self, attains bliss and eternal happiness, for there

is no happiness in the realm of the senses. Enjoyments which arise from the

objects of the senses are the causes of misery and are connected to birth and

death. The wise man is not attached to them. Given that desire and anger have a

cause, he is able to conquer them by leaving aside worldly aspirations and he

thus attains lasting happiness. Absorbed in the soul, eminating in the soul,

happy in the soul, he who delights in the soul, and is the well-wisher of all

living beings, will certainly gain the imperishable Brahman. They conquer the

six enemies and are tranquil and controlled Listen! For those who know their

own self Brahman eminates everywhere. Seated in yogic asanas having controlled

the mind through detachment from the objects of the senses. After concentrating

the mind in the center of the brow, he sits, focused on breath control, which is

the suspension of the inward breath. The insightful sages declare it to be of

three kinds. Understand the division to be of weak, middle and highest

standard. Pranayam is said to be the weakest because it has twelve vowels. It

is declared to be middlle because it has twenty-one vowels. It is declared to

be at the highest standard when it has thirty-six light vowels. Just like a

lion or a tiger is compared to a furious elephant in weakness, so are ordinary

living beings compared to the yogi. A person should control outward breath and

the inward breath. One does not hurt animals nor people who have come under

their auspices, King, just as air which is controlled burns away one's karma,

but not one's body. In whatever way a man might climb the stairs, so the yogis

will bring the breath and the downward-moving-breath under control. After that

the man should practice the drawing up of air, the stopping of breath and

breathing out through one nostril. After that he will become one with the world

and will know the past and the future. The concentration of the mind is

considered be the result of the excellent twelve-vowel exercise of hatha yoga.

There is yoga that encompasses two acts of concentration. The master of yoga

should always practice one. Whoever does this, lord, comes to know the three

worlds. The triple-world will effortlessly come under his control, king. He

sees the world in his own self under the form of Brahman. In this way yogic

asanas or renunciation of action give the same result to the person who does

good for people and is not attached to the results of his action. After he

knows Me as the mighty Lord of the triple-world, he gains liberation.

Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The Two-fold Yoga and Renunciation'. It

is the fourth chapter in the conversation between Ganesha and Varenya in the

Uttarakhanda of the illustrious and great Ganesha Purana in the learned

treatise on the immortality of yoga, in the illustrious Ganesha Gita which is

in the essence of the Upanisads.

Chapter 5

Gajånana said, 'My dear King, not desiring the results of one's activities,

whether they be termed transcendent or ritualistic, the yogi is recommended to

perform his duties, not by ceasing action, but from a reliance on yoga.

Mighty-armed King, I consider that devotional service alone is the cause for

attaining yoga. Peacefulness and restraining the senses are considered the

causes for success in siddha-yoga. Focusing on the objects of the senses is

considered the enemy of oneself. The yogi who ignores the craving of the senses

gains success. One's own self exists only through the self. We do not exist as

separate from the self. Whether in friendship, or enmity, in freedom or

imprisonment, in honor, disgrace, unhappiness and happiness, or with a close

friend or amongst the good, in a friend, in an enemy, in indifference and

hatred, sees iron and gold, the person who has conquered the self, who has

discriminating knowledge, intuitive knowledge and continually has control over

the senses, maintains the same equanimity. He becomes highly controlled when he

practices yoga continually. Whether he is distressed, exhausted, confused,

hungry, agitated in his thoughts, whether in time, in excessive cold, excessive

heat or a mass of wind, fire and water, when quiet, very old, in a cow pen, in

fire, near water, in a pool or in a hole, in a cemetery, on the bank of a

river, near an old wall, near a funeral monument which has an anthill, in a

country abounding in demons, etc., the knower of yoga, who is dedicated to

meditation and yoga, should not practice yoga in inaction alone Forgetfulness,

being dumb, deaf, drunk, feverish and stupid always occur. They are flaws that

arise through separation from knowledge. These flaws must be completely

eradicated by one who habitually practices yoga, because a lack of diligence in

respect of yogic practice, loss of memory and the rest certainly occur. The

yogi, never eating too much, but not eating too little, does not sleep

excessively, nor does he remain awake to excess. He achieves success, Protector

of the Earth, always practicing yoga. He should give up intentional desires and

when restrained in eating and sleeping, after controlling all the senses, he

should slowly withdraw the senses by means of the intelligence. He should

withdrawal the fickle consciousness away from whatever it dwells on and, after

concentrating the mind, he should diligently bring it under control of the

self. Doing this always, the yogi attains the highest bliss and perceives his

own self in everything and everything in his own self. Whoever approaches me

through yoga, I respectfully approach him also. I will liberate him, yet he

should never abandon Me or I cannot free him. A person who has the same

attitude in happiness, pain, exaltation, hatred, satiation and in thirst knows

Me as omnipresent and knows all beings through the identity of the self.

