Spiritual Significance Of Ganpati

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Isabel Merritt
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1 Spiritual Significance Of Ganpati Rajyogini Brahmakumari Nalini Didiji Mumbai (Maharashtra) For more information kindly contact : Brahmakumaris Public Relation Office Mobile : bkmediapr@gmail.com, mediapr@bkmail.org

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3 Lots of devotees worship Lord Ganesha s diety in India. Those not worshipping the deity directly too would make it a point to remember Ganesha on important occasions. Businessmen draw swastika (again a symbol of Lord Ganesha) to get success in their business ventures. Thus Ganesh is remembered for achieving a successful ending to whatever believers set out to do. Even Lord Shiva s worshippers (whom many gods have been shown, worshipping) consider it auspicious to remember Ganesha first, in their sequence of prayers. Given the importance for Lord Ganesha in Indian Mythology many wonder Who the elephant diety actually is? Why is this diety shown with a elephant face, big stomach, rat, swastika etc.? Many ask why are Ganesha s prayers considered so auspicious, that it s said at the beginning of any important event? How is this diety a remover of all obstacles? To understand the above it would help to appreciate a perspective as this. In bhakti marg artisans and craftsmen would try to depict the various qualities of Lord Shiva (whom even many gods are shown worshipping) in the idols that were created to worship. Hence Saraswati, Laxmi, Hanuman etc each depict a unique quality which worshippers revert. Thus Ganesha also depicts good qualities which are shown through its features. (eg Large ears, trunk, big stomach etc). The purpose behind the depiction being to remind all of us we need to imbibe these in us. Let s understand the various features of Ganesha and see what it reminds us to achieve. Ganesha s Head: It is believed elephant is a very intelligent animal. Its ability to identify its exact mahout from a crowd is very well known. As wise as an elephant and as faithful as an elephant is an often heard line. Even in our day to day life, when we come across people who remember lots of things, he is referred to as some one having an elephant memory. In short elephant head is associated with intelligence, broad thinking etc. Another quality admired in an elephant is its ability to remain steadfast especially in its journeys. We have all heard of this line at some time or the other elephants keep walking even as the dogs keep barking. Thus intelligence, sound memory, faithfulness, determination, and being steadfast are some of the qualities which Ganesha s head reminds us to acquire. Knowing, understanding and applying these answers in day to day life, gives us an opportunity to imbibe the above qualities in us. a) Who is the real I? b) Who is my real father, mother? c) From where I have come into this body? d) Where would I go after I leave this body? e) What is that permanent wealth which I will take back, once i leave this body? f) What could be purpose of my life?

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5 Ganesha s Trunk: What does Ganesha s trunk remind all of us? To understand lets take a look at the purposes a trunk serve for the elephant? A trunk can lift and carry heavy objects. It even, if need be uproots trees and carry the same over distances. While there is no denying a trunk lifts heavy objects easily, it also can pick up tiny objects like a needle from the ground with the same amount of ease. If need be it can garland a person or even do a namaste. Thus the trunk on Lord Ganesh reminds us to uproot and throw away all the negative sanskars (tendencies) present in us like Lust, Greed, Anger, Attachment, Ego etc. It is believed these negative sanskars which we have acquired over the so many births, is the root cause of our sorrows in life. Thus by acquiring spiritual powers from the supreme soul (who is also referred to as Shiv in Hindu mythology) through a process of yog/meditation/rememberance we defeat these negative tendencies in us. Lord Ganesha s trunk remind us to over our own Ego, Lust, Greed, Attachment, Jealousy, Anger. Ganesha s Ears: Ganesh is depicted having large ears. It reminds us of elephant ears moving back & forth like a fan. What do these large ears tell us? Of the various senses we have sight, smell, hear, touch, taste etc. the importance of hearing can never be over emphasized. Ganesha s ears remind us to be good listeners in our life. Please Listen very carefully, Why don t you listen first and then speak? Listnening helps to build good relationships with people these are some of wisdoms which we all know. Ganesha s ears remind us to remember this good quality and implement the same in our life be a good listener.

