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Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya !!

 

An elephant's trunk has the strength to uproot a tree as well as the finesse to

pick up a needle.

 

Ganesha's trunk symbolises the fact that the wise person has both immense

strength and fine discrimination. Ganesha has large ears. The wise person hears

all. He has four hands. In one hand he holds a lotus, the symbol of

enlightenment. In the other hand he holds a hatchet. That is, the old karma, all

your sanskars, the accumulated good and bad of past deeds get cut when

enlightenment comes.

 

The third hand holds laddus, the round sweet-meats. They are the rewards of a

wise life. Ganesha is never shown eating the laddus. The wise man never partakes

of the rewards of his deeds. He is not attached to them. The fourth hand is

shown blessing the people. The wise man wishes the best for everyone.

 

Ganesha has only one tusk; the other is shown broken. There is an interesting

story as to how Ganesh happened to get an elephant's head and how one tusk got

broken. The symbolism of the broken tusk is that the wise person is beyond

duality.

 

We tend to think that we end when our bodies end in the material world. We are

the first person. All else is different. This duality is created by the mind

which creates the ego to help us survive in this world. This 'me-other' duality

is the screen keeping us from realising our real Self, which is beyond body and

mind. Once we transcend this duality, we see the entire Universe as a single

whole and we become aware of our true Selves. The single tusk of Ganesha

symbolises this non-duality. Wisdom allows us to see all as one and ourselves an

integral part of the whole.

 

Ganesha is shown sitting with one foot on the ground and the other resting on

his knee, above the ground. The wise person is of this earth, yet not entirely

of this earth.

 

Ganesha is shown seated on a rat. The reason for saying that Ganesha 'rides' on

the rat is that the rat is among the greediest of all animals. It will keep

nibbling at whatever is available, eating everything it can. Scientifically,

too, the rat's teeth keep growing and it has to keep chewing on something to

keep these within limits. The rat is a symbol of our senses, which are never

satisfied. They crave new experiences, new tastes. Left uncontrolled, they keep

growing forever. The wise person rides on his senses. He keeps them under

control.

 

Ganesha is often shown seated in front of a tray of sweets. In these images the

rat is shown sitting in front of Ganesha, perhaps a bit to one side, looking up

at him. The senses of the wise person are under his control and the rat dare not

eat the sweets without the permission of Ganesha.

 

Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati, the God governing the life-force and

the earth-mother. This symbolises the spirit and body of the wise person.

Finally, the wise person has the dignity of an elephant.

 

When we say " Aum Ganeshaya Namah " before starting anything what we are saying is

that " In what we are about to do, let wisdom be our guide " . In a sense, Ganesha

is our most powerful god, and he is usually remembered before starting any

rituals for other deities.

 

Om Namo Narayanaya !!