Liberated whilst alive, he is the lord of yogi's because he is only attached to

me. And he will be praised by the demigods led by Brahmå. Varenya said, 'I think

this yoga must be considered as having two kinds, since the mind is bad, fickle

and difficult to hold, Lord.' The illustrious Gajånana said, 'Whoever restrains

the mind, which is difficult to control, is liberated from the wheel of

existence which is like a machine for raising water. I created the solid wheel

with saws which are the sense objects. A man cannot split it when it is

completely covered by the spokes of karma. Austerity, dispassion, absence of

desire in regard to corporeal enjoyments, the blessings of a guru, association

with the good: these are the instruments for victory over samsara. Or, through

yoga, he should bring the mind under control for its success. Varenya, this

yoga is difficult to gain without victory over the mind.' Varenya said, 'What

is the world for a man who has fallen away from yoga? What is his opinion and

what will the result be? Lord, you are omniscient, so resolve this doubt which

carries with it the wheel as the intellect.' The illustrious Gajånana said, 'A

man who has a celestial body and has fallen away from yoga after he has enjoyed

superb enjoyments in heaven, will be born in the family of a yogi, in the family

of those who are pure. This yogi is reborn again due to the mental formations

produced by prior karma, for one who has accumulated merit never reaches hell.

By being fixed in knowledge, fixed in intellect, fixed in austerities and fixed

in right action, overlord of men, he becomes the best yogi. Amongst them, the

very best is the yogi who is devoted to me.'

Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The Yoga which concerns the Application

of Yoga'. It is the fifth chapter in the conversation between Ganesha and

Varenya in the Uttarakhanda of the illustrious and great Ganesha Purana in the

learned treatise on the immortality of yoga, in the illustrious Ganesha Gita

which is in the essence of the Upanisads.

The original and complete Ganesha Gita can be found in the 2nd volume

(Uttarakhanda - Chapters 138-151) of the Sri Ganesha Purana and can be obtained

from Otto Harrassowitz Verlag at Taunustrasse 14, D-65183, Wiesbaden, Germany

(email to Harrassowitz). Its full title is "Greg Bailey, Ga.nezapuraa.na.

Uttarakha.n.da. Vol 2"

Comments or questions

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February 7, 2004

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">Namaste all,

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">As Len/Kalipadma

correctly pointed out, there is a Ganesha Gita. I actually had a look online for it earlier

today, but to no success. However, after

searching my sent mail folder I found this post from just over a year ago. I

don’t know if this is the full thing

as it is only five chapters and I am not really familiar with the Ganesha Gita

so can’t say much about it. Regardless, it seemed worth posting it

again.

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">

Om Shanti,

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">Neil

12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue">

10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

Neil Campbell

[neilcampbell (AT) pagan72 (DOT) freeserve.co.uk]

14 January 2003 14:02

Ganesha Gita

12.0pt">

font-family:Arial">Namaste friends,

12.0pt">

font-family:Arial">This is one of the sites from the list of links I just sent

in. I wished to draw your attention to it because of its Ganesh

scriptural work. This page can be found at http://www.a.com/ggita.html

Hope you enjoy the read.

12.0pt">

font-family:Arial">Om Shanti

font-family:Arial">Neil

12.0pt">

font-weight:bold">OM GRANTHA GEETAYAGUNAYA NAMAH

Salutations

to Lord Ganesha who is the song of the scriptures

font-weight:bold">Back Home | Ganesha

Purana | Ganesha Namavali | Bhaja Govindam | Musical

Creations | Astrology

bold">Ganesha Gita

font-weight:bold">

Intro

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mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;

mso-position-vertical-relative:line' o:allowoverlap="f">

color:black">Varenya said, 'In the world of birth and death many difficulties

arise, and they are very hard to endure. Remover of obstacles, kindly show me

the path to liberation now. How can there be bondage in the realization of You,

Dviradånana? Declare to me that teaching by which I will attain liberation,

that yoga through which I will give up desire, anger and the fear of death.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Brahmå said, "After having listened to

this speech, Gajånana kindly sat Varenya on a comfortable seat and placed his

hand on his head. Then he began to teach him the Ganesha Gita, casting away all

his doubts by presenting His universal form. As soon as he understood the

essence of the Gita from Ganesha's instruction and having transferred the

kingdom to his ministers, he went to the forest. Filled with detachment, the

accomplished King meditated on Gajånana, fixed on nothing else, and always

preached the Gita. Just as water thrown into water stays only as water, so he

came to consist of Him by meditating on Him.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Vyasa said, 'Four-faced one, Lord of the gods,

recite the Ganesha Gita with the highest compassion. For it removes all

ignorance.'"