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7 Ganesha s Eyes: It is believed (and proven too) elephants see small objects as big objects. In fact some commentators even joke, had it been the reverse an elephant would have crushed all below its feet. Having mentioned this there is also a lesson here Lets look for positives in others to make them feel big about themselves. Even to people who may be smaller to us in age, status etc. Ganesha s Face: Ganesh is shown with a large face. Compare this with what happens when a person who has committed any shameful act is caught? Or when a person has lost hope, faith and love in life? We have all heard phrases like his/her face has fallen, meaning its all written over the face. It s almost magical yet true that when we do good actions & stay positive in life our face seems expanded (big) and contracted (small) when we do negative actions and think negative. We can look at Ganesha s face and remind ourselves to always stay positive in life always and do positive actions. Ganesha s Tusk: This one as we all know is not used for chewing. A sharp tusk at times brings an element of fear in the minds of elephant s detractors. It serves a very good purpose (albeit subtly) in communicating do not mess around with me or leave me alone, I have a task to finish. Lord Ganesha says we all need a tusk in our life to achieve what we have set out to achieve. A tusk which helps us to remain steadfast in our journey of achievements. A tusk which communicates, our determination to move ahead in our life. A tusk which reveals our ability to defend ourselves. Now what can such a tusk be? Our firm belief in our abilities is a wonderful tusk we all have. Lets start using the same.

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9 Ganesha s Big Stomach: The big stomach of Ganesha is an indication of the ability, to digest all. To digest means to face successfully all situations in life. We all go through our moments of success, failures, joy, sadness etc. Ganesha s big stomach reminds us to take all these aspects of life (whether pleasant or unpleasant to us) in our stride and move ahead. A competent, person as we all know does not allow the situations to rule him/her. Rather he/she masters any situations in life successfully. Thus the big stomach of Ganesha is conveying to all of us God is with you, face all situations in life bravely. Axe in the hands of Ganesha: Ganesha is depicted with four hands. One of these hands holds a small axe. What does this signify? An axe as we all know, is used for cutting or chopping objects. Lord Ganesha tells us we also need to cut off or chop off unwanted stuffs in our lives. They are in the form of negative sanskars (tendencies) like attachment, lust, greed, ego, anger. We also know these unwanted negative elements of our life do not make our life better, rather worsens it. Thus the presence of an axe which can cut off from our lives, negative sanskars is needed. Lord Ganesha indicates to us in our life acquiring spiritual knowledge is best axe we can get for ourselves to cut off these negative sanskars which we have acquired over so many births. Religious books too, refer knowledge as a real sword of our life. Posture of Giving: One of Ganesha s hand is shown in the posture of giving blessings to all. This denotes the importance of giving. Giving signifies fullness within. We can give only what we have. Also to give requires courage and a large heart. Thus by giving we signify good wishes for others.

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11 Rope in the hands of Ganesha: The elephant god is also shown holding a rope in one of the hands. A Rope is used to connect two objects. Thus the rope signifies a connection. Connection of we the souls with the supreme soul. The rope in the hands of Lord Ganesha reminds that we the soul is eternally linked to supreme soul. The right word for such is a linkage is relationship. We are related to the supreme soul in exactly the same manner as a child is related to its father. The relationship we share with the supreme soul ( Who is also a point of light like we souls) is the spiritual connect we have. Like there is a bodily relationship we share, with people around us (eg. Mother, father, friend etc). There is also a spiritual (soul) connect we share. The difference between a bodily relationship and spiritual relationship is that the later is permanent. It does not get over with one s death. Lord Ganesha encourages us to forge this wonderful relationship with the supreme soul and enrich our life, by holding a rope in one of its hands. By forging this relationship we acquire powers whereby we use the same to destroy all obstacles coming our way. Modak (a sweet) in the hands of Ganesha: A modak (sweet) also some time look like a Ladoo another sweet. The sight of modak also brings about a feeling of happiness in one s mind. The principal material for making modak, (chenna) needs to undergo lot of fine grinding before the same takes the shape of a modak. Thus a competent person also undergoes lots of hardwork before acquiring the required competency. This person actually die alive in the process. The need to die alive in pursuit of our goals is what this sweet (modak) in the hands of Ganesh tell us. Also Modak represents success. It is a common practice in India to distribute laddoo s on acquiring any recognition or success. This is done to spread happiness around. Thus Modak reminds us to be successful, happy and spread happiness around. Stacks of Modak in a vessel signifies the need to stay together (team work) and being a good team player.

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13 Ganesha s Rat: Many wonder how a tiny rat can be a vehicle for the mighty Ganesha. The need therefore is to understand the meaning behind this symbol. A rat can cut to size any object expensive or non expensive. All this it does very silently.in it quest to fulfills its hunger a rat keeps tearing to pieces whatever objects that come its way. Some of us too carry this tendency, albeit it our own way tearing down good pieces of advice. This is often done for proving intelligence and not for the benefit of enhancing knowledge or any other good cause. Instead of picking up good points in whatever is being said they prefer to look at negatives and shoot the idea down often behind the scenes. We can look at Ganesha s rat and remind ourselves to stop doing the same.

