Ganesha: Lord of Success

[Praveen]

Celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesha Chaturthi, the great Ganesha festival, also known as 'Vinayak
Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chavithi' is celebrated by Hindus around the
world as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. This year it falls on the 3rd
of September, and the grandest and most elaborate of them, especially
in the western India state of Maharashtra, lasts for 10 days, ending
on the day of 'Ananta Chaturdashi'.



All About the Hindu Elephant-Deity

Ganesha — the elephant-deity riding a mouse — has become one of the
commonest mnemonics for anything associated with Hinduism. This not
only suggests the importance of Ganesha, but also shows how popular
and pervasive this deity is in the minds of the masses.

The Lord of Success
The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance
with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a
human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and
obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge,
wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu
deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose
idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

Significance of the Ganesha Form
Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate
supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya
or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes
wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic
reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him
propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from
the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to
capture all difficulties.

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand
is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Mahabharata.
The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge
should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk
indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-
like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that
runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble
enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head
The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the
Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing,
created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of
guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband
returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and
struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief
and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head
of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a
sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then
attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him
the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also
bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name
before undertaking any venture.

However, there's another less popular story of his origin, found in
the Brahma Vaivarta Purana: Shiva asked Parvati to observe the punyaka
vrata for a year to appease Vishnu in order to have a son. When a son
was born to her, all the gods and goddesses assembled to rejoice on
its birth. Lord Shani, the son of Surya (Sun-God), was also present
but he refused to look at the infant. Perturbed at this behaviour,
Parvati asked him the reason, and Shani replied that his looking at
baby would harm the newborn. However, on Parvati's insistence when
Shani eyed the baby, the child's head was severed instantly. All the
gods started to bemoan, whereupon Vishnu hurried to the bank of river
Pushpabhadra and brought back the head of a young elephant, and joined
it to the baby's body, thus reviving it.

Ganesha, the Destroyer of Pride
Ganesha is also the destroyer of vanity, selfishness and pride. He is
the personification of material universe in all its various
magnificent manifestations. "All Hindus worship Ganesha regardless of
their sectarian belief," says D N Singh in A Study of Hinduism. "He is
both the beginning of the religion and the meeting ground for all
Hindus."

Ganesh Chaturthi
The devotees of Ganesha are known as 'Ganapatyas', and the festival to
celebrate and glorify him is called Ganesh Chaturthi.