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Brahmå said, "This very thing was

previously requested by the great Saunaka Rsi. The sage recited the Gita as he

had heard it from Vyåsa's mouth."

color:black;font-weight:bold">Chapter 1

color:black">

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Saunaka said, 'You have tasted this nectar

which is told in the eighteen Puranas. I also wish to drink this supreme nectar

that has an extraordinary taste, with which a man, having been filled with this

nectar attains the Supreme Brahman. Blessed one, tell me compassionately about

that nectar of this yoga.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Vyåsa said, 'Herewith I will tell you that

Gita which presents the path of yoga. Saunaka, it was entrusted to that

inquisitive king by the elephant-faced God.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Varenya said, 'Lord of obstacles, mighty-armed

God, who is skilled in all the sciences, and who knows the true meaning of all

the sacred texts, please tell me about this yoga.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Gajånana said, 'O King, your intention has

been well determined through my favour. I am going to tell you that Gita which

consists of the nectar of yoga. They say that this yoga is not the yoga of

prosperity, nor obtainable through the objects of the senses, nor obtainable

through the material elements either. The union of mother and father is not yoga,

overlord of men, nor is the union with sons, kinsmen and others, nor is it the

yoga with its eightfold mystic powers. It is not the yoga of union with women

as stated in the sutras. Nor is it the yoga of sovereignty over a kingdom, nor

the yoga of controlling elephants and horses, nor the union with Indra's world,

nor the yoga loved by those whose goal is yoga, nor do I consider that yoga

union with the heavenly realms. Yoga is not union with Siva's abode, nor with

the abode of Visnu. This yoga does not pertain to Surya, Chandra, nor Kubera,

nor Våyu, nor Agni, nor to become immortal, nor to surpass time, nor to become

Varuna or Nirriti, nor to reign over the entire earth. Those without true

spiritual knowledge practice yoga, Protector of the earth, which is of various

kinds.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">In the world those who have truly attained

yoga have overcome hunger, thirst and the desire for progeny. They purify all

the worlds and have brought the three worlds under their control. Their hearts

are filled with compassion and they enlighten everyone. They are liberated

whilst alive and are immersed in the pool that has the form of the highest

bliss. After closing their eyes they see the Supreme Brahman in their heart.

They meditate on the Supreme Brahman who has appeared in their heart by this

yoga. They consider all beings to be identical with their own self. With their

hearts filled with compassion, they wander on the Earth irrespective of whether

anyone cuts or strikes them, whether anyone is attracted to them or whether anyone

seeks refuge with them. For the purification of all living beings, their anger

and senses conquered, they merely carry their bodies. Protector of the earth, a

mound of dirt and gold are the same to them. Those who come into contact with

such a rare soul are very fortunate, dearest one.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">I will tell you about this excellent yoga.

Listen attentively, for hearing about it a man is released from evil acts and

from the ocean of material existence.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Any yoga involving a fixed mind resting on

Siva, Visnu, Shakti, Surya and on me, protector of men, is the right yoga in my

opinion. I alone, having taken various froms, create, protect and destroy the

world for my own play. I alone am Maha Visnu, I alone am Sadåsiva, I alone am

the great Shakti, I alone am Aryaman, dear one. I alone am the Lord of men who

previously appeared as the five principle incarnations.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Because they are ignorant they do not know me

as the cause of the cause of the world. I am considered to be fire, water,

earth and I am considered to be ether and air, Brahmå, Visnu, Rudra, the world

protectors and all the directions, the Vasus, the Maruts, the cows, the sages

and the animals, rivers, oceans, yaksas, trees and flocks of birds, and the

twenty-one heavens, the snakes and the seven forests, humans, mountains, the

sådhyas, perfected beings and hosts of raksasas. I am the witness, the eye of

the world, untouched by all actions, the unchangeable, the immeasurable, I am

the un-manifest, omnipresent and imperishable. I alone am the Supreme Brahman

who possesses everlasting bliss, King.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">My power of maya deludes all these excellent

men. The material elements are perceived by the six senses. A person should

always concentrate intensely on Me, after gradually leaving behind the veil of

illusion over many births. After becoming indifferent to the objects of the

senses, one should know Brahman through right knowledge. Brahman cannot be cut

by strokes of a sword, nor burnt by fire, nor can it be made wet by living

creatures, nor dried up by the wind. Nor can it be killed, even when the body

is destroyed, Protector of men.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Those ignorant people who are obsessed with

the Vedas praise the flowery words uttered in the Vedas and think of nothing

other than that. They always engage in activities that produce birth and death

as its result. They are obsessed with power and heaven, their minds are

scattered and their intellect absorbed in carnal enjoyment. They produce their

own bondage by themselves, Protector of the Earth. Those ignorant men obsessed

with activity are joined to the wheel of samsara. One engaged in activity

should do it and offer the results to Me, because the huge sprouts of the seeds

of karma will be cut off for him. His mind will be greatly purified. and he

will gain spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Brahman is known (by the sages)

through this knowledge. Therefore, Overlord of men, one should perform actions

with the intellect absorbed in Me.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">But nobody should not act and abandon his own

duty. If one gives up actions, then one will not find success. Initially he has

no command over knowledge and it is appropriate to focus on action. One whose

heart is purified by action achieves a unified intellect. Moreover, that yoga

is declared to be conducive to the state of immortality.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">I will describe another yoga. Hear about it,

