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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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