Enlivening the Glory of the Glorious Lord Sree Ganesh
(Morning sessions on ‘The Glory of Lord Sree Ganesh’)
Sumedha
Chh. Sambhaji Nagar
(Aurangabad - Maharashtra)
Hari Aum!
On the very auspicious occasion of Sree Ganesh Chaturthi, we were blessed with the enlightening words of our revered Guru Maa H H Maa Purnanandaji, to know and understand the true significance of Sree Vighnaharta.
Guru Maa gave us an insight into a few significant glories of Lord Ganesha, from the profound text of Sree Ganapati Atharvasheersh Upanishad, belonging to ‘Atharva Ved’. It says that Ganesh ji is Lord Indra, (mann ke Devta) And He is Agni Dev - the energy provider.
I, the embodied self has forgotten my true nature. Ignorance about my real Self is the root cause of all sufferings. I have not acknowledged my essential Self (Swaroop) and I am unconsciously working day and night according to my acquired nature (swabhaav).
Being a seeker, I need to understand that out of the three states namely jagrat, swapna, sushupti (waking, dream and deep sleep states), I have the free will of working consciously only in this one-third part - the waking state. Work I should, but with the awareness that it is not real! In the waking state, I worship Sree Ganesh ji, the Paramatman, Who is the subtlest. Here meditation becomes important. Lord Ganesh blesses us with unbroken thought flow. One needs a constant progressive thought process for achieving success in any action or work field. For any successful achievement one needs the right mind-set, inner and outer strength. Sree Ganesh ji is the Bestower of both.
‘Aum Namaste Ganapataye’ though this is a common chant for salutations to Lord Ganesh, it has a deep and profound meaning.
Aum is the symbol of the Supreme.
Namah is na-mama, which means not mine. Thus while saying namah, one has to have the attitude of complete surrender.
Ganapataye means the Adhipati of the Ganas.
Sree Ganapati is the lord of everything in this creation, so whatever I am offering is already His. This thought brings out the required humbleness in me. This whole world has sprung up from Him, rests in Him and will dissolve in Him. He Himself is the Trinity!
Furthermore, Maa gave the significance of Vedaant philosophy of the famous tale of Lord Sree Ganesha’s creation and Him having an elephant head. Lord Shiv is our Antaraatma. Mata Parvati is that pure intellect which is in absolute knowledge. Whatever emanates from Her, will be Divinity personified, having unlimited power and wisdom and of auspicious appearance.
We act, experience and interpret the world according to our innate gunas. Lord Ganesh, through His form teaches us to rise above our basic nature and see this world in the right perspective. The noose and goad in the hands of the Deity teaches to be in discipline and tread the straight path towards the goal. There should be self-imposed restriction with understanding, and restrain on our unnecessary mental and physical activities. Going overboard is a complete no-no. Teachings of Shastras and Gurus should be the ultimate for us! The Lord then bestows us with various kinds of inner wealth.
The vaahan of Sree Ganesh is the mooshak. We all are like one, restless and running around, uprooting, destroying and what not! Lord Ganesh rides on this destructive mind and tames it, making it eligible to sit on His dhwaja. Thus, I become the recipient of His endless love and compassion.
Ekdanta signifies to be neutral without taking sides and doing what is righteous.
The Muda-Karta Devta of Riddhi-Siddhi blesses us with Supreme knowledge and endless sweetness!
Lord Sree Ganesh has been associated with the colour red. The colour red signifies ‘Prakriti’ (which is made of the three gunas). When I act under the sway of my gunas, this red colour indicates me to be cautious and aware.
Our endless hoarding in this worldly life, and above that, the surmounting ego of our achievements is devoured by the Lord, attributing on Him, the quality of ‘Lambodar’.
Brahman is infinite and the reflected srishti is also endless as such. With understanding one needs to put an end to this never-ending srishti of ours, and ignite the Divinity within, so as to reach the ultimate goal that is Brahman.
Shoorpkarn indicates unbiased sharp and righteous listening.
With time, the aroma of my inner Prakriti, by default should spread just divinity!
And then, this beautiful sweet smelling pure flower like self of mine, is ready to be offered at the Feet of The Lord - to that Lord Sree Ganesh, who is the personification of forgiveness and compassion!
The above is a very short and limited explanation of my personal experience during this three-day retreat at Aurangabad. The Glories of Sree Ganesh are endless!
As a seeker, by picking even a few of the attributes, understanding them, adopting them, and sincerely working on them, i may become eligible towards receiving the love and compassion of the Glorious God whom we lovingly call Ganapati Bappa!
Hari Aum.