There are many mantras dedicated to various Dēvatās (deities) in the Veda. Those who do not fully understand the inner symbolism of the Vedic scriptures use this as an excuse to declare that the Veda teaches polytheism. The same Veda proclaims that there is only One Supreme Lord who is immanent in all. He displays his powers in the various aspects of creation and in doing so, appears as the differentiated Lord of that particular aspect. He is Brahma when creating, He is Vishnu when preserving and nourishing, He is Shiva when withdrawing creation back into Himself. For example, a man is a father to his son, a husband to his wife and a brother to his sister. The man remains the same but appears in various guises to his son, wife and sister. The same analogy applies to the Lord, He is the “antaryāmi” who pervades everything.
The Symbolism of Ganapati
The Lord is called “Ganapati” when he is the master of the “Ganā” or groups who exist at the beginning of creation. The word “Gananāyaka” means the “Lord of Groupings”. The planets of our solar system revolve around the Sun in groups. Scripture teaches that there are 12 minor Suns in total including ours which revolve around a Great Sun in the centre. Ganapati is the aspect of the Lord in the cosmos who rules and regulates these groups.
Humans exist at seven groups on Earth. There groups are again sub-divided into races, sub-races and families. These groups undergo constant change over the centuries and millennia. Ganapati is the “Shakti” or power which drives and governs these groups.
Speech becomes meaningful only when composed of coherent groups of words. Words and their meanings – these two exist separately and they have been called the divine couple – “Parvati” and “Parameswara” by the Vedic seers. The divine couple gives birth to Ganapati or the meaning of the word. They exist as two lines travelling outwards from the same source which can only be joined by a third line – Ganapati. This esoterically forms the “Yantra” or the energetic representation of Ganapati in a geometric form.
We cannot form a true shape with only two lines, we always require another line to join the two lines which is why the first geometrical shape formed in the cosmos is a triangle. Other shapes like the square, diamond etc. can only be formed after this initial formation of the triangle.
There is a difference between “shabda” or vocalised sound and “vāk” or speech. Sound forms vowels and consonants when broken up. These join together to form words which are again joined together to form sentences. A collection of sentences forms a story. This story is life itself. Those who understand the art of starting and stopping a the right time obtain a life filled with joy. This knowledge is granted by Vināyaka i.e Ganapati in his aspect as the Lord of Obstacles.
Brakes are required when driving a motor vehicle with deadly consequences if they are non-functional. Similarly, our vocal cords vibrate to produce sound and they are called “grāvāna” in the Veda. The sound “ra” represents the seed sound of “agni” or the ignition principle in nature. “ga” is the seed sound of Ganapati – the braking principle of the cosmos. The braking principle, represented by Ganapati, constantly regulates the flow of speech to produce meaningful alphabets, words and sentences. This is why he is called by various names such as “vighnanāyaka” and “vighnēshwara” (Lord of obstacles).
There is a parallel between the spoken word and creation. The word “eternal” means to have no beginning or end. Tamarind paste, water and salt exist separately as ingredients used in cooking but when mixed together in the right proportions create a delicious concoction called “sāmbār”. The end result is “apūrva” i.e a new manifestation of matter that did not exist a few minutes ago. In the same way, creation undergoes a continuous process of being re-created at every instant. The “shakti” that powers this process is called “hasta” – the asterism or “nakshatra” with the same name being one of its manifestations. Consequently, another appellation of Ganapati is “hastimukha”.
This shakti also provides the impetus for the “anugraha” or the grace of the Guru in our solar system. He is called “brihaspati” or “brāhmanaspati” and is considered to be the masculine manifestation of Goddess Saraswati. This form of the Lord is propitiated before all new beginnings, whether they be studies or auspicious occasions such as the inauguration of a new business or a wedding.
Those who seek “aishwarya” (the power of obtaining that which you seek effortlessly) or material and spiritual comforts will find them within each reach if they worship Ganapati.
The Worship of Ganapati
The practice of performing “udvāsana” (sending away of the deity) at the end of Ganapati puja is a practice that is of recent origin with no Vedic sanction. It may be that a section of society believed that they can go back to their vices once the divine presence has left the place of worship and so added this step to the ritual. The very act of worship must involve performing “āvāhana” or invoking the presence of the dēvata into oneself. The Ganapati mantra must be chanted while visualising the dēvata in our heart and brow centers. “Gam” is the Mantra, the form of the deity is the Yantra and the act of visualizing Ganapati’s form is the Tantra.
The state of “mantra-siddhi” is experienced when these three come together as one. Those who experience this state, find their individuality melting into and becoming one with Ganapati — this is called the “jnāna-stithi” and such worshippers are elevated into the state of “samādhi” from here. The sadhaka or aspirant himself becomes Ganapati. The grace of the Lord flows into the world through the worshipper who acts as a conduit.
We need “shakti” or power to rise from the lower to the higher. This holds true whether it is an object we are lifting using our arms or to raise our level of consciousness to experience higher planes of existence in meditation. This phenomenon of raising to the higher from the lower is called “uddharaña”. This shakti or power of raising is inherent in Ganapati and is represented by his curved trunk – “vakratunda”. Those who possess his shakti can raise and uplift themselves as well as others.
The story goes that mother Parvati created Ganesha out of the cleansing paste she applied to her body before bathing. The Divine Mother represents the highest nature “parāprakriti”. The paste symbolises the
supermundane or undifferentiated consciousness beyond the three “gunās” (parōrajas). It is the state of existence before the creation of the “lōkās” or the planes of existence.
Manifested creation i.e the form she created from the paste began as globular shapes firstly on the etheric and then subsequently descended to the physical plane. These are the “laddoos” in the hands of Ganesha. There are many such secrets of Vedic symbolism which are known to those who venerate Ganesha. He is the giver of “buddhi” or discriminative intellect as well as “siddhi” or the ability to materialize ones’ wishes. These two powers controlled by Ganapati are commonly symbolized as his two wives in the scriptures.
He who surrenders himself to Ganesha through daily worship is blessed with a keen intellect and the ability to materialize his desires whether they be mundane or spiritual.