Loving Ganesha: Chapter 8 (Section 1) - The Primal Sound -- Ganeshah Pranavatmakah

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The first section of chapter eight of Loving Ganesha from

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/books/lg/lg_ch-08.html

 

Om Shanti

 

Neil

 

 

 

 

GanesahPranavatmakah

Ganesha asPrimal Sound

By Ratna Ma Navaratnam,From Om Ganesha: the Peace of God

YMNS OF THE VEDAS EXTOL GANAPATI, THE LORD of the Ganas, attendants of Siva. The

most famous verse to Ganapati is from the great hymn Sri Rudram found in the

Yajur Veda Samhita (and Rig Veda 2.23.1).

Gananam tva ganapating havamahe[traditionally chanted ganapati gm]kavinkavinam

upamashravastamam,jyeshtharajam brahmanam brahmanaspataa nah shrinvan nutibhih

sida sadanam

The Deity who is hailed as the chief of the celestial hosts (Ganapati) here is

called Brahmanaspati. However, the descriptive epithets applied to Him are

apposite as well to the elephant-faced God as Kavinkavinam, the Seer of seers,

Ganapati being the God of wisdom par excellence, and Jyeshtharajam, the

Vinayaka commanding precedence over others.

Also, in the Ganesha Pancharatna by Shri Shri Shri Adi Sankara is found the

line: kaladharavatamsakam, "He who dons the crescent," which attribute is also

applied to Siva. The Vedas assign Him a special place amongst the Gods. He was

propitiated to bestow success and enjoyment and to avert obstacles and

calamities. Various prayers to Ganesha are recorded in the Vedic texts. He is

invoked as the Law of laws, the Seer of seers and the Principal of principals

in the verse above, as translated below:

O Ganapati, the Seer of seers, unrivalled in wealth, King of elders, Principal

of principals. Hear us and take Thy place, bringing with Thee all enjoyments.

In Shatapatha Brahmana 10.4.56, the Son of God, "a second myself," dvitiya atma,

is spoken of as mithuna: the "word not spoken." God's unspoken word is internal

and unmanifest. Ganesha thus came to be recognized as the "God Word." The Son

is the testimony of the immanence of God being generated eternally. Ganesha

reflects the wisdom of His Father and is the repository of the word of God

Siva.

In the Taittiriya Aranyaka is a clear reference to Ganapati as Dantim (tusker).

This word occurs in the Gayatri sacred to Ganapati:

Tanno dantih pracodayat.Let that Tusker illumine our thoughts.

In the beginning is the Word. That Word is Aum, and the resonance of Aum is

heard everywhere. Aum Tat Sat. That is what It is. So declare the Vedagamas.

That word is Aum.This syllable is the imperishable spirit,This indeed is the

highest end.Knowing this syllable, truly indeed,Whatsoever one desires will be

his....That is the Supreme Support,Knowing that support,One becomes happy in

the Brahma world.

Katha Upanishad 2.15-16

This audible symbol Aum serves as a support of contemplation. One infers the

unseen in the seen, the unheard in the heard.

Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy

We sing in praise of HimWho is the essence of Omkaram.

Satguru Yogaswami's Natchintanai

The Causal Word, Aum, represents the divine thought, the source of existence. It

corresponds to the power of will, known as Siva Intention, or icchha shakti. The

power of knowledge known as Vishnu Formulation, or jnana shakti, and the power

of action known as Brahma Expression, or kriya shakti, also express the Causal

Word, Aum.

Omkara signifies the Supreme Siva, being both vyashti (individual) and samashti

(cosmic). Thus, Ganesha Aum, the divine son of Siva, is the support of the

whole universe. His sound-symbol Aum is indestructible in past, present and

future. It is immortal and ageless. He is ever Pillaiyar, the cherished child

of Uma-Parameshvara. By meditating on Him in the three aspects of A-U-M,

devotees can realize the reality of the Godhead. The mahavakya Aum Tat Sat

implies "That is what it is," and it is transmuted into the form of Ganesha. He

embodies the Truth of Tat Tvam Asi, "Thou art That."

Everything that our mind can grasp can be expressed in terms of kind, or

category. So, category is a fundamental element of existence. All that can be

counted or comprehended is a category (gana). The principle of classifications

through which the relations can be understood between different orders of

things, between the macrocosm and the microcosm, is called the Lord of

Categories. He is Ganapati.

Mahaganapati is the ruler of all the categories and can be identified with

Divinity in its perceptible manifestation. He guards the first approach to life

and all its manifold unfoldment. The principle of categories transcends

intellect. As the Lord of categories, Ganapati rules over the universal

intellect and the principles of the elements (tattvas) derived from it.

It is noteworthy that Ganapati is sometimes identified with Brihaspati, the

patron of letters. Mythologically, He is the scribe who writes down the

scriptures. He figures as the scribe of Sage Vyasa, the author of the

Mahabharata.

You, leader of categories,are the writer of this Mahabharata.

Mahabharata 1.1.77

 

 

 

 

Loving Ganesha by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

 

Web sites: http://www.hindu.org/ & http://www.himalayanacademy.com/

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