Aum Maha Ganapataye Namaha

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Lord Ganesa--The Remover of Obstacles

By

Sri Swami Krishnananda

Human life is beset with obstacles. We face oppositions and encounter

difficulties in galore, and the whole of our daily activity may, in a sense, be

considered as a struggle against all odds which come in different forms as the

sorrows of life. The moment we wake up in the morning, we have to face the

obstacle called hunger which we try to obviate by cooking and eating food, the

obstacle called thirst which we have to get rid of by drinks and the obstacle

called disease, exhaustion, fatigue, sleeplessness and the like, which we

endeavour to remedy by the introduction of various types of medicines. The very

presence of people around us is an obstacle and the human individual suddenly

becomes restless, and both consciously and unconsciously puts on an attitude of

self-defence, as if one has found oneself suddenly in a terrific warfield.

The difficulties of life are, to a large extent, the very substance of life

itself. The whole of life is a bundle of difficulties. It is a mess of

oppositions, which calls for a continuous counteracting force which is what is

called human enterprise. If the whole earth were filled with milk and honey, and

if there is no fatigue, no old age and death, no hunger and thirst, no

opposition and nobody to utter a word, then there would be no activity, no

necessity to do anything and no incentive in the direction of any movement. The

quantity, the expanse and the magnitude of the opposition which comes before us

in life is such that no single individual will be able to face it. This whole

world is too much for a single man and considering the incongruous,

disproportionate relationship between a single human individual and the vast

world outside, there is very little hope of man's achieving anything in this

world, successfully. Because, with a spoon you cannot

bail out the ocean of waters, though your effort may be laudable. You are, no

doubt, very sincerely industrious in emptying the ocean of its waters with a

little spoon or a ladle. Notwithstanding the fact that this effort on your part

is praiseworthy, that is not going to lead you to any success and the expected

result will not follow. The ocean cannot be emptied by any amount of bailing out

with a spoon. Such seems to be the type of world into which we are born and

people who are acutely conscious of this situation become humble enough to

accept that even an inch of success cannot be expected in this world without a

miraculous grace of God. So, even the little success that sometimes seems to

come to us is a kind of undeserved promotion, as it were, granted to us by the

mercy of the Almighty. Our efforts are only a puny child's whining and weeping

with a helpless weakness of body and mind. The traditional annual worship of God

in this role, as the

remover of all obstacles, as Vighna Vinayaka, is known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or

Ganesa Chaturthi. It is the day on which we offer special adoration to the

Remover of obstacles.

We are terribly afraid of obstacles. There is no other fear in this world except

obstacle. So, always we cry: " Remove the obstacles, clear the path, cleanse the

road. " On the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada

(August-September) every year, the great Lord called the Lord of Hosts,

Ganapati, is worshipped throughout India, perhaps in many other parts of the

world also. There is no Hindu who does not recognise the pre-eminence of the

worship of this mysteriously conceived deity called Ganapati whose name occurs

right in the beginning of the Rigveda itself, the earliest of scriptures, where

pointedly the name is taken in a Mantra, " Gananam tva ganapatim havamahe... " The

fear of God is supposed to be the beginning of religion. A person who has no

fear of God has no religion also, because religion is respect for God. The fear

of God goes together with the acceptance of the greatness of God and His Power.

Wherever there is power, we

are afraid of it. An ocean, a lion, an elephant are all powerful things and we

dread the very sight of them.

Tradition conceives this great Remover of obstacles, Ganapati, as the son of

Lord Siva with a proboscis of an elephant and a protuberant belly, with weapons

of various types and a benign gesture of goodwill, grace and blessing with His

right hand. The family of Bhagavan Siva is of a peculiar set up. The Lord of all

the worlds, lives as one possessing nothing! This manner of living in Mount

Kailasa by the great Master of Yogis, Lord Siva, is perhaps a demonstration of

the great definition of the glory of Bhagavan, the Supreme Being as possessed of

all-knowledge, all-power and all-renunciation. What is Bhagavan and what are His

characteristics? 'Bhagavan' is one who has six characteristics. " Aisvaryasya

samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah; Jnana-Vairagyayoh chaiva shannam bhaga

itirana " --these six characteristics mentioned are all called Bhaga. One who has

