VEDA GANAPATHI

[Bharathi]

VEDA GANAPATHI


Prayers and ritualistic worship have a prominent place in the Indian
way of life. The main objective of these is to make one climb the
staircase of devotion and reach the gate to liberation. But
unfortunately these rituals have now deteriorated into mere mechanical
customs, preoccupations to pleasantly while away time. What is
conspicuously absent in our celebration of festivals today is the
sanctity of devotion. Religious rituals are no longer observed with
the attentive care due to them. The culprit might be the shadow of
Western culture looming over our heads since the last two hundred and
fifty years. Blind aping of Western ways has diluted our interest in
our own festivals to such an extent that our celebrations are now more
like carrying out chores in a disinterested dispirited way. Who is to
be blamed for this sorry state of affairs? The elders who take pride
in being Westernised and advise the youngsters to follow suit? Or is
it the youngsters who need to be blamed for refusing to have anything
to do with the traditions of the past? It is time that both the old
and the young realise that to recite Vedas without knowing their
meaning or to perform rituals with no knowledge of their significance
is a foolish act as pointless as that of a donkey carrying on its back
a pile of sandalwood. The sweet fragrance of the sandalwood is lost on
the donkey. What can ignorant elders teach their young except
highhandedly commanding them to obey their instructions? To rectify
the situation Mihira proposes to provide detailed explanation of all
the rituals that are observed during our festivals. As the first step
in that direction a special booklet explaining the import and
procedural details of Vinayakavratam is launched and will be
circulated free of cost to all the subscribers of Mihira. What is
offered in this booklet is not a cataloguing of all the stories about
Lord Vighnewsara as given out in various Puranas and legends but an
authentic description of this deity as mentioned in the Vedas. It is
good to perform Vinayaka Pooja after reading this essay and
strengthening our devotion for Lord Ganesha. For the easy reference of
readers many chants on Lord Ganesha are included in the booklet.

Though it is a time honoured practice to start Vinayaka Vratam with
the offer of worship to the idol of Ganesha made with turmeric powder,
it is deleted here to avoid redundancy. It is true that pooja has to
be offered first to Lord Ganesha whoever may be the diety to whom
worship is being offered. During the Vinayaka Vratam the entire
worship is to Ganesha only. So it is felt that the custom of making a
turmeric idol can be dispensed with.

The details of worship given by us are taken from Purusha Sukta.
Purusha Suktha is an extract from the Vedas and as all Vedas have to
be sung in a specified way it may be feared that to read them and not
sing them may be wrong. But, when prayers are offered to God with
devotion there is nothing wrong in reading Vedic chants as one reads
verses. Moreover, singing the Vedas is something that has to be
learned directly from a Guru and never through notations given in a
book. It is for this reason that extracts from Purusha Suktham are
given in the booklet.

It is unfortunate that many people conclude pooja with the verse
"Papoham Papa Karmaham" It is deliberately removed here because it is
ludicrous to meticulously perform the entire pooja and then bewail "I
am a sinner. I am a wicked person". It is not only inauspicious but,
as rightly pointed out by Master E.K., it indicates the height of
ignorance to attach sin to "Atma" which is beyond good and evil. We
followed Master E.K.’s advice in deleting this verse.

Generally in all books describing Vinayaka Vratam mention of Maha
Nivedyam (Offering of food), Neerajanam (Harathi with Camphor) and
Mantra Pushpam (Final phase of worshipping) are given after the story
of Vinayaka Vratam is told. Instead of that, in our booklet all
details of worship are first given and the story is given as the last
item in the ritual of the Vratam.

In the Vedas we find chants addressed to a number of deities. Those
who know the Vedas only superficially take this as proof to show that
in ancient India people worshipped a pantheon of Gods. But the
quintessential message of the Vedas being that there is only one
supreme God, the reference to the multiple deities can only be a
reference to the multiple aspects of the one God. He manifests Himself
as Brahma while creating the universe, as Vishnu while sustaining it,
as Siva while dissolving it and as Indra while implementing any
planned schedule of action. So what we have are not different Gods but
the same God appearing in different forms while carrying out different
functions. After all, are we not aware that a man may simultaneously
play various roles in his relationship to others while he continues to
be the same in his essential nature? A man can at one and the same
time be husband to his wife, father to his son, brother to his sister
etc., The feelings he awakens in them are totally different and the
way he treats each of them is also different. Does it mean that the
man has multiple forms? All pervasive God also is like that. He does
not alter or assume different forms. He is seen by us in his different
roles.

In the beginning of creation, as the ruling deity of "ganas" (groups)
this God was Ganapathi, ruler of groups. He is the regulating
principle in this vast universe He sees to it that groups function in
an orderly manner. Along with our solar system there are twelve others
revolving round twelve other suns. The supreme Lord who regulates the
movement of all planetary groups is Ganapathi. People in this universe
exist in seven groups. These groups will be emerging as various
subgroups with clearly earmarked alignments. Lord Ganapathi is the
operative power behind all these groups.

Utterance will become meaningful only when it is divided into units.
Utterance is "Vak:" or Parvathi. Meaning is "Ardha" or Parameswara.
The child born to these two is Vagardha or Ganapathi. Husband and wife
in any marriage are like two lines. If those two lines are to be
joined, a third line Ganapathi, has to appear. That is a triangle.
This triangle is the Yantra of Ganapathi. No shape can be formed with
two lines. So the first shape is that of the triangle. There is a
difference between sound made in the throat and the utterance that
emerges from the mouth. "Varnam" is formed by making the sound stop at
particular intervals. A word is formed by a combination of varnams. A
sentence is formed by a combination of words and a story is formed by
a combination of sentences. That story is life and if it were to have
a happy ending one should know where to begin and where to stop be it
an action, emotion, or utterance. The Lord who bestows on us this
dexterity is the Lord of obstacles, Ganapathi.

For a smooth and safe ride on a scooter or a car, perfect control over
the brakes is very essential. If there are no brakes, the vehicle will
not stop moving and may prove hazardous to life. The voice box in the
throat has two parts that look verily like the neck of an organ pipe.
The Vedas refer to these parts as "gravanams" Ra signifies the seed of
fire (ignition) while "Ga" signifies seed of Ganapathi (brake) By
impeding the continuously flowing stream of sound with the power of
Ganapathi, letters are formed. When they are used in groups they
acquire meaning. This power is worshipped under the names of Vinayaka
and Vighneswara Emergence of utterance is a wonder of wonders. The
creation of this universe is the greatest wonder of all, something
unprecedented. When looked at separately tamarind, water, and salt are
different materials in the world. Once mixed and boiled they all
become one - tamarind soup. This is also a new formation that did not
exist before. Thus, everything in creation is an ever new combination
of things. The star Hasta has the power to bring about these fusions.
Ganapathi has Hastimukha, the face of an elephant.

In our solar system the planet Jupiter has this power. the presiding
deity of this planet is Brihaspathi or Brahmanaspathi. He is the male
version of Goddess Saraswathi. No learning no worship can ever begin
without first offering worship to Ganapathi. The man who craves for
prosperity and for well being here and in the hereafter, will have his
desires fulfilled if he prays to Ganapathi. The custom of invoking the
presence of this auspicious God and then after pooja immersing the
idol is of recent origin. There is no mention of this custom in the
Vedas. Perhaps the people responsible for popularising this custom
might have thought that once the idol is out of the way they can
resume their shameful sinful deeds. The mistake lies in thinking that
worship is to the idol while it is to the all pervasive God. Similarly
prayers should be to invoke God’s presence into the worshipper’s body
not into the idol.

Whatever be the form under which we worship a deity, we should first
invoke that form in our hearts. While chanting Ganapathi mantram we
should have His form in our heart and at the centre of the brow. Where
"Gam" is the mantram "Ganapathi" is the Yantram. Meditation on
Ganapathi will then be tantram. We will obtain mantra siddhi only when
these three - Yantra mantra and tantra are combined. Those who gain
mantra siddhi will be merged in Ganapathi. That means they will reach
a high level of enlightenment and from that they will be elevated to
samadhi state.

Courtesy: M.R.L.

Regards
Bharathi.A