Lord Ganapati (Ganesh Chaturthi)

Lord Ganapati
(Ganesh Chaturthi)

The name Ganesh or Ganapati implies the Lord of the Ganas. The Ganas being a group of semi-divine beings serving Lord Shiv. In common parlance, it can mean the Lord of the people. Lord Ganesh is truly the Lord of people, as the cute little chubby boy like body with an elephant head has been invoking love and devotion in people.

Lord Ganesh is regarded as the god of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. He is the lord of new beginnings and remover of obstacles. We pray to him so that wisdom can awaken within us.

It is wisdom that helps us overcome difficult situations. As per Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati became dirty when she was celebrating with Lord Shiv. When she realized this, she removed the dirt from her body and created a boy out of it.

She then asked him to keep guard while she bathed. When Lord Shiv returned, the boy did not recognize him and obstructed his passage. So Shiv chopped off the boy’s head and entered. Goddess Parvati was shocked when she saw this. She explained to Lord Shiv that the boy was their son and pleaded with Lord Shiv to save him at all costs. Lord Shiv then instructed his helpers to go and get the head of someone who was sleeping with their head pointing to the north. The helpers then got the head of an elephant, which Lord Shiv affixed to the boy’s torso and Lord Ganesh was born. Lord Shiv blessed him with a boon and explained that people would first offer their love and devotion to Lord Ganesh before starting any auspicious activity.

In the above story, dirt is symbolic of ignorance, and Shiva is symbolic of the supreme innocence, peace and knowledge. When Lord Ganesh obstructs the path of Lord Shiv, 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 Lord Shiv chopping off the boy’s head.

The principle qualities of the elephant are wisdom and effortlessness. The enormous head of the elephant signifies wisdom and knowledge. Elephants don’t walk around obstacles, neither are they stopped by them. They just remove them and walk ahead – signifying effortlessness. So, when we worship Lord Ganesh these qualities within us are kindled and we take on these qualities.

Another legend has it that there was a race between Lord Ganesh and his brother Lord Karthikey to determine who would get the divine fruit that Sage Narada had offered their parents, Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati. This fruit had the power of supreme knowledge and immortality. The first one to go around the world three times would be adjudged winner. Lord Karthikey began his circumambulation around the world on his vehicle, the peacock. Lord Ganesh, on the other hand, went around his parents, stating that his parents were his world. Naturally, he won the race, and ate the divine fruit of knowledge. Lord Ganesh could overcome the obstacle and win the challenge due to his wisdom.

It is widely known that Mahabharata was written by Lord Ganesha under the dictation of Sage Vyasa. However, after the duo began writing the story, the ‘pen’ with which Lord Ganesha was writing broke. However, Lord Ganesha did not stop writing, he just broke one of his tusks and completed Mahabharata. In this instance, Lord Ganesh could overcome the obstacle in completing the task by sacrificing his tooth.

Lord Ganesh was created by the Adi Shakti (Goddess Parvati), the Primordial Power of God Almighty, without the cause of male-female principle. He is the embodiment of innocence, purity, and chastity in creation. Being born out of the Primordial Mother, He is with Her all the times and in Muladhara Chakra in the human being.

Our body has seven Chakras (rings) or nerve points. At the base of our spine is the Muladhara Chakra. It is the starting point for the transfer of energy in our body. This point is the base or foundation point in our body, and is responsible for the energy we feel – enthusiasm, dullness, interest, inertia and so on. Only when this point is activated do we feel enthusiasm; this energy can then be transferred upwards to the other Chakras enabling wisdom, knowledge and learning to take birth within us.

Muladhara chakra is the interface between the material and the spiritual worlds. It is the starting element of non-physical existence (Divine Consciousness). The energy associated with the Muladhara Chakra is the same energy that is associated with Lord Ganesh.

The intellect is of two types: the gross-intellect (worldly knowledge) and the subtle intellect (discerning spirit from matter). We pray to lord Ganesh to awaken the subtle intellect, whereby we become a spiritual personality concieving the Self which transcends the body, mind, intellect and their manifestations.

As per ancient holy texts of Narasimha Puran and Bhavishya Puran, a 4th Waning Moon is a special time to access the energies of Lord Ganesh, known as Sankashti Chaturthi. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the Fourth day after No moon (sud chauth), in the month of Bhadarvo as per the Gujarati calendar. On this day, clay statues of the lord are made. It is believed that these statues have the ability to absorb your negative karma into the clay medium. After the rituals, when these clay statues are immersed in the water, it is believed that the karma also gets dissolved along with the clay.

The blessings of Lord Ganesh are sought at the start of any activity, be it an auspicious ritual, a journey, new business etc. It is also common to see images of Lord Ganesh at home entrances, work desks etc. This is done to invoke His energies so that wisdom can awaken within us, leading us to well-being and success.
If you plan on getting a Ganesha home, please consider an eco-friendly Ganesha.

Alternatively, you can make one by following this link: https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/diy-how-to-make-eco-friendly-ganesh-idols-at-home-24858/

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Lord Ganapati
(Ganesh Chaturthi)

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