VEDA GANAPATHI

[Guest guest]

VEDA GANAPATHI

 

 

Prayers and ritualistic worship have a prominent place in the Indian way of

life. The main objective of these is to make one climb the staircase of devotion

and reach the gate to liberation. But unfortunately these rituals have now

deteriorated into mere mechanical customs, preoccupations to pleasantly while

away time. What is conspicuously absent in our celebration of festivals today is

the sanctity of devotion. Religious rituals are no longer observed with the

attentive care due to them. The culprit might be the shadow of Western culture

looming over our heads since the last two hundred and fifty years. Blind aping

of Western ways has diluted our interest in our own festivals to such an extent

that our celebrations are now more like carrying out chores in a disinterested

dispirited way. Who is to be blamed for this sorry state of affairs? The elders

who take pride in being Westernised and advise the youngsters to follow suit? Or

is it the youngsters

who need to be blamed for refusing to have anything to do with the traditions

of the past? It is time that both the old and the young realise that to recite

Vedas without knowing their meaning or to perform rituals with no knowledge of

their significance is a foolish act as pointless as that of a donkey carrying on

its back a pile of sandalwood. The sweet fragrance of the sandalwood is lost on

the donkey. What can ignorant elders teach their young except highhandedly

commanding them to obey their instructions? To rectify the situation Mihira

proposes to provide detailed explanation of all the rituals that are observed

during our festivals. As the first step in that direction a special booklet

explaining the import and procedural details of Vinayakavratam is launched and

will be circulated free of cost to all the rs of Mihira. What is

offered in this booklet is not a cataloguing of all the stories about Lord

Vighnewsara as given out in various

Puranas and legends but an authentic description of this deity as mentioned in

the Vedas. It is good to perform Vinayaka Pooja after reading this essay and

strengthening our devotion for Lord Ganesha. For the easy reference of readers

many chants on Lord Ganesha are included in the booklet.

 

Though it is a time honoured practice to start Vinayaka Vratam with the offer of

worship to the idol of Ganesha made with turmeric powder, it is deleted here to

avoid redundancy. It is true that pooja has to be offered first to Lord Ganesha

whoever may be the diety to whom worship is being offered. During the Vinayaka

Vratam the entire worship is to Ganesha only. So it is felt that the custom of

making a turmeric idol can be dispensed with.

 

The details of worship given by us are taken from Purusha Sukta. Purusha Suktha

is an extract from the Vedas and as all Vedas have to be sung in a specified way

it may be feared that to read them and not sing them may be wrong. But, when

prayers are offered to God with devotion there is nothing wrong in reading Vedic

chants as one reads verses. Moreover, singing the Vedas is something that has to

be learned directly from a Guru and never through notations given in a book. It

is for this reason that extracts from Purusha Suktham are given in the booklet.

 

It is unfortunate that many people conclude pooja with the verse " Papoham Papa

Karmaham " It is deliberately removed here because it is ludicrous to

meticulously perform the entire pooja and then bewail " I am a sinner. I am a

wicked person " . It is not only inauspicious but, as rightly pointed out by

Master E.K., it indicates the height of ignorance to attach sin to " Atma " which

is beyond good and evil. We followed Master E.K.’s advice in deleting this

verse.

 

Generally in all books describing Vinayaka Vratam mention of Maha Nivedyam

(Offering of food), Neerajanam (Harathi with Camphor) and Mantra Pushpam (Final

phase of worshipping) are given after the story of Vinayaka Vratam is told.

Instead of that, in our booklet all details of worship are first given and the

story is given as the last item in the ritual of the Vratam.

 

In the Vedas we find chants addressed to a number of deities. Those who know the

Vedas only superficially take this as proof to show that in ancient India people

worshipped a pantheon of Gods. But the quintessential message of the Vedas being

that there is only one supreme God, the reference to the multiple deities can

only be a reference to the multiple aspects of the one God. He manifests Himself

as Brahma while creating the universe, as Vishnu while sustaining it, as Siva

while dissolving it and as Indra while implementing any planned schedule of

action. So what we have are not different Gods but the same God appearing in

different forms while carrying out different functions. After all, are we not

aware that a man may simultaneously play various roles in his relationship to

others while he continues to be the same in his essential nature? A man can at

one and the same time be husband to his wife, father to his son, brother to his

sister etc., The

feelings he awakens in them are totally different and the way he treats each of

them is also different. Does it mean that the man has multiple forms? All

pervasive God also is like that. He does not alter or assume different forms. He

is seen by us in his different roles.