Bhaga is called Bhagavan. All prosperity, all wealth, all treasure, all glory,

all magnificence is

Aisvarya. Entire Aisvarya is there. Virya is tremendous energy, force and

power. Yasas is fame and renown. Srih is prosperity. Jnana and Vairagya are the

pinnacle of wisdom and the pinnacle of renunciation, respectively. Knowledge is

supposed to be a benediction from Lord Siva Himself. In the Srimad Bhagavata

Mahapurana, at the commencement of the second Skandha, Sri Suka delineates the

names of various deities who have to be adored for various purposes. " Jnanam

Mahesvaradicchet--All knowledge is to be expected from the great Siva. " They say

that the ocean of Siva is incomprehensible; a part of it was contained in a pot

by Brihaspati, and a spoon of it was taken by Panini who is the promulgator of

Sanskrit grammar.

You know the interesting story as to how Panini, the originator of Sanskrit

grammar, received knowledge from Lord Siva. He was supposed to be the dullest of

the students in a group that was studying from a Guru in Taxila, Taksha Shila.

There were other very intelligent boys. Panini was the most stupid, the least

intelligent, very much belittled and made fun of by the colleagues in the class.

He was deeply hurt that he was being cowed down by other colleagues and that he

could not understand anything that the teacher said. Almost in a desperate mood

of disgust with everything, he went to the forest and deeply contemplated on

Lord Siva. He prayed: " O Lord! Bless me with Knowledge. " It is said that Lord

Siva appeared before him, danced and revolved His Dakka or Damaru fourteen

times, and the following fourteen sounds were made: " 1. Aiun, 2. Rlrk, 3. Aowng,

4. Ai ouch, 5. Ha ya va rat, 6. Lan, 7. Na ma nga na nam, 8. Jha bhanj, 9. Gha

dha dhash, 10. Ja ba ga

da das, 11. Kha pha chha tha tha cha ta tav, 12. Ka pay, 13. Sa sha sar, and

14. Hal. All this constitutes the very essence of Sanskrit grammar. These

sounds, meaningless as they may appear to us, became the foundation of Sanskrit

grammar and Sanskrit literature.

So, God can teach us without books and without the usual medium of instruction,

by a thought, a sound, a look, a touch or a benign gesture.

Such a Master's son is Sri Ganapati, Sri Ganesa. We have endless stories about

our Gods, all partly humorous and partly highly illuminating. The usual belief

is that Lord Ganapati is a celibate and He never married, though there is a

belief in North India that He has Siddhi and Buddhi, two consorts behind Him.

There is a humorous story about His marriage. He was about to be married and the

bridegroom's procession was moving in great gusto, from Mount Kailasa evidently,

to the bride's palace. We do not know who that contemplated bride was. We know

only that there was a procession of the bridegroom. And His pot belly, it seems,

burst on the way due to eating too much, and He took a snake, who is sometimes

identified with Subrahmanya, tied it around His stomach and ate again. It seems

Chandra or moon looked at this scene and laughed, saying: " Look at this man who

is going for his marriage! His stomach is burst and he is tying up with, a

snake? This took

place on the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month, Bhadrapada

(Aug-Sept). Ganapati was irritated very much. He cursed the moon: " You fellow,

you talk about me like this. You have insulted me. Well, whoever looks at you on

this day will also similarly be insulted. " So, people dread to look at the moon

on that day. Chauthi Chandra, the moon on the fourth day of the bright half of

the lunar month, is considered very inauspicious, resulting in Apavadam or

censure and reproach on the one who sees it. Apavada means undeserved blame and

scandal. You might have done nothing, yet somebody will go on telling some evil

against you. This is the result of looking at the moon on the fourth day,

because it has the curse of Ganapati. But they say, in our tradition of curses,

that there is also what is called Sapamoksha or a kind of remedy. The moon said:

" Please excuse me, why do you curse me like this? " The moon pleaded for some

remedy. Then Ganapati in

reply said: " OK, alright, I pardon you. Whoever looks at you on the first day

after the Newmoon, will be relieved of this curse. " I have seen people running

to terraces and climbing trees and trying to see the little streak of the moon

appearing like a thread on the first day after the Newmoon, to be rid of all the

evils that might have grown around them even by an unconscious look on the

fourth day, because on that fourth day especially the moon is just before our

eyes and very clear. He is located very peculiarly in a position in the sky

where you cannot avoid seeing him. So, then, when our eyes fall on the moon on

the fourth day, we rub our eyes and say, " Oh..very sorry, some mistake has taken

place, " and we expect some trouble afterwards. Somebody will say something

against us. Anyhow, the remedy is seeing the moon on the first day after the

Newmoon.

The philosophy behind all these traditional worships and Puranic allegories is

that the path of spiritual Sadhana is a mystery by itself and it is not a heroic

activity of the Sadhaka, as sometimes he may imagine. No heroism will work

there. Even the so-called heroic attitude, which we sometimes put on, is an

entry of divine force into us. Just as a child's or a little baby's walking is

the strength of the mother who is holding it with her hand, whatever

intelligence we have, whatever satisfaction we enjoy in this life, whatever

strength we possess, whether physical or psychological, whatever security we

have, whatever is worthwhile in our existence is a modicum of the reflection of

God's power. The worship of Maha-Ganapati, with the Mantra " Om Gam Ganapataye

Namah, " is a humble submission of the true circumstance of oneself before the

might of God's glory. Who can open one's eyes before God! Who can utter one word

before Him! Who can boast of one's

learning, greatness, etc., before Him! We would be ashamed even to present

ourselves before Him. Consider the might of the Creator, the magnitude of His

power, the depth of His Wisdom, His Knowledge and His Omniscience, and your

present condition! Compare it and contrast it. What Sadhana, what meditation,

what Yoga can you do! The moment you begin to take one step in the direction of

this holy movement towards God, the world pounces upon you with all its army,

because the world is quantitatively larger. We live in a world of quantities. We

require quantitative food, quantitative drink, quantitative physical

appurtenances, and everything we require and ask for in life is only a quantity

rather than a quality. So the quantity of the world being larger than the

quantity of our physical personality, we cannot face it. So there is this humble

acceptance of submission and a prayer to the great Almighty as manifest in

Ganapati.

There is another story as to why He is worshipped first on all occasions. It

appears Parvati, the consort of Lord Siva, went for a bath, may be in the Ganga.

She scrubbed her body and out of the dirt of her body she made a small image of

a boy, gave life to it by her touch and ordained him not to allow entry to any

person when she is taking bath in the river. Accordingly, that boy stood

guarding. At that moment, the great Lord Siva Himself came and the boy prevented

His entry, because he cannot recognise Lord Siva, whom he has not seen. He has

only the order of his Mother that nobody should enter. He immediately objected

to the brave entry of Lord Siva into the vicinity where Parvati was taking bath.

You can imagine the feeling of Lord Siva. " What is this? The little chap is

standing and preventing me from seeing my own consort! " He immediately chopped

off Ganapati's head and he fell down dead. When Parvati came up, she was aghast

and said: " Oh Lord, You

have killed my boy, he is my own child, and I am deeply hurt. What have you

done! Oh, my Lord! " She bet her breast and would not speak. She started weeping.

The Lord Siva said, " Do not weep, I shall give life to him. " But ironically

enough, He would not put the same head back. We do not know the reason why He

did this. He told, " Bring the head of someone who is sleeping with his head

towards the north. " This is why it is said that you should not sleep with your

head towards the north. Otherwise, Siva will search for you! And they found

nobody except an elephant lying with its head towards the north. Its head was

severed and brought. The elephant's head was attached to the trunk of this boy

and life was given by the Great Siva. He became alive and was named as Ganapati,

which designation was bestowed upon him by Lord Siva Himself, may be to pacify

Parvati or to bring about a peaceful atmosphere around. Lord Siva not only gave

him life, but also made him

the leader of His hosts. Ganapati, is therefore, the leader of the hosts of

Lord Siva Himself. There is a large audience before Lord Siva, consisting of

varieties of Ganas. Ganas are demigods; they are neither human nor superhuman,

but a peculiar type. Sometimes they look like astral beings. These Ganas are

ruled by Ganapati under the order of Siva. So Ganapati means the Generalissimo,

as it were, of the hosts who always live in Kailasa. Apart from making Ganapati

the Leader of hosts, Lord Siva bestowed another blessing on Him, saying: " You

shall be the first one to be worshipped on all occasion. " So this is the order

or the ordinance of Lord Siva. The ordinance stands for ever. It is a permanent

ordinance from the Great Master: " No one will be worshipped before you, not even

me. After you are worshipped alone, will anybody else be worshipped. " We won't

worship Lord Siva or Lord Narayana without first worshipping Ganapati. " Om Gam

Ganapataye Namah, " is

a Mantra to propitiate Ganapati.

Human mind is elated and enthused by hearing stories. Image, painting, music,

idols, dance, any kind of picturesque presentation of religion and spirituality

or philosophy is generally more appealing than cut and dry logic, as you know

very well. So the Puranas and the Epics bring home to us the idea of the

necessity to accept the power of God as the only medium by which obstacles can

be removed. So, He is called Vighnesvara, the God who is not merely the Ganapati

or the ruler of the hosts or Ganas, but also a Remover of all impediments on alt

paths.

I have heard a story when I was a small boy told by a neighbour. There was a

person who never believed in Gods and when his daughter's marriage was to be

performed, someone said, " First of all you must worship Ganesa. Do not be in a

hurry. " He replied, " Let him be Ganesa or his grandfather, I do not care for

anybody. " He took the Murti of Ganesa and threw it into the tank. And suddenly,

they say, there was a fire and the whole marriage Pandal was aflame. People bet

their breasts, cried, ran to the tank and brought back the image. And then, it

is said, there was rain, after Ganesa was worshipped. These are all stories and

we have to take them for what they are worth.

But there is something mysterious about things. Everything is not clear to the

minds of men. There are great secrets. And as I began by saying, the spiritual

path is itself a great secret. The little Japa that you do, the scriptures that

you read, the audience that you hold and whatever you appear to be doing, is

only an outer crust of the mystery of life. The mystery is finally in yourself.

You yourself do not know who is goading you to think in this manner. That

goading principle is the mystery. If you recognise this mystery within you which

mystifies even your intelligence and your efforts, you will be humble, simple

and small before God, because spiritual Sadhana is an art of becoming smaller

and smaller. It is not to become bigger and bigger. A person becomes smaller and

smaller as he approaches God, just as a candle flame becomes dimmer and dimmer

as it goes nearer and nearer to the sun; and just before the sun, it is not

there? You cannot see even

its existence. It vanishes. Likewise, when we approach God, we become smaller

and smaller, humbler and humbler, littler and littler, until we become nothing.

In this nothingness, we will find God Himself filling us. When there is total

emptiness created by an abolition of ourselves, in this emptiness or vacuum

created, God fills Himself. 'Empty thyself and I shall fill thee'--says Jesus

Christ. The Mahaganapati Purana, the Ganapati Atharvasirsha Upanishad, the

Ganesa Gita and several anecdotes occurring in the Mahabharata and the other

Puranas glorify this aspect of the Supreme Almighty which requires our

submission at His feet, and expects us to recognise Him as the sole power that

can remove all obstacles on the path of the spiritual seeker towards the

attainment of Godhead. This seems to be a part of the meaning hidden behind the

holy worship of Bhagavan Ganapati or Sri Ganesa or Mahaganapati. A dread enters

our minds when we think of His Name on

account of the feeling that any displeasure on His part may be a doom to us.

People are afraid even to forget taking the holy Prasada of Sri Satyanarayana

Puja because of the story behind it. Do you know what will happen to you if you

do not take the Prasada? It is mentioned in the story that the whole thing will

be finished--all your wealth, property, wife, children, etc., will go to dogs in

one second. The fear of it makes you bow down and wait for the Prasada even if

it is late in the night. These stories are not meaningless narrations of cock

and bull incidents. They instil into our minds a divine urge and a fear of the

Divine Presence. After all we are human beings who are ruled more by sentiments

and feelings than by our reason or our so-called understanding. This psychology

of the human being is taken advantage of by the writers of the Epics and the

Puranas to instil faith in our hearts through these stories. Thus is a little

tribute to the glory

of Maha Ganapati.

 

 

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