Lord Ganesha is the Lord of all obstacles and is therefore propitiated before commencing any auspