Lord Ganesha the Lord of Success and Freedom

“Human beings and animals have the same urges. They eat and sleep and copulate and besides, the feelings of fear are common to both. What, then, is the difference between the two? It is adherence to Dharma that distinguishes human beings from animals. Without Dharma to guide him man would be no better than an animal.” Explains Pujyasri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami in His book – Hindu Dharma: the Universal Way of Life : http://www.mediafire.com/?gparkglkyr5

Once I was sitting with my Scottish family friends in their house on the occasion of the annual function of Christmas festival in Scotland. Till that time I was a workaholic and never cared to think any other thing than my professional work and eat drink and be merry in the good company of friends. As the case stands, Christmas in Western countries is an ideal and the sole occasion to celebrate.

In the middle of that orgy the host suddenly asked me about something I did not anticipate. It was about certain religious aspects and it ended up with the funny shape of the “Elephant God” as they tend to address this figure head. I had no answers to their curiosity and the matter briskly ended up with the host making few comments to his bewildering intellect in ignorance or intent. I did not have any readymade reply on the religious themes of any cult save Hinduism. However that incidence did leave me with a curiosity on this Godhood aspect. There are many legends about His fancied look. Please bear with me since the following parable is quite interesting as I felt.

Etymology of Gana(-pati) or Gan(-esh):

Gana has nothing to do with the African countryJump to: navigation, search

It has nII Ghana.

The word Ga?a (Devanagari), in Sanskrit, means “flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series and class”. It can also be used to refer to a “body of attendants” and can refer to “a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims”.

In Hinduism, the Ga?as (Devanagari) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha’s title ga?a-??a or ga?a-pati, “lord of the ga?as”. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

The word “gana” can also refer to councils or assemblies convened to discuss matters of religion or other topics.

Elephants and Wisdom:

Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their intelligence and memory; their intelligence level is thought to be comparable to that of dolphins and primates. Aristotle once said the elephant was “the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind.” The word “elephant” has its origins in the Greek meaning “ivory” or “elephant”.

Ganesh Chaturthi Significance:

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami from Kauai Aadheenam, Hawaii, USA has explained it with a spiritual significance via a rare explanation. There could not have been a better occasion than the Ganesh Chaturthi festival season to elaborate it. Ganesh Chaturthi has dual significance. Primarily it is the birthday of Lord Ganesh and secondly LokmAnya Tilak started to celebrate it annually to unite Indians on 19 September 1904 against the divisive colonial rule. It lasts for 10 days, ending on the day of ‘Ananta Chaturdashi’ in Bh?drapad? i.e. the sixth month in Hindu Lunar calendar.

Effect of worship of Lord Ganesha is immediate. One has, but to think of His form to contact His ever omnipresent mind. Close your eyes for a second; visualize His large elephant head and experience the direct communion that has immediately begun. This is similar to punching in a code at a personal computer terminal which gives immediate access to the entire network of computers, large and small. On this remarkable and universal “Innernet”, obscure and necessary information and answers to every question are now available as needed through the direct link with Lord Ganesha.

‘Faith’ is a common commodity in all professions including ‘worship’ in all types.

Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can use the computer terminal of our own brain and code in the divine image of Lord Ganesha and gain complete access to His vast computer-like mind. Ganesha’s mind has been programmed by the history of experience and naturally encompasses the intricacies of the universe and the cycles of life in all their ramifications and simplicities.

The Chakras:

Ancient Indian scriptures have a vast amount of spiritual literature about the ‘Chakra’ word whose etymology may vary even between various schools and different teachers. Thus the students must be watchful about the little variations in different descriptions. The Chakras or the Lotuses (Padmas) are the centres of vital energy like the gateways to the flow of this eternal energy as centres of vital force. In other words, these are centres of prana (life force) manifested by Pranavayu (Life or Vital Air) in the living body.

Kundalini is a feature of Hindu chakra systems. Several Western authors have taken interest in this occult tantric school of Hindu Vedic philosophy. These Padmas Or Chakras are briefly said to be seven in numbers: MuladhArA Chakra, SvAdhishthAna Chakra, Manipura Chakra, AnAhata Chakra, Vishuddha Chakra, Aajna Chakra, SahasrAra Chakra. I have avoided deliberately listing Anglicized translated versions to avoid confusion. Interested devotees are directed to the authentic sources for further details. One such source can be found at the above hyperlinks.

