Lord Ganesha

August 26, 2009

Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha symbolizes the ideals of perfection as conceived by Hindu sages and

illustrates 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

Just as an elephant " s trunk can uproot a tree and yet lift a needle

from the ground. 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 a natural deceptiveness that allow 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 towards all.

Ganesha " s body is usually portrayed wearing red and yellow clothes.

Yellow symbolizes purity, peace and truthfulness. Red symbolizes 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 symbolizes 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

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.

Om Ganesaya Namaha

SRI EKADHANTHA STHOTRAM

General

Sumukachaikadhanthacha kapilo gajakarnaka:

Lambodharascha vikato vignanasho ganaathipa:

Dhoomrakethur ganathyacho baalachandro gajaananaha:

Dhvaadhasaithaani naamani ya: patethchrunuyaathapi

Vidyaarambe vivaahe cha pravese nirgame thathaa

Sankraame sankatechaiva vignasthasya na jaayathe.

Slokas

Sathathmaroopam sakalaathi bhootham

Amaayinam sohamachinthya bhotham

Anadhi madhyantha viheenamekam