LORD GANESHA

     Lord Ganesha is known by other names as well i.e. Lord Ganapati, Lord Gajanana, Lord Vinayaka and Lord Vighneshwara.

     Lord Ganesha is the first son of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva represents the supreme reality. The son of Lord Shiva symbolises one who has realised the reality. One who has discovered the Godhood in him, and is the Lord of all beings.

     Lord Vinayaka means the supreme leader, literally on who has no leader himself. Lord Vighneshwara is the Lord of all obstacles, worshipped in the initiation of Hindu rituals and ceremonies. Lord Vighneshwara removes all obstacles, overcomes all challenges of life. There is a belief that no undertaking will meet with failure if the grace of Lord Vighneshwara is invoked. He has limitless powers; removes the obstacles; protects all worlds; and shows compassion by giving the highest knowledge.

   The large ears and head of Lord Ganesha indicate that he had gained previous wisdom through shravana (which means listening to the eternal truths of Vedanta) and manana (which is independent reflection upon those truths). An elephant’s head on a human body in Lord Ganesha is meant to represent supreme wisdom.

     The trunk which springs from his head represents the intellect, the faculty of discrimination which necessarily arises out of wisdom. Man’s intellect is of two distinct types, namely the gross and the subtle. Gross intellect is that aspect of his discrimination which is applicable to the realm of the terrestrial world, that part of the intellect which distinguishes between the pairs of opposites existing in this world i.e. day and night, black and white, joy and sorrow etc. Subtle intellect is the other aspect of his discrimination which distinguishes between the infinite and the finite, the real and the unreal, the transcendental and the terrestrial. 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. Hence Lord Ganesha’s intellect penetrates the realms of the material and spiritual worlds. That is the state which man must aspire to reach. A man of perfection is thus rooted in the supreme wisdom. He is not victimised by the pairs of opposites existing in this world. He has transcended the limitations of opposites in the world. He is beyond opposites. This idea is well represented in Lord Ganesha by having one of his tusks broken. The common man is tossed between the two opposites (tusks). When he has completely mastered the influence of these pairs in him, he becomes a Lord Ganesha.

     Lord Ganesha’s large belly is meant to convey that a man of perfection can consume and digest whatever experiences he undergoes. He maintains an unaffected grace in and through all these fluctuations of the world.

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