Ganesh article from shivabeads.co.uk

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Ganesh

 

Ganesh is the Hindu deity in a human form but with the head of an

elephant - represents the power of the

Supreme Being that removes obstacles and ensures success in human

endeavors. For this reason, Hindus

worship Ganesha first before beginning any religious, spiritual or

worldly activity. In Hindu mythology, Lord

Ganesha is the first son of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother Parvati.

Their second son is Lord Subramanya

and their daughter is Jyoti. As explained below, the portrayal of Lord

Ganesha as the blend of human and

animal parts symbolizes the ideals of perfection as conceived by Hindu

sages and illustrates some

philosophical concepts of profound spiritual significance.

Elephant head, wide mouth, and large ears: the large head of an elephant

symbolizes wisdom, understanding,

and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain

perfection in life. The wide mouth represents

the natural human desire to enjoy life in the world. The large ears

signify that a perfect person is the one who

possesses a great capacity to listen to others and assimilate ideas.

 

The trunk and two tusks with the left tusk broken: there is no known

human instrument that has an operating

range as wide as that of an elephant's trunk. It can uproot a tree and

yet lift a needle off the ground. Likewise,

the human mind must be strong enough to face the ups and downs of the

external world and yet delicate

enough to explore the subtle realms of the inner world. The two tusks

denote the two aspects of the human

personality, wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents wisdom and

the left tusk represents emotion. The

broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with

wisdom to attain perfection.

 

Elephant eyes: the elephant eyes are said to possess natural

deceptiveness that allows them to perceive objects

to be bigger than what they really are. Thus the elephant eyes symbolize

the idea that even if an individual gets

"bigger and bigger" in wealth and wisdom, he should perceive others to

be bigger than himself; that is, surrender

one's pride and attain humility.

 

The four arms and various objects in the four hands: the four arms

indicate that the Lord is omnipresent and

omnipotent. The left side of the body symbolizes emotion and the right

side symbolizes reason. An axe in the

upper left hand and a lotus in the upper right hand signify that in

order to attain spiritual perfection, one should

cut worldly attachments and conquer emotions. This enables one to live

in the world without being affected by

earthly temptations, just as a lotus remains in water but is not

affected by it. A tray of Laddus (a popular snack)

near the Lord denotes that He bestows wealth and prosperity upon His

devotees. The lower right hand is shown

in a blessing pose, which signifies that Ganesha always blesses His

devotees.

 

 

 

Eight Mukhi, Bead of Ganesh

 

A human body with a big belly: the human body possesses a human heart,

which is a symbol

of kindness and compassion toward all. Ganesha's body is usually

portrayed wearing red and

yellow clothes. Yellow symbolizes purity, peace and truthfulness. Red

symbolizes the activity

in the world. These are the qualities of a perfect person who perforrns

all duties in the world,

with purity, peace, and truthfulness. The big belly signifies that a

perfect individual must have

a large capacity to face all pleasant and unpleasant experiences of the

world.

 

A mouse sitting near the feet of Ganesha and gazing at the tray of

Laddus: a mouse symbalizes

the ego that can nibble all that is good and noble in a person. A mouse

sitting near the feet of

Ganesha indicates that a perfect person is one who has conquered his (or

her) ego. A mouse

gazing at the Laddus, but not consuming them, denotes that a purified or

controlled ego can

live in the world without being affected by the worldly temptations. The

mouse is also the vehicle

of Ganesha, signifying that one must control ego in order for wisdom to

shine forth.

 

Right foot dangling over the left foot: as stated above, the left side

of the body symbolizes emotion

and the right side symbolizes reason and knowledge. The right foot

dangling over the left foot

illustrates that in order to live a successful life one should utilize

knowledge and reason to

overcome emotions.

 

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