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The large head of an elephant
symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect
that one must possess to attain perfection in life. The wide
mouth represents the natural human desire to enjoy life in the
world. The large ears signify that a perfect person is the one
who possesses a great capacity to listen to others and assimilate
ideas.
Ganesha's trunk is depicted as being curled
and takes the form of the holy Hindu symbol, OM. The trunk is
a unique instrument, which springs from his head, and represents
the intellect, the faculty of discrimination, which necessarily
arises out of wisdom. Intellect is the discriminating faculty,
the discerning ability or the judging capacity in man. The trunk
of an elephant has the unique capacity of performing both gross
and subtle activities.
A trunk can uproot a tree. It can pick up
a needle from the ground. Likewise, the human mind must be strong
enough to face the ups and downs of the external world and yet
delicate enough to explore the subtle realms of the inner world.
The trunk hangs between the two tusks signifying discrimination
between the worldly and spirituality. Ganesha, beyond all dualities,
is attached to neither.
The trunk should be curved to the left for
normal idols. If it is curved to the right, it is called Siddhi
Vinayaka and needs special worship. One should be very careful
in worshipping such idols. The left-turning trunk has easy rules
and one can worship however one wants to, with respect, but the
right-turning trunk will burn the self, if rules are violated.
The two tusks denote the two aspects of the
human personality, wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents
wisdom and the left tusk represents emotion. Ganesha's right
tusk is broken. This broken tusk is symbolic of knowledge, as
it is with this tusk that he wrote the Hindu epic, Mahabharata.
The depiction of a broken tusk is interpreted by some as indicative
of the fact that we should not be trapped between pairs of opposites
like pleasures and pains but that we should make conscious efforts
to break its grip on us. Ganesha uses the broken tusk as a writing
instrument. This shows that one who transcends the pair of opposites
becomes creative. Our right side represents Shiva (spiritual)
and the left is Shakti (material). The broken right tusk indicates
that one must break-off the ego for spiritual fulfillment. In
worldly life, however, we need the ego as otherwise we cannot
live. But the ego is worldly and life must be controlled by divine
wisdom.
All animals can see in the right perspective.
The elephant is the only animal that lacks this capacity: it
can't see things in right perspective. It sees all things as
being bigger than itself. Thus the elephant-eyes of Ganesha symbolize
the idea that even if an individual gets "bigger and bigger" in
wealth and wisdom, he should perceive others to be bigger than
himself; that is, surrender one's pride and attain humility.
All this also implies that one should never take one's opponents
for granted and that one should regard everyone as being bigger
and better and more virtuous than oneself. One should always
view the goings-on of the world with a microscopic sight, reflecting
over them seriously. Thus one will be able to anticipate the
crises that may befall.
Lord Ganesha has four arms. The four arms
represent the four inner equipment of the subtle body, namely
mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), ego (ahankar) and conditioned
consciousness (chitta). Lord Ganesha represents the pure consciousness
- the Atman - which enables these four equipment to function
in us. In one hand he holds an axe. The axe symbolizes the
destruction of all desires and attachments & their consequent agitations & sorrows.
The other hand is shown in a blessing pose, which signifies
that Ganesha always blesses his devotees. In the third hand he
holds
a rice ball (modaka). Modaka represents the joyous rewards
of spiritual seeking. A seeker gains joy of satisfaction and
contentment
as he progresses on the path of spiritual evolution. Modakam
is a sweet cake. The modakam consists of an outer flour portion
and an inner sweet portion. The inner sweet portion represents
the supreme. The message is that man must dive within himself
and transcend the outer, in order to find the inner treasure.
In the fourth hand he holds a lotus. The lotus represents the
supreme goal of human evolution. By holding the lotus in his
hand, he draws the attention of all seekers to that supreme
state that each one of them can aspire for and reach through
proper
spiritual practices.
Lord Ganesha sits with one leg folded up and
the other leg resting on the ground. This suggests that while
we live in this world, we must tread the middle path and not
to go to extremes. Moderation should be our guide. Ganesa's posture
indicates that one of his tasks is to deal with the world while
the other is ever-rooted in single pointed concentration upon
the Supreme Reality.
The large ears of Ganesha signify that a perfect
person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to
others and assimilate ideas. The large ears of Ganesha teaches
us to talk less and listen more. Ears are used to gain knowledge.
The large ears indicate that when God is known, all knowledge
is known. Lord Ganesha has a wide mouth, which represents the
natural human desire to enjoy life in the world. Lord Ganesha
has a human body and possesses a human heart, which is a symbol
of kindness and compassion towards all.
Ganesha is usually portrayed wearing red and
yellow clothes. Yellow symbolizes purity, peace and truthfulness.
Red symbolizes the activity in the world. These are the qualities
of a perfect person who performs all the duties in the world,
with purity, peace and truthfulness.
At the feet of the Lord is spread abundance
of food. Food represents material wealth, power and prosperity.
Beside the food is a tiny rat loking up towards the Lord Ganesha.
All the gods have two appearances - tangible and intangible.
They stay in the physical world in their intangible form whereas
in the divine abode, they stay in their tangible form. In the
tangible form, all the gods have their own vehicle. A vehicle
in fact reflects the god's own radiance. Lord Ganesha himself
is gigantic in appearance, whereas his vehicle, the mouse, is
extremely small. The symbolization of the mouse - Mooshikam -
with Lord Ganesha has a number of interpretations, some of which
are contradictory to each other.
The mouse is said to symbolize the equal importance
of the biggest and smallest of creatures, in the eyes of the
infinity of creation. Vrihadaarnyak Upanishad says that Ganesha's
vehicle is in fact a symbol of all pervasive omniscient Brahma.
Like the omnipresent Brahma, a mouse stays in every household.
But it is not visible all the time. Members of a household come
to know about it only when its action begins to manifest.
The mouse is also interpreted as our ego.
One who has controlled the ego has Ganesha consciousness or God-consciousness.
According to other interpretations, the rat represents desire.
A rat has a small mouth & tiny sharp teeth. But it is the
greediest of all animals. Its greed & acquisitiveness are
so great that it steals more than it can eat and hoards more
than it can remember, often abandoning burrows full of hoarded
grains through forgetfulness.
Lord Ganesha is the lord of knowledge & intelligence.
Likewise, His vehicle, mouse, is also the symbol of wisdom, talent
and intelligence. It symbolizes minute investigation of a cryptic
subject.
A mantra of Rigveda narrates a tale. According
to it, a sage was feeling tormented by a mice which were biting
his genitals. The sage was hence praying the gods to get him
rid of his tormentors. This tale clearly points that a mouse
also symbolizes sexual feeling, sexual urge & sexual behaviour.
A sex-dominated behaviour is not divine; it is an animal instinct.
A conscience that is overridden by sex cannot house divinity.
In order to attain proximity with gods, one must overcome his
sexual urges and develop a pious attitude.
A mouse leads a clandestine life below the
ground. Thus it is also a symbol of ignorance that is dominant
in darkness & fears light and knowledge. As the vehicle of
Lord Ganesha, a mouse teaches us to remain always on alert and
illuminate our inner-self with the light of knowledge.
Lord Ganesha is given prime importance among
the five gods, according to Indian Hindu tradition. The other
four are Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Surya (Sun God). Lord Ganesha
is respected with the first honour of worship, before undertaking
any auspicious occasion, or celebration. For the successful completion
of any auspicious undertaking, the twelve names of Lord Ganesha
are pronounced and praised. One who utters these twelve names
of Ganesha while beginning one's studies, at the time of marriage,
while entering a newly constructed house, before setting off
for a journey, before setting off for war, or in times of crises,
does not come across any obstacles.
The twelve names of Ganesha are as follows
: (1) Sumukh, (2) Ekdanta (with one tooth), (3) Kapil, (4) Gajakarna,
(5) Lambodar, (6) Vikat, (7) Vighna-Nashan, (8) Vinayak, (9)
Dhumraketu, (10) Ganadhyaksha, (11) Bhalchandra, (12) Gajanan.
The inner-meanings of each other twelve names are drastically
different from each other:
1. Sumukh (One who has a beautiful face)
Ganesha is said to be possessing all the qualities
of Moon, who is also called the God of beauty, and is hence also
known as Sumukh.