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15 Ganesha s two wives Riddhi & Siddhi: The two wives of Ganesh Riddhi & Siddhi is also shown besides the god. They are also symbolic. In the sense they convey to us the specialities of Lord Ganesh. For eg. Siddhi means success. Thus when we acquire proper knowledge in our life and apply them appropriately, success is bound to be ours. It is even said success is the birthright of knowledgeable person. The other associations of Lord Ganesh is Elephant leaf and Laxmi. If one peeps over an elephant leaf, one will find more inside. This signifies depth. A knowledgeable person is also referred to as a person with depth. Thus when this person speaks he may speak only a few words but his words carry lot of meanings. This is a good quality for all of us to acquire. Goddess laxmi who is shown with Ganesh represents purity, prosperity, peace and happiness. Moreover Laxmi is shown on top of a lotus. This signifies whatever our surroundings/backgroud, one can still live a life of purity, peace, prosperity and happiness.

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17 Going through the above a lot of similarities is observed between Ganapati and Prajapita Brahma. In fact a close look at the two words Ganapati and Prajapita indicates a close association. Gan indicates people at large while praja too means the same. It wouldn t be out of context to mention Ganapati is in the form of Prajapita Brahma. The name Ganapati symbolizes the duties and actions of Prajapita Brahma who acquired the knowledge from the supreme soul shiva. If one hears the life story of Prajapita Brahma, it becomes abundantly clear how, the supreme soul replaced the old sanskars of brahma baba with divine sanskars just as shiva has been said to have replaced a human head with an elephant head bearing all the above divine qualities. With this divine vision and qualities, brahma baba set out to achieve a new world of peace, happiness, purity and prosperity. We too can replace our old negative sansakars with positive sanskars. When we do the same we perform good karmas (actions) also known as divine karmas. Thus the message is transformation from ordinary human beings to deities happens by our actions.

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19 Singificance of Swastika: The symbol of swastika is associated with Ganesha. Actually it is said to reveal the summary of the knowledge of this world. How? A close look at swastika reveals four parts. On the right hand side there is a upper and lower section. On the left hand side there is a upper and lower section too. Each of these sections remind us about the story of world cycle (shristi chakra). The upper right section in the swastika indicates a period on this earth when there was peace, prosperity, purity and happiness in abundance. This phase is also referred to as satyug (or golden age). As the cycle turns, the next phase (represented by lower right) starts. This phase is called as treta yug (or silver age). Souls living in this phase too enjoyed peace, prosperity, purity albeit less than in satyug. As the world cycle turns the third phase of existence begins (Dwapur Yug). This phase is indicated in the lower left corner of the swastika. This is the phase where religious practices are believed to be evolved. The souls in this phase of Dwapur Yug, are believed to followers of various religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Muslims etc. The world in this phase is marked by differences of opinions and regions marked on the basis of various religions beliefs get evolved. Thus in this phase of the earth, divisive tendencies begin to appear. This manifests itself in the form of wars etc. Thus the world slowly moves from an era of purity, peace, prosperity in to an era of impurity, wars, hatredness etc from the dwapur era. The upper left section of the swastika represents the kalyuga phase of this earth. It is in this phase when corruption, hatredness and other impurtities reach its climax. It is in this phase when souls fight over religious matters. Killing other souls are considered as normal day to day events in this phase. This phase is marked by abuse of religion (misuse of religion) for power, politics etc. It is when the misuse happens in extreme that supreme soul (shiv) incarnates into this world and shares the real meaning of swastika with all of us. In the process he makes all of us trikaldarshi. The supreme soul also begins the establishment of the next phase of world i.e establishment of satyuga and prepares us for the same. Thus swastika is a symbol of the history of this world and the supreme soul reveals this secret to us. By knowing this knowledge, we human beings become not only become knowledgeable but also help us become better human beings. Just as Ganapati is associated with knowledge, the swastika in Ganesh s hand is a reminder to us about the story of world cycle. It is because of this knowledge that it represents, swastika is drawn on all auspicious occasions like Bhumi poojan, on books of accounts etc. Having known the real meaning of swastika in Ganesha s hand, it is now important that we not only keep constantly reminding ourselves of the same but also apply these knowledge in our day to day life. Praja Pita Brahma Kumari Ishvariya vishwa vidyalaya is an institution where in one can go and understand in detail the subjects discussed above, absolutely free of cost. This the above knowledge can be used for betterment of self and thus the world OM SHANTI

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