THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GANAPATI

[barney 0]

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GANAPATI

AND `MAKKHAN-CHOR' GOPALNANDA

 

In Sanskrit language, there are more than one meaning attached to a word. For example, the word GO means cow as well as sense organs. Gopal means cowherd. Gopal also means a yogi whose sense organs are completely under his control. This dual meaning enables poets to bring out their best on the physical plane as well as on the spiritual plane.

 

We have Krishna the cowherd boy in Vraj and Vrindavan, and we have Gopalnanda Krishna, the yogeshwar, milking the Upanishads, and the milk is the great nectar of the Bhagavad Gita.(Gita Dhyanam, verse 4, usually found at the beginning of Bhagavad Gita books). The maakhan (cream) or the gist or essence of the Upanishads is presented in the Bhagavad Gita. This is what the `makkhan chor' took from the Upanishads and distributed for the benefit of mankind.

 

Similarly, a common Sanskrit word to denote elephant is GAJA. Here Gajanan means elephant faced - a name for Ganapati. But the word Gaja has a much deeper connotation. GA indicates gati, the final goal towards which the entire creation is moving, whether knowingly or unknowingly. JA stands for janma, birth or origin. Hence GAJA signifies GOD from whom worlds have come out and towards whom they are progressing, to be ultimately dissolved in Him. The elephant head is thus purely symbolical.

 

We observe creation in its two fold manifestation as the microcosm (sukshmanda) and the macrocosm (brahmanda). Each is a replica of the other. They are one in two and two in one. The elephant head stands for the macrocosm (representing vastness or bigness), and the human body for the microcosm. The two form one unit. Since the macrocosm is the goal of the microcosm, the elephant part has been given greater prominence by making it a head.

 

The Chandogya Upanishad has pronounced a philisophical truth as TAT-TVAM-ASI, THAT- THOU -ART. It simply means "You, the apparently limited individual, are in essence, the cosmic Truth, the Absolute". The elephant-human form of Ganapati is the iconographical representation of this great Vedantic dictum. the elephant stands for the cosmic whereas the human stands for the individual. The single image reflects their identity.

 

Vedanta is the synthesis of the `within' and the `without'; the macrocosm and the microcosm. The study of this `within' of nature through an inquiry into the `within' of man, who is the unique product of nature`s evolution, is religion according to Indian thought. The synthesis of the knowledge of the `without' , which the physical sciences give, and the `within' which religion gives, is what India achieved in her Vedanta. This she calls BRAHMA - VIDYA or philosophy; God or Brahman(`BRAHMAN' is the Upanishdic term for the Supreme Reality, God) standing for the totality of reality, physical and non-physical. Brahma - vidya is Sarva - vidya- pratishtha (philosophy is the basis and support of all knowledge) says the Mundaka Upanishad (i.i.i.).

 

The Ganapati Upanishad identifies Lord Ganesh with the Supreme Self. Lord Ganesh represents the Pranava (AUM) which is the symbol of the Supreme Self. Taitiriya Upanishad (1.8.1.) states: "AUM ITI BRAHMAN -AUM is Brahman (GOD). AUM is all this . Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of invokong Lord Ganesh before beginning any rite or undertaking any project.

 

Lord Ganesh removes all obstacles on the path of the spiritual aspirant, and bestows upon him worldly as well as spiritual success. So he is called VIGNA VINAYAKA or VIGHNESHWAR.

_

 

 

[maadhav 0]

thanks barney, this is a very good post.

 

The HK's need to learn something from here.

 

Because krishna has said in gita

- aham aadir he devaanam.. etc.

and because bhakti has to be avyabhichariNi,

HK's worship krishna exclusively (that is good)

but ridicule and look down at the hindus who worship ganapati and other devas. while doing that, and not even keeping a ganapati moorti in the temples and altars,

they do assume names of ganapati. e.g. there is a ganapati swami, an HK sanyasi. their stores do sell pictures of devas now.

 

so, the nice thing we the hindus could expect from HK's is that they realize the fact that they do not need to look down or criticise any hindu (hinduism malpractice sure should be criticised and stopped) but respect them for carrying on the great vedic culture for the new generations of the world.

 

if HKs fight with the hindus,

then it is like fighting the treasure carriers who brought Hk's the treasure of krishna bhkati and made HKs transcendetalists or bhaktas out of hippies.

HK's should not condemn Hindu political interests also,

becaue hindu interest is vedic interest and so it includes HK's political interests.

 

the hindus on the other hand need to respect the HK's for their contribution in spreading krishna bhakti, and they do mostly.

 

let us pray for the unity and understanding.

if the suras do not unite, the asuras will take over.

 

[Guest guest]

According to a "sathvic purana/upapurana" (i dont exactly remember the name, Goddess Mayadevi (Parvati) meditated on Lord Narayana to have a son to obey her. Moved by her devotion Lord Narayana asked Mayadevi to make a image using sandal extracting from her sariram (body). She did that. Then Lord Narayana gave life to the image and said that her son is amsa of himself (ie., Lord Narayana). So Pravati's son referred here is none other than Lord Ganapati.

 

Yes, Lord Ganapati will defintely remove our obstacles, since hes amsa of Lord Narayana himself.

 

Also Lord Ganapathi incarnated as "Sri Gopala Dasa". Sri Gopala Dasa followed Dwaita sampradayam. Sri Gopala Dasa was a great devotee of Lord Narayana.

 

Heres some Miracles performed by Sri Gopala Dasa

 

gopAla dAsaru gifts 40 years of his life to srInivAsAchArya :-

 

This srInivAsAchArya then started suffering from a stomach ailment, which apparently had absolutely no cure and went from pillar to post to cure himself, but in vain. He went to Sholinghur to pay respects to shrI narasimha swAmy and yOgAnjaneya and other places but to no avail. Finally, he decided to go to the place of his elder brother in previous birth and seek refuge at his feet. It was none other than Mantralaya mahAprabhu. When shrI rAghvEndra swAmi was prahlAda, srInivAsAchArya was his younger brother sahlAda. srInivAsAchArya did sEva at the sannidhAna of shrI rAghavEndra tIrtha for some time but unfortunately still the pain continued.

 

So one day, he decided to give up his life. But the Lord had sent him to this Earth for some other purpose and hence there was no possibility of exiting the place before the completion of the same. Then, the saint of Mantralya appeared in his dream and told him the cause of the ailment. srInivAsAchAryaa repented for having done apachAra to the dAsashrEsTa and wanted to make amends. shrI rAghavEndra sripAdaru instructed him to go and meet shrI vijaya dAsaru and get his remedy.

 

This event is a very interesting one if we analyze it. shrI vijaya dAsaru in his bhrigu avatAra had kicked the Lord on the chest and the Lord, the abode of compassion, had pardoned him unconditionally whereas here the same saint was insulted by another pundit and the Lord was unwilling to forgive him. Indeed the Lord is as He says in the ninth chapter of the srimad bhagavadgIta - madbhakta sa me priyah. If we look at another angle the Lord sometimes to uplift a deserving devotee in order to bring down his excess punya, during the course of the sAdhana, makes the devotee commit some unpardonable sin like in the above case and we have to take recourse from the same chapter of the bhagavad gIta, shlokas 30 & 31.

 

 

Apichetsuduraachaaaroo .......na me bhakta pranashyati ||

When srInivAsAchArya fell at the feet of shrI vijaya dAsaru the latter instructed him to go to gOpAla dAsaru and seek remedy for his ailment. Again perhaps satisfied by the gurubhakti of shrI gOpAla dAsaru who did not eat for 3 days the saint asked so. srInivAsAchArya reached uddAnUr and enquired about shrI gOpAla dAsaru and got the reply that he will be at the temple. He did accordingly and found a man sweeping the temple and was clad in a very simple dress. He asked him the whereabouts of the dAsAru's house. The person guided him by giving directions and when he went there again they told them that the dAsaru was at the temple. With the stomach ailment he was shuttling from the temple and the house. Finally he asked the person at the temple where he could find shrI gOpAla dAsa and the saint revealed himself to him.

 

He prostrated and started to sing about the dAsa in mOhana rAga:

 

 

"gOpAladAsa rAya ninna . nA nambide nischaya............."

The compassionate gOpAla dAsaru asked him to come to the tank in the morning after the ablutions and promised to cure him of his disease. The next day, the dAsa made 2 bakri (roti or chappati from flour sans oil) and made abhimantrana of dhanvantri in it with the following song.

 

 

"yenna binappa kElu dhanvantri .........."

dhanvantri dEvata with the kalasha of amrita sprinkled ambrosia (only to cure the sickness) on the bakri to be given to srInivAsAchArya and also explained the futility of his efforts since srInivAsAchArya was destined to die the next day. On learning this, shrI gOpAla dAsaru waited to hear from his guru. As soon as the guru spoke to him he paid his obeisance to him and told him about the predicament. shrI vijaya dAsaru asked him to give 40 years of Ayur dAna i.e. donate 40 years of his life to srInivAsAchArya and he, like ekalavya without any hesitation, agreed to his master's command.

 

This srInivAsAcharya became shrI jagannAtha dAsaru who wrote the magnum opus of madhva siddhAnta in kannaDa - shrI harikathAmbrutha sAra.

 

So such was greatness of Sri Gopala Dasa -> a great devotee of Lord Narayana

 

No wonder Lord Ganapati (Sri Gopala Dasa) is so reverred.

 

Ganapati Papa Mooreyaa.

 

/images/graemlins/smile.gif Jai Sri Krishna

 

 

[Pankaja_Dasa 1]

 

HK worship Lord Narasimhadeva along with Sri Prahladha Maharaja, Ganapati is a great devotee of Lord Narasimhadeva, so we worship Sri Ganapati in that way.