2. Ekdanata (Having one tooth, or tusk)
Ganesha is also known as Ekdanta, or the one
with one tooth, because one of his tusks is broken. The name
Ekdanta is probably derived from a tale associated with the Asura
(demon), Mada-Asura, who is also associated with Pride. After
having surrendered to Ganesa, the Asura describes Ganesha as
the one who is the embodiment (eka) of the supreme truth (danta)
and hence the name Ekadanta.
The philosophical interpretation of this name however is this: Lord Ganesha,
through his single tusk propagates Adwaitavad - or the Hindu doctrine of singularity,
which in simple terms says that all existence - animate and non-animate - is
but a part of a single whole. The other belief in Hinduism is that of Dwaitavad
or the principle of duality, where Man is seen as being separate from God.
3. Kapila (Celestial cow)
Kapila was also the name given to a celestial
grey cow. Just as a cow contributes in keeping Man healthy through
its milk, Ganesha too does the same for the human mind by passing
on knowledge and wisdom. This nature of kind giving to Man is
assimilated in the name, Kapila.
4. Gajakarna (One with ears of an elephant)
Gajakarna indicates the possession of the
ears of an elephant. Ganesha's ears, which also appear like large
winnowing baskets, have philosophical significance. Just as one
uses a winnowing basket to separate grains from dirt, one must
use discriminition (viveka) to separate the real (Brahman) from
the unreal (Maya) in life. Here the grains stand for Brahman
and the dirt signifies Maya. In other words, Ganesha's ears indicate
that such discrimination between Brahman and Maya is to be gained
by taking recourse to Sravana (hearing). Listening to words of
wisdom from those who are already enlightened will lead to proper
discrimination and Brahman realization and this is the message
that is sought to be passed on through the depiction of Lord
Ganesha with elephant ears.
5. Lambodara (One with a large belly)
Lord Ganesha learnt the art of music from
the tinkling sound of nupur (anklets) tied around the ankles
of his mother, Goddess Parvati. He studied the Vedas from the
sound of the Damaru (a small percussion instrument) of Lord Shiva.
Thus with the accumulation and storage of vast knowledge, his
tummy became large.
6. Vikat (One who is ferocious)
This name, which means ferocious or dreadful,
is suggestive of Lord Ganesha taking on those forms to defeat
all evils. It is said that one needs to take on one's opponents
in the same manner as they behave so as to defeat them. This
is the message conveyed by the name Vikat.
7. Vighnanash (Destroyer of obstacles)
Lord Ganesha is a destroyer of all evils and
calamities. It is said that Lord Shiva told Parvati that their
son Ganesha would create numerous obstacles for those who do
not follow the path of dharma (righteousness) but that he would
remove all the obstacles to those who revere knowledge and wisdom.
8. Vinayak (Leader)
To the king Abhijit and queen Gunavati was
born a beautiful son named Gana. He was very bright and strong.
In addition, he had great devotion to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva,
pleased with Gana's devotion, granted him some boons. However,
this inflated Gana's ego and he fell to bad company. One day
he visited sage Kapila's ashram (hermitage). Kapila had a precious
gem called Chintamani which was could fulfill the wishes of its
owner and could provide food for thousands. When Gana spotted
this gem, he wanted to possess it but Kapila did not want to
give it to him. Gana forcibly took it away from him. Kapila prayed
to Lord Ganesha and Ganesha appeared in the dream of Gana and
cut off his head. Gana on waking up, did not repent but rather
took his army to kill Kapila. Gana's father Abhijit pleaded with
Gana to give Kapila back his gem, but Gana did not heed the advice.
However, on reaching Kapila's ashram he found that Ganesha had
assembled an army to fight him. In the fight that ensued, Gana
was slayed by Ganesha and Ganesha restored the Chintamani gem
to Kapila. Kapila, however, gave it back to Ganesha saying that
even a small gem like that is the cause of all troubles and wealth
is the root of many troubles of the world. Kapila, however, requested
Ganesha to stay in that place. This place is now called Chintamani
Vinayaka and is at Theur near Pune, Maharashtra, in India. In
the word Vinayak, the syllable "Vi" stands for Vighna
(obstacle or calamity) and Nayak means controller or leader.
