LORD GANESH By SWAMI SIVANANDA

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LORD GANESH By SWAMI SIVANANDA

 

SALUTATIONS to Lord Ganesha who is Brahman Himself, who is the

Supreme Lord, who is the energy of Lord Shiva, who is the source of

all bliss, and who is the bestower of all virtuous qualities and

success in all undertakings.

 

Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,

 

Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,

 

Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,

 

Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe

 

MEANING: "O Lord Vinayaka! the remover of all obstacles, the son of

Lord Shiva, with a form which is very short, with mouse as Thy

vehicle, with sweet pudding in hand, with wide ears and long hanging

trunk, I prostrate at Thy lotus-like Feet!"

 

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. This

is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is the day most sacred to Lord

Ganesha. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of

Bhadrapada (August-September). It is observed throughout India, as

well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world.

 

Clay figures of the Deity are made and after being worshipped for

two days, or in some cases ten days, they are thrown into water.

 

Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God. He is worshipped first in

any prayers. His Names are repeated first before any auspicious work

is begun, before any kind of worship is begun.

 

He is the Lord of power and wisdom. He is the eldest son of Lord

Shiva and the elder brother of Skanda or Kartikeya. He is the energy

of Lord Shiva and so He is called the son of Shankar and Umadevi. By

worshipping Lord Ganesha mothers hope to earn for their sons the

sterling virtues of Ganesha.

 

The following story is narrated about His birth and how He came to

have the head of an elephant:

 

Once upon a time, the Goddess Gauri (consort of Lord Shiva), while

bathing, created Ganesha as a pure white being out of the mud of Her

Body and placed Him at the entrance of the house. She told Him not

to allow anyone to enter while she went inside for a bath. Lord

Shiva Himself was returning home quite thirsty and was stopped by

Ganesha at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesha's head

as He thought Ganesha was an outsider.

 

When Gauri came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console

her grief, Shiva ordered His servants to cut off and bring to Him

the head of any creature that might be sleeping with its head facing

north. The servants went on their mission and found only an elephant

in that position. The sacrifice was thus made and the elephant's

head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the elephant's

head onto the body of Ganesha.

 

Lord Shiva made His son worthy of worship at the beginning of all

undertakings, marriages, expeditions, studies, etc. He ordained that

the annual worship of Ganesha should take place on the 4th day of

the bright half of Bhadrapada.

 

Without the Grace of Sri Ganesha and His help nothing whatsoever can

be achieved. No action can be undertaken without His support, Grace

or blessing.

 

In his first lesson in the alphabet a Maharashtrian child is

initiated into the Mantra of Lord Ganesha, Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah.

Only then is the alphabet taught.

 

The following are some of the common Names of Lord Ganesha:

Dhoomraketu, Sumukha, Ekadantha, Gajakarnaka, Lambodara, Vignaraja,

Ganadhyaksha, Phalachandra, Gajanana, Vinayaka, Vakratunda,

Siddhivinayaka, Surpakarna, Heramba, Skandapurvaja, Kapila and

Vigneshwara. He is also known by many as Maha-Ganapathi.

 

His Mantra is Om Gung Ganapathaye Namah. Spiritual aspirants who

worship Ganesha as their tutelary Deity repeat this Mantra or Om Sri

Ganeshaya Namah.

 

The devotees of Ganesha also do Japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra.

This is as follows.

 

Tat purushaaya vidmahe

 

Vakratundaaya dheemahi

 

Tanno dhanti prachodayaat.

 

Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom and bliss. He is the Lord of

Brahmacharins. He is foremost amongst the celibates.

 

He has as his vehicle a small mouse. He is the presiding Deity of

the Muladhara Chakra, the psychic centre in the body in which the

Kundalini Shakti resides.

 

He is the Lord who removes all obstacles on the path of the

spiritual aspirant, and bestows upon him worldly as well as

spiritual success. Hence He is called Vigna Vinayaka. His Bija

Akshara (root syllable) is Gung, pronounced to rhyme with the

English word "sung". He is the Lord of harmony and peace.

 

Lord Ganesha represents Om or the Pranava, which is the chief Mantra

among the Hindus. Nothing can be done without uttering it. This

explains the practice of invoking Ganesha before beginning any rite

or undertaking any project. His two feet represent the power of

knowledge and the power of action. The elephant head is significant

in that it is the only figure in nature that has the form of the

symbol for Om.

