Lord Ganesha: A Multidimensional Deity Who Removes Obstacles

Lalit Garg

(The writer can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)

Siddhi Vinayak Lord Ganesha was born on Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi. Ganesha was born as the son of Shiva-Parvati. On his birth, all the gods from heaven came to bless Him. Lord Vishnu blessed Him with knowledge, Brahma blessed him with fame and worship, and Dharmadev blessed him with religiosity and mercy. Lord Shiva blessed Him with generosity, intelligence, strength, and self-control. Goddess Lakshmi said, “Wherever Ganesha lives, I will live there.” Saraswati provided Him with speech, memory, and oratory power. Savitri gave wisdom. The Trinity gave Ganesha the boon of being the most revered, the first god, and the provider of Riddhi-Siddhi. That is why He is a god with universal, eternal, and worldwide popularity. They are embedded in cultures ranging from India, including Sindh and Tibet, to Japan and Sri Lanka.

In the Jain sect, He is present as the Ganadhyaksha who compiles the knowledge, while the Vajrayana branch of Buddhism believes that mantra accomplishment cannot be achieved without praising Ganesha. Nepalese and Tibetan Vajrayani Buddhists place Ganesha next to the idol of their revered Tathagata. Actually, Ganesha is the presiding deity of happiness-prosperity, wealth, joy, knowledge, and auspiciousness. In this world, favourable happens with unfavourable, good happens with inauspicious, knowledge happens with ignorance, and happiness happens with sorrow. Ganesha is the saviour for man troubled by adversity, inauspiciousness, ignorance, and sorrow. He is a Satvik deity and a remover of all obstacles. They are not only prevalent in every part of Indian culture and lifestyle but are also present in homes, cars, offices, and product centres in foreign countries. Ganesha is present everywhere. Lord Ganesha is worshipped and revered first for man’s success in his daily work, for happiness and prosperity, for the development of intelligence and knowledge, and for the smooth completion of any auspicious work. Apart from being the first god, his personality is multi-dimensional. He is the character of a folk hero.

Lord Ganesha is an integral part of Indian culture. From ancient times, Hindu society has been starting any work with the worship of Lord Ganesha to finish it smoothly. Indian culture has flourished with the vast imagination of one God and the worship of many gods and goddesses. There is a rule to worship Ganapati before worshipping all other gods. Actually, Ganesha is the presiding deity of happiness, prosperity, splendour, and joy. All types of worldly tasks, big and ordinary, are started by remembering His divine form. Traders start the new-year by writing ‘Shri Ganeshaya Namah’ on their ledgers. Every work is started with Ganpati worship and Ganesh vandana. Be it the auspicious occasion of marriage or the laying of the foundation stone of a new house, the celebration of the consecration of an idol in a temple, or the occasion of Shodas Sanskar in life, Ganpati is remembered first. According to the Skanda Purana, one who worships Ganesha with devotion never faces any obstacles. Ganpati, Ganesh, or Vinayak—all mean the lord or leader of the gods. There are descriptions of different forms of Ganesha at different places, but everywhere the power of Ganesha to remove obstacles has been unanimously accepted.

 The shape of Ganesha is strange, but if we try to understand the mystery of the spiritual symbols of this shape, we can get eternal benefits. Because Ganesha, i.e., the son of Shiva or Shivatva, has to be achieved, otherwise the wish for welfare and profit will not be successful. If we explain Gajanan Ganesh, we will know that ‘Gaj’ is made up of two consonants. ‘J’ is the symbol of birth or origin, and ‘G’ is the symbol of movement and destination. That is, the word ‘Gaj’ indicates origin and end—you will go back to where you came from. What is birth is also death. Gajanan Ganesh is the one who creates the reality of Brahma and the world. Lord Shiva’s comprehensive thinking is behind the entire physical structure of Ganesha. All the qualities of an efficient, just, and powerful ruler and god are included in Him. Ganeshji’s yard is the head; that is, he is the God of Intelligence. His memory power is very sharp. The Elephant’s Myth The origin of his instinctive inspiration lies in a serious, calm, and steady consciousness. Elephant’s eyes are relatively small, and it is very difficult to understand the expressions in those eyes. Actually, Ganesha is the ideal form of a philosopher. The leader of the group should have gravity and seriousness. That gravity is inherent in his physical body. His huge body also inspires him to be alert and always ready to face all situations and difficulties. His lambodar (large tummy) teaches one to absorb the secrets, evils, and weaknesses of others, keeps all kinds of condemnation and criticism in one’s stomach, and inspires one to remain firm on the path of duty. His small face indicates being small, logical, and soft-spoken.

Ganesha’s personality is mysterious, which is not possible for everyone to read and understand. Only that ruler is successful whose feelings cannot be read and understood. In this way, a good ruler is the one who can read the minds of others well; however, no one can understand his mind. In fact, he is also a symbol of bravery, courage, and leadership. In his Heramb form, one can see his love for war; in his Vinayak form, he is seen as fierce as the Yakshas; and in his Vighneshwar form, he is seen as a people-orientated and charitable person. Gana means group. Ganesh is the lord of the group; that is why he is called by names like Ganadhyaksha, Loknayak, Ganapati, and others.

The ears on the Gaj mouth also symbolise that the ruler should always keep his ears open to listen to the public. If the ruler closes his ears to the public, he will never be successful. The ruler should be as powerful and self-respecting as an elephant. The ruler should neither depend on anyone, nor know his sources of income for the maintenance of himself and his family. An elephant can lift everything with the help of its trunk and nourish Himself without bending. The ruler should not bow before others under any circumstances.

Ganeshji is a Satvik deity; his feet are small, which are indicative of the physical senses and a symbol of Sattvic qualities. Mouse is the vehicle of Ganapati, which is responsible for controlling the fickleness and propensity of exploiting others. Actually, rodents are very small and tiny animals. By making it his vehicle, Ganapati has enhanced his dignity and given the message that Gananayak should have affection towards even the most insignificant person. The four arms of Lord Ganesha give knowledge of four types of devotees, four types of creation, and four efforts.

Ganeshji is considered to be the first scribe. He transcribed the epic of the Mahabharata written by Rishi Ved Vyasji on the request of the gods. There is a tradition of worshipping Ganesha in Jain and Buddhist religions also. Ganesha is also considered Adidev in Hindu culture. From time immemorial, Ganesha has been worshipped in many names as the remover of sorrow, fear, worry, etc., and has been removing the troubles of humans. In the present times, worshipping Lord Ganesha and celebrating the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi enthusiastically has its own special significance for the protection of independence, national consciousness, emotional unity, and integrity. Ganeshji is very fond of pure ghee, jaggery, and wheat laddu-modak. These are the symbols of happiness or a happy mind. These three things are Satvik, i.e., they are good food. Satvik diet brings stability to the intellect. Riddhi-Siddhi are the wives of Lord Ganesha. They are the daughters of Prajapati Vishvakarta. If Ganesha is worshipped properly, his devoted wives Riddhi-Siddhi also become happy, bestowing happiness, peace, prosperity to the family, and pure knowledge and intelligence to the children. Siddhi gave birth to two beautiful sons named ‘Kshem’ and Riddhi gave birth to ‘Labh’. While Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, his wives are the ones who make people successful, prosperous, and prestigious. At the same time, auspicious benefits along with giving every happiness and good fortune keep it permanent and safe. Mankind will always be indebted to Him for the welfare of the people, for giving practical form to the principles of religion, and for establishing happiness, prosperity, and trouble-free governance. Today’s rulers need to follow in the footsteps of Ganesha.