Protector of the Earth, as it is superb. A man should see with equal vision an

animal, a son, a friend, an enemy, kinsman and a good friend. With detachment

he should have the same attitude towards joy, pain, patience, elation and fear,

sickness, carnal enjoyments, victory and defeat, acquisition and loss of

wealth. In gain and loss and in death, he is the same and sees Me within and

outside all things. Who sees Me always in Surya, Soma, water, fire, Siva,

Shakti, in the heavenly musicians, humans and the lower creatures, he is the

knower of yoga, it is said. And within the brahmin, in the heart, in the great

river, in the sacred ford, in the sacred place, in the removal of evil, in

Visnu, in all the gods, and Yaksas and Uragas.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">After comprehensively removing the senses from

their own objects by means of discrimination, the intellect assumes

impartiality in regard to everything. I consider this to be yoga, Protector of

the Earth. Through the discrimination of the self by the self the intellect of

that man, attached to his own duty, emerges by the power of providence. Hence

it is that yoga that is said to be real yoga. United with the intellect, a man

now abandons both action and non-action. After that, he should continually

practice yoga. Yoga is prosperity in what is enjoined in the sastras.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">After giving up the results both action and

non-action, a man of integrity, his senses conquered, is freed from bondage and

birth and goes to the salubrious place. When a man's intellect will overcome

the turbidity of ignorance, then he gradually becomes dispassionate towards the

words of the Vedas and so forth. When the intellect of that person whose mind

diverges from the three Vedas becomes stable and rests on the Supreme Self,

then he attains yoga. When a wise man gives up all the desires in his mind,

dear king, wholly satisfied with himself in his own self, then his intellect is

said to be firm.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">The man who has no desire in respect of any of

his friends and who is not agitated when encountering pain, and who is without

fear, pain or passion, is then said to have a firm intellect. Just as the

tortoise contracts its limbs, so too should a person absorbed in yoga

withdrawal his own senses from their objects. The objects of the senses

disperse for the embodied person who fasts. He comes to be without passion and

when passion disappears he will see Brahman.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">On assuming the steadiness of the yogi, the

learned person always strives for yoga (because the senses which become

agitated can at any time forcibly draw away the mind). The man who is

self-controlled and has brought the senses under control will always be

absorbed in Me. Whoever has their senses restrained is considered to be one who

has attained intelligence.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">For the person who reflects on the objects of

the senses, attachment to them arises. Desire then arises and anger increases

from that. From anger ignorance arises, then loss of memory. From loss of

memory, there is a failure in correct thinking. From that, his spiritual life

is ruined.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Without hatred, passion and the objects of the

senses, that man should act through the senses. The heart, which is free from

the control of the senses, increases its satisfaction. When one is satisfied there

will be a casting away of the three kinds of pain. And the person who has

situated himself within wisdom will have a peaceful heart. Without peace, there

is no correct thinking. And without that, there is no contemplation, there is

no peace, and without peace where does happiness come from? Since the mind

follows the senses, which are like horses wandering after their objects, it

will, therefore, destroy correct thinking, like the wind destroys a boat in

water.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">What is night for all beings, he never slumbers.

What is day for all beings, that is his night, Protector of the earth. Just as

rivers come to the ocean from everywhere, so one who has material desires will

never have peace. Therefore, after the man has completely blocked the senses

from everything in the world, they flee from their objects and his intellect is

then firm. After giving up all thoughts of 'Me-ness' and 'I- ness', he should

give up all his desires and should then focus on intuitive knowledge. From

intuitive knowledge he will become liberated.

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Protector of the Earth, you are he who knows

the wisdom of Brahman because of fate, and after obtaining yoga you will become

liberated by your nature."

color:black;font-style:italic">Om. This is the truth. This is called 'The

Essence of Sånkhyå Yoga' in the conversation between Lord Ganesha and King

Varenya in the Uttarakhanda of the blessed and great Ganesha Purana in the

learned treatise on the immortality of yoga, in the blessed Ganesha Gita which

is the essence of the Upanisads.'

color:black;font-weight:bold">Chapter 2

color:black">

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Varenya said, 'Lord, you have declared yoga in

knowledge and yoga in activity as being two spiritual paths . After

comtemplating the two, tell me which one produces the best result.'

font-family:Verdana;color:black">Gajånana said, 'In this world of moving and