 

The significance of riding on a mouse is the complete conquest over

egoism. The holding of the ankusha represents His rulership of the

world. It is the emblem of divine Royalty.

 

Ganesha is the first God. Riding on a mouse, one of nature's

smallest creatures and having the head of an elephant, the biggest

of all animals, denotes that Ganesha is the creator of all

creatures. Elephants are very wise animals; this indicates that Lord

Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom. It also denotes the process of

evolution--the mouse gradually evolves into an elephant and finally

becomes a man. This is why Ganesha has a human body, an elephant's

head and a mouse as His vehicle. This is the symbolic philosophy of

His form.

 

He is the Lord of Ganas or groups, for instance groups of elements,

groups of senses, etc. He is the head of the followers of Shiva or

the celestial servants of Lord Shiva.

 

The Vaishnavas also worship Lord Ganesha. They have given Him the

name of Tumbikkai Alwar which means the divinity with the proboscis

(the elephant's trunk).

 

Lord Ganesha's two powers are the Kundalini and the Vallabha or

power of love.

 

He is very fond of sweet pudding or balls of rice flour with a sweet

core. On one of His birthdays He was going around house to house

accepting the offerings of sweet puddings. Having eaten a good

number of these, He set out moving on His mouse at night. Suddenly

the mouse stumbled--it had seen a snake and became frightened--with

the result that Ganesha fell down. His stomach burst open and all

the sweet puddings came out. But Ganesha stuffed them back into His

stomach and, catching hold of the snake, tied it around His belly.

 

Seeing all this, the moon in the sky had a hearty laugh. This

unseemly behaviour of the moon annoyed Him immensely and so he

pulled out one of His tusks and hurled it against the moon, and

cursed that no one should look at the moon on the Ganesh Chaturthi

day. If anyone does, he will surely earn a bad name, censure or ill-

repute. However, if by mistake someone does happen to look at the

moon on this day, then the only way he can be freed from the curse

is by repeating or listening to the story of how Lord Krishna

cleared His character regarding the Syamantaka jewel. This story is

quoted in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Lord Ganesha was pleased to ordain

thus. Glory to Lord Ganesha! How kind and merciful He is unto His

devotees!

 

Ganesha and His brother Lord Subramanya once had a dispute as to who

was the elder of the two. The matter was referred to Lord Shiva for

final decision. Shiva decided that whoever would make a tour of the

whole world and come back first to the starting point had the right

to be the elder. Subramanya flew off at once on his vehicle, the

peacock, to make a circuit of the world. But the wise Ganesha went,

in loving worshipfulness, around His divine parents and asked for

the prize of His victory.

 

Lord Shiva said, "Beloved and wise Ganesha! But how can I give you

the prize; you did not go around the world?"

 

Ganesha replied, "No, but I have gone around my parents. My parents

represent the entire manifested universe!"

 

Thus the dispute was settled in favour of Lord Ganesha, who was

thereafter acknowledged as the elder of the two brothers. Mother

Parvati also gave Him a fruit as a prize for this victory.

 

In the Ganapathi Upanishad, Ganesha is identified with the Supreme

Self. The legends that are connected with Lord Ganesha are recorded

in the Ganesha Khanda of the Brahma Vivartha Purana.

 

On the Ganesh Chaturthi day, meditate on the stories connected with

Lord Ganesha early in the morning, during the Brahmamuhurta period.

Then, after taking a bath, go to the temple and do the prayers of

Lord Ganesha. Offer Him some coconut and sweet pudding. Pray with

faith and devotion that He may remove all the obstacles that you

experience on the spiritual path. Worship Him at home, too. You can

get the assistance of a pundit. Have an image of Lord Ganesha in

your house. Feel His Presence in it.

 

Don't forget not to look at the moon on that day; remember that it

behaved unbecomingly towards the Lord. This really means avoid the

company of all those who have no faith in God, and who deride God,

your Guru and religion, from this very day.

 

Take fresh spiritual resolves and pray to Lord Ganesha for inner

spiritual strength to attain success in all your undertakings.

 

May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May He remove all

the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on

you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

 

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