Fwd: Lord Ganesha

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** Lord Ganesha **

 

 

 

 

Lord Ganesha - 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.

 

 

 

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.

 

One always starts any prayer, ritual and/or occasion

by worshipping our Beloved Elephant God. One of the

famous mantras dedicated to Ganpati follows:

 

Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha

Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva

Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa

 

Vakratundacurved trunkMahakaayalarge bodiedSurya

koteemillion sunsSama Prabhawith the brilliance

ofNirvighnamfree of

obstaclesKurumakemeymyDevaLordSarva Kaaryeshuin all

workSarvadaalways

O Lord Ganesha of Large body, curved trunk, with the

brilliance of a million suns, please make all my work

free of obstacles, always.

 

 

 

 

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