9. Dhumraketu
This name indicates the shaping of smoke into
a specific form - suggestive of Ganesha's role in helping Man
in the formation of specific ideas from foggy thoughts. It also
means Agni (fire) and is indicative of the power that Ganesha
has in burning all evils and calamities.
10. Ganadhyaksha (Leader of the masses)
Lord Ganesha is seen as the leader of the
Ganas (masses), Nar (Man), Asura (Demon) and Nag (Snake) and
hence this name.
11. Balachandra (One who wears the moon on his head)
By placing the moon near his head, Lord Ganesha
creates an atmosphere of pleasure and peace. It is indicative
of the fact that the more a person feels peaceful using his wisdom,
the more effectively and efficiently will he be able to shoulder
his responsibilities. A quite mind is the stepping-stone to success.
Balachandra also indicates the moon being a king of Brahmins
- those who are enlightened or those who are perfect in knowing
Brahma. Thus by depicting the Brahmin king on Ganesha's head,
it is sought to indicate that Ganapati has stored the entire
knowledge of Brahma in his mind.
12. Gajanana (One who has the face of an elephant)
The symbolism of Ganesha having his head as
that of an elephant and the various meanings attached to it have
been described at length earlier.
History tells as that during Dravidian times, Lord Ganesha was worshipped as
an elephant signifying the wisdom and majesty of the universe. The invading
Aryans, adopted the Dravidian godling and affirmed their belief in Ganesha.
Ganesha made a ceremonial entrance as an Aryan God. 'The auspicious god', he
would be worshipped at the beginning of all rites, an unbroken tradition that
continues to this day.
The symbol of Lord Ganesha is the Swastika.
The Swastika is a basic Hindu symbol, reflecting the primary
principle of Creation, personalized by Lord Ganesha. The in-depth
interpretation of the direction of the swastika proves, that
the ancient Oriental mind gives positive answers to the existential
problem of the unity of the profane and sacred in human life.
Another symbol associated with Lord Ganesha
is the OM. The sign Om is the primary sound of the creation,
the holy breath of God, the primary word or the primary verb.
Lord Ganesha's form is shaped like and represents Om, which is
the primeval, creative energy. When the elephant cries it produces
a sound akin to the Om. The Om is the sound symbol of Brahmam,
Sivam, the Eternal, the Unchanging, the substratum of all existence.
Lord Ganesha represents unity. He has a revered
place in all Hindu temples including the Shiva temple and the
Krishna temple. Lord Ganesha has a place in the Buddhist temple
and among the Jains as well. The Chinese too worship Ganesha
but with a different name. Ganesha like deities are found in
Indonesia, Japan, Afghanistan, Mexico, Brazil, Burma, Thailand,
Cambodia, Tibet, Mongolia and Polynesia among other places.
Ganesha is the beginning of our world. He
was created first and he gave shapes, the qualities, the elements,
the modes of time, the Gods, the people. Ganesha is the symbol
of the personality, which surpasses the human ego and superego.
Ganesha is the innocence, living in constant worship of the Spirit.
In other words, Ganesha is the unrealized, potential innocence
in everything. Lord Ganesha is source of the illusive energy "Maya",
hiding Atma (soul) from the mind in the same way as an illusion
makes one mistake the rope for a snake.
Ganesha is also the Lord of Categories. All
that can be counted or comprehended is a category (gana, hence
the lord of gana, Gana-pati). The principle of all classifications
through which the relations between different orders of things,
between the macrocosm and the microcosm, can be understood is
called the lord-of-categories.
"I bow to you, lord of categories.
You alone are the visible form of the principle. You alone
are the creator, you alone are the sustainer, you alone are
the destroyer, you alone are unmistakably the Principle-of-All
(Brahma), the true Self."
This article was written by:
Madhuri Guin Our efforts have been directed at making this article informative and refreshing for you. We will truly appreciate all forms of feedback. Please send your feedback to newsletter@dollsofindia.com.
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