Symbolism of Lord Ganesha
GANAH IN Sanskrit means ‘multitude’. Isha means ‘Lord’.
Ganesha therefore literally means the “lord of all beings”. Ganesha is the
first son of Lord Siva. Siva represents the ultimate reality. The son of Siva
symbolises the one who has realised the reality. One who has discovered the
Godhood in him. Such a man is said to be lord of all beings.
Ganesha is known by other names as well, Ganapathy,
Gajanana, Vinayaka, Vigneswara. Ganpathi has the same literal meaning as
Ganesha. Gajanana means “Elepahant faced. Gaja=Elephant, ananna = Face. Vinayak
means the supreme leader, literally one who has no leader himself. Vigneshwara is the lord of all obstacles,
worshipped in the initiation of Hindu rituals and ceremonies. As the name
suggests Vigneshwara removes all obstacles, overcomes all challenges in life.
There is a belief that no undertaking will meet with failure if the grace of
Vigneshwara is invoked.
In Hindu mythological literature, Ganesha is described as
having human form with an elephant’s head. One of the tusks is broken, he has a
conspicuously large stomach. He sits with one leg folded in. At his feet
variety of food is spread. A rat sits near the food and looks upon him as if it
was asking for him for sanction to eat the food. The Mystical form of Lord
Ganesh represents not only the supreme state of human perfection but the
practical paths to reach that state. The details of his description suggest
deep philosophical significance which can guide you to reach the ultimate
state.
The first step of spiritual education is ‘Sravana’ which means listening to
eternal truths of Vedanta. The second step is ‘manana’ which is independent reflection of truths. The large ears
and head of Ganesha indicate that he gained previous wisdom through sravana and manana. The elephants head over human body in Ganesha is meant to
represent the supreme wisdom.
The trunk that spreads from his head represents the
intellect, the faculty of discrimination that which necessarily arises out of
wisdom. Intellect is the discriminating faculty, the discerning
ability or the judging capacity in man. Man’s intellect is of two discerning
types, namely gross and subtle. Gross intellect is the act of discrimination
which is applicable to the realm of terrestrial world, that part of the
intellect that which distinguishes between the pairs of opposites existing in
this world; distinguishes between night and day, black and white, joy and
sorrow, etc. Subtle intellect is the other aspect of the discrimination which
distinguishes between the infinite and the finite, the real and the unreal, the
transcendental and terrestrial. A man of
realization like Ganesha is one who has fully developed the gross and subtle
intellects. He has perfect understanding of the knowledge of the terrestrial as
well as the transcendental.
The trunk of the elephant has the unique capacity of
performing both gross and subtle activities. The trunk can uproot a tree. It
can pick up a needle from the ground. One rarely finds gross and subtle
operations performed by a single instrument. A spanner which is used to fixing
a locomotive is useless for repairing a wrist watch. The elephant’s trunk is
exceptional to this rule. It serves both ways. So does Ganesha’s intellect
penetrate the realms of material and spiritual worlds. This is the state that
man must aspire to reach.
A Man of perfection is rooted in the supreme wisdom. He is
not victimized by raga-dvesa,
likes-dislikes. He is not swayed by agreeable or disagreeable circumstances,
pleasant or unpleasant happenings, good . world. He is dvantva atita, beyond opposites. This idea is represented in
Ganesha having two tusks one of which is broken. The common man is tossed
between the pairs of opposites. Represented by Ganesha’s tusks. He should
endeavor to overcome the influence of the pairs of opposites in him. Man ought
not to act merely by his likes and dislikes; these are his worst enemies which
he must control and conquer. When he has completely mastered the influence of
these pairs of opposites in him, he becomes a Ganesha.
Ganesha’s large belly is meant to convey that man of
perfection can consume and digest whatever experiences he undergoes. Heat or
cold, war or peace, birth or death and other such trials and tribulations do
not toss him up and down. He maintains unaffected grace in and through all
these fluctuations in the world. Figuratively, he is represented as being able
to stomach and digest all types of experiences.
Ganesha sits with one leg folded up and the other leg
resting on the ground. The leg on the ground indicates one aspect of his
personality in dealing with the world while the other is ever rooted in the
single pointed concentration upon the supreme reality. Such a man lives in the world like anyone
else, but his concentration and meditation are ever rooted in the Atman within himself. This idea is
symbolized in the above posture.