Bhattacharyya‘s review of Tantric history says that the word ‘chakra’ is used to mean several different things in the Sanskrit sources:

1. “Circle,” used in a variety of senses, symbolizing endless rotation of Shakti.

2. A circle or group of people. In rituals there are different cakra-s?dhan? in which adherents assemble and perform rites.

3. The term chakra also is used to denote yantras or mystic diagrams, variously known as triko?a-cakra, a??ako?a-cakra, etc. Hence it may not be circular in strict sense.

4. Different “nerve plexus within the body.”

However in Buddhist literature the Sanskrit term cakra (Pali cakka, – ‘R’ is silent in Pali) is used in a different sense of “circle,” referring to a Buddhist conception of the Cycle of Rebirth consisting of six states in which the beings may be reborn.

The linguist Jorma Koivulehto wrote (2001) of the annual Finnish Kekri celebration having borrowed the word from early Indo-Aryan. Indo-European cognates include Greek kuklos, Lithuanian kaklas, Tocharian B kokale and English “wheel,” as well as “circle.”

Cognates of “chakra” still exist in modern Asian languages as well. In Malay, “cakera” means “disc,” e.g. “cakerva padat” = “compact disc.”

Chakras are more subtle than the physical body but their state of balance will reflect in our physical and mental health.

The Negative Chakras and Lord Ganesh:

Sri Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains: Our great God Ganesha sits contentedly upon the MuladhArA chakra. This chakra controls the forces of memory within every creature. Worship of Him strengthens your memory, builds character and brings the knowledge from within. It also protects you from the lower forces which reside in the little-known chakras below the MuladhArA. These darker chakras govern fear, anger, jealousy and the confused thinking centered on self-preservation.

The first chakra below the MuladhArA governs the state of mind of fear and lust.

The second chakra below that governs raging anger, which comes from despair or from threats to one’s self-will and can make people angry even with God.

The third chakra below the MuladhArA governs retaliatory jealousy, pride and arrogance, which are associated with feelings of inadequacy, inferiority and helplessness. At this level the only safe sadhana is seva, karma yoga, service selflessly, a discipline that, when done well, results in a change of character. People who live in the consciousness of this chakra often deny the existence of God and are contentiously combative with one another.

The fourth chakra down governs prolonged confusion and instinctive willfulness, the desire to get rather than to give. Those in this region of mind celebrate the primacy of materialistic advancement over everything else. Hatred arises here as unwholesome vasanas build one upon another.

The fifth chakra below the MuladhArA is the home of the instinctive mind’s cruel selfishness. People in the consciousness of this chakra are capable of actions without conscience. They see to their own well-being at all costs and think only of “I, me and mine.”

The sixth chakra down is the realm of absence of conscience, which brings about theft, fraud and other dishonest dealings. People in this state of mind believe the world owes them a living and they can simply take whatever they please from whoever they please.

The seventh and last chakra below the MuladhArA governs malice, also without conscience, expressed through revenge, torture for the joy of it, murder for the sake of murder, the destruction of others’ property, mind, emotion or physical body. Hatred abides here. Reason seldom reaches those who live in this state of mind.

Men and women of wisdom will work diligently to close off these lower chakras and the negative karmas they can unleash. By worship of Lord Ganesha, seated upon the MuladhArA chakra, you can slowly seal off these lower states of mind and keep awareness lifted above the animal instincts. However it can be achieved by any kind of meditation.

The Miscellany:

Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha’s elephant head makes him particularly easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha (IAST: Vighne?a), Vighneshvara (IAST: Vighne?vara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography. There are myths about his body shape and how he got his elephant head but he is regarded as the destroyer of pride also besides conferring boon for success. Thus he also confers freedom by removing obstacles in the pathway.

Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya (g??apatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.

By Dr. OP Sudrania

 (Dr. O. P. Sudrania is a senior retired teacher in surgery and a medico-legal counsellor; now also engaged in research of spiritual and socio-political analytical science as a part of service to humanity. He retired as Emeritus Professor in Surgery from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. )