Today we celebrate the birthday of Ganesha (“Ganesh Chaturthi”), the
Lord of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles - the perfect time to begin
anew and set your agendas for the months ahead!
Ganesha is the universal master of ceremonies. He is the first to
be invited whenever a puja (ceremony of worship) is performed, because he is
believed to bring prosperity and initiate new beginnings. So Ganesha mantras
are chanted at the beginning of auspicious and spiritual events.
In India, this day is celebrated by Hindus and Muslims alike, as
the message of Ganesha is universal and not religious in nature. Also known as
Ganapati, he is worshipped all around Asia, and is loved and revered by
Tibetans, Chinese, Thais and Japanese. Fear
of the unknown is the most basic of human emotions that affect all of us,
regardless of country or religion. Ganapati helps us cope with fear and
anxiety, guiding us through ambivalence, bringing clarity and a fresh
perspective. Ganesha resides in the first chakra, muladhara, the foundation
upon which everything rests. Seated in the base of the spine, he holds,
supports and guides all other chakras, thereby governing the forces that turn
the wheel of life.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar beautifully explains the
legend of how Ganesha became the elephant-headed God:
“Shiva and Parvati had been celebrating and Parvati
became dirty. When she realizes this, she removes the dirt from her body,
creates a little boy out of it and asks him to keep guard while she bathes.
When Shiva returned, the boy couldn’t recognize him and obstructed his passage
to protect his “mother”, Parvati. So Shiva chopped off the boy’s head and
entered. Parvati was shocked. She explained that the boy was their son and
pleaded with Shiva to save him at all costs. Shiva then instructed his helpers
to go and get the head of someone who was sleeping with the head pointing
northwards. The helpers brought the head of an elephant, which Shiva affixed to
the boy’s torso and Ganesha was brought to life!
Does this story sound strange? Why should Parvati have dirt on her body? Didn’t
the all-knowing Shiva recognise His own son? Was Shiva, the epitome of peace,
so short-tempered that he cut off the head of his own son? And why an elephant
head on Ganesha? There is a deeper meaning to all these.
Parvati is symbolic of festive energy. Her becoming dirty signifies that
celebration can easily become Rajasik or feverish and can take you away from
your center. Dirt is symbolic of ignorance and Shiva is symbolic of the Supreme
Innocence, Peace and Knowledge. So when Ganesha obstructs the path of Shiva,
this means that ignorance, which is an attribute of the head, does not
recognize knowledge. Then knowledge has to overcome ignorance. This is the
symbolism behind Shiva chopping off the boy’s head.
And why an elephant’s head? The elephant represents the qualities of gyan
shakti and karma shakti: wisdom and effortlessness. The enormous head of the
elephant signifies wisdom and knowledge. Elephants don't walk around obstacles,
neither do they stop at them. They just remove them and keep walking straight
on, signifying strength and determination.” So Ganesha represents human
intelligence allied with the strength of an elephant.
In his book “Tantra Unveiled”, Pandit Rajmani
Tigunait writes extensively on Ganesha’s significance. The word Ganesha comes
from the Sanskrit words gana and isha. Gana means “individual beings, discrete bodies of Divinity, unique
forces, emanations of Divine Light, attendants of the main deity”. Isha means “one who is capable of doing
what he wishes, capable of refraining from what he does not wish to do, and
capable of undoing what has already been done.” In other words, the Almighty
Lord.
Ganesha is the locus for all that exists, and he
establishes law and brings order out of chaos, causing the universal forces to
function coherently. As the centre
of gravitational energy, he supervises all activities, from the microcosmic to
the macrocosmic.
The forces of creation, maintenance and destruction
are held in harmonious balance by his will, which is why the firstborn child of
the Divine Mother (symbolized by Parvati) is called “Ganesha”, the lord of all entities and functioning forces of the
universe.
In both Vedic and Tantric scriptures, he is called Brahmanaspati: “all-pervasive lord of
knowledge and intelligence”. Because he also sets the wheels of karma in
motion, he is also referred to as Karma
Adhyaksha, “the one who presides over
karmic law”. As the remover of
obstacles, he is known as Vighnesha.
Like fire, Ganesha (Vighnesha) consumes anything in
his path with an enormous appetite. He gladly accepts any offerings we lovingly
make to him – our problems and concerns are swallowed up, granting us freedom
from fear and worry. Only Ganesha is capable of consuming our ignorance,
egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death.
Ancient texts relate Ganesha with the sacred sound Om, and the curved shape of his trunk
and head resembles Om as it is
written in Sanskrit. Because Om is the source of all mantras, repeating
any mantra is like meditating on Ganesha. All sounds, words and mantras in
their unmanifested form rest in muladhara chakra, where Ganesh resides.
So if you want to tap into the energy of Ganesha,
here are some mantras you can chant aloud, or - even more powerfully - silently
while meditating or as you go about your day.
Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha – Salutations to the Remover of
Obstacles
Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha - For auspicious and generous
initiating energy
For more serious adepts, try 3 - 108 repetitions of
the Maha (great) Ganapati Mantra daily:
Om Shrim Hrim Klim Glaum
Gum Ganapataye
Vara Varada Sarva Janam Me
Vasha-manaya Swaha
- "May
the abundance-producing Great Remover of Obstacles that transcends this
apparent reality bring all things that concern me under my control."
I wish you many blessings and the strength and forbearance
of Ganesha in the months ahead!
Jai Ganesh!