In the Hindu Mythology, Kubera, the god of wealth offered a
dinner to Ganesha in his palace. Ganesha ate all the food that was prepared for
the entire gathering of guests. Thereafter still dissatisfied, he started
eating the festive decorations that were used for the occasion. At this
juncture his father lord Siva approached him and offered him a handful of
roasted rice. Ganesha consumed the roasted rice and his hunger was satisfied
immediately. This story is a directive to mankind that man can never be
satisfied with the joys provided by the world of objects represented by
Kubera’s feast. Material possessions can never give peace, contentment or
happiness to mankind. The only way to attain absolute fulfillment or peace is
by consuming your own vasanas,
unmanifest desires in you. The destruction of Vasanas is represented by consumption of roasted rice. When rice is
roasted It loses its capacity to germinate. The Consumption roasted rice
indicates the destruction of Vasanas, desires in you. Thereafter you
remain in the state of absolute peace and bliss.
At the feet of Lord Ganesha is spread abundance of food.
Food represents material wealth, power and prosperity. When a man follows high
principles of living indicated above, he achieves these material gains. He has
them always at his command though he has attitude of indifference towards them.
Besides the food is a tiny rat looking up towards Ganesha.
The rat does not touch the food but waits for the master’s sanction as it were
for consuming it. The rat represents the desire. The rat has a small mouth and
tiny sharp teeth. But it is the greediest of all animals. Its greed and
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. The predominant
trait in a rat justifies ad spiritual amply its symbolism as desire. One little
desire entering a man’s mind can destroy all his material and spiritual wealth
earned for many long years. The rat looking up therefore denotes that the
desires in a perfect man are absolutely under control. The activities of such a
man are motivated by his clear discrimination and judgement rather than by an
emotional craving to enjoy the variety of sense objects of the world.
There is a belief amongst Hindus that it is inauspicious to
see the moon on the Vinayaka Chathurthi day, reckoned to be the birthday of
Ganesha. As per a purana story, the moon saw Ganesha riding on his tiny rat and
laughed at the ludicrous scene. For this reason, the moon is condemned and
people are forbidden to see it on this day.
Ganesha riding on his rat indicates the man of Perfection
trying to use his limited body, mind and intellect to convey the illimitable
truth. The body, mind and intellect are finite. They cannot express the
infinite Atman. A man of realisation finds it almost impossible to convey the
infinite experience through his finite equipments. Hence the words and deeds of
all spiritual masters are peculiar and incomprehensible. The common man’s
intellect cannot comprehend the Truth.
The moon is the presiding deity of the mind. The moon laughing at
Ganapathi riding the rat indicates the ignorant scoffing at the attempt of man
of realisations attempt to convey the Truth. This attitude of scoffing at the
spiritual preceptors and precepts is detrimental to humanity. The generations
are therefore warned not to scoff at spiritual messages. If they do, they meet
with degradation and disaster.
Ganesha has four arms. The four arms represent the four
inner equipments of the subtle body, namely manas
mind, buddhi Intellect, ahankara ego and citta conditioned consciousness. Ganesha represents pure
consciousness the Atman which enables these four equipments to function in you.
In one had he holds an axe and in another a rope. The axe
symbolises the destruction of all desires and attachments and consequent
agitations and sorrows. The rope is
meant to pull the seeker out of his worldly entanglements and bind him to the
everlasting and enduring bliss of his own self. In the third hand he holds a modaka rice ball. Modaka represents the joys and rewards of spiritual seeking. A
seeker gains the joy of satisfaction and contentment as he progresses on the
path of spiritual evolution. In the fourth hand he holds a Padma 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
supreme state that each one of them can aspire for and reach through proper
spiritual practices. He blesses all his devotees to reach the Supreme State of
Reality.
Thus by indicating to mankind the goal of human evolution
and path to reach the same, Lord Ganesha occupies a place of distinction in the
Hindu Pantheon. May he give us all the strength and courage to pursue the path
which he has led and may we gain that Supreme Goal which he has reached.
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The Above
article was reproduced from the book “THE SYMBOLISM OF HINDU GODS AND RITUALS”
By Swami A. Parthasarathy. For details
on the book, other books by Swami Parthasarathy and on Swamiji mission visit www.Vedantaworld.org .
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