 

In the beginning of creation, as the ruling deity of " ganas " (groups) this God

was Ganapathi, ruler of groups. He is the regulating principle in this vast

universe He sees to it that groups function in an orderly manner. Along with our

solar system there are twelve others revolving round twelve other suns. The

supreme Lord who regulates the movement of all planetary groups is Ganapathi.

People in this universe exist in seven groups. These groups will be emerging as

various subgroups with clearly earmarked alignments. Lord Ganapathi is the

operative power behind all these groups.

 

Utterance will become meaningful only when it is divided into units. Utterance

is " Vak: " or Parvathi. Meaning is " Ardha " or Parameswara. The child born to

these two is Vagardha or Ganapathi. Husband and wife in any marriage are like

two lines. If those two lines are to be joined, a third line Ganapathi, has to

appear. That is a triangle. This triangle is the Yantra of Ganapathi. No shape

can be formed with two lines. So the first shape is that of the triangle. There

is a difference between sound made in the throat and the utterance that emerges

from the mouth. " Varnam " is formed by making the sound stop at particular

intervals. A word is formed by a combination of varnams. A sentence is formed by

a combination of words and a story is formed by a combination of sentences. That

story is life and if it were to have a happy ending one should know where to

begin and where to stop be it an action, emotion, or utterance. The Lord who

bestows on us this

dexterity is the Lord of obstacles, Ganapathi.

 

For a smooth and safe ride on a scooter or a car, perfect control over the

brakes is very essential. If there are no brakes, the vehicle will not stop

moving and may prove hazardous to life. The voice box in the throat has two

parts that look verily like the neck of an organ pipe. The Vedas refer to these

parts as " gravanams " Ra signifies the seed of fire (ignition) while " Ga "

signifies seed of Ganapathi (brake) By impeding the continuously flowing stream

of sound with the power of Ganapathi, letters are formed. When they are used in

groups they acquire meaning. This power is worshipped under the names of

Vinayaka and Vighneswara Emergence of utterance is a wonder of wonders. The

creation of this universe is the greatest wonder of all, something

unprecedented. When looked at separately tamarind, water, and salt are different

materials in the world. Once mixed and boiled they all become one - tamarind

soup. This is also a new formation that did not exist

before. Thus, everything in creation is an ever new combination of things. The

star Hasta has the power to bring about these fusions. Ganapathi has Hastimukha,

the face of an elephant.

 

In our solar system the planet Jupiter has this power. the presiding deity of

this planet is Brihaspathi or Brahmanaspathi. He is the male version of Goddess

Saraswathi. No learning no worship can ever begin without first offering worship

to Ganapathi. The man who craves for prosperity and for well being here and in

the hereafter, will have his desires fulfilled if he prays to Ganapathi. The

custom of invoking the presence of this auspicious God and then after pooja

immersing the idol is of recent origin. There is no mention of this custom in

the Vedas. Perhaps the people responsible for popularising this custom might

have thought that once the idol is out of the way they can resume their shameful

sinful deeds. The mistake lies in thinking that worship is to the idol while it

is to the all pervasive God. Similarly prayers should be to invoke God’s

presence into the worshipper’s body not into the idol.

 

Whatever be the form under which we worship a deity, we should first invoke that

form in our hearts. While chanting Ganapathi mantram we should have His form in

our heart and at the centre of the brow. Where " Gam " is the mantram " Ganapathi "

is the Yantram. Meditation on Ganapathi will then be tantram. We will obtain

mantra siddhi only when these three - Yantra mantra and tantra are combined.

Those who gain mantra siddhi will be merged in Ganapathi. That means they will

reach a high level of enlightenment and from that they will be elevated to

samadhi state.

 

Courtesy: M.R.L.

 

Regards

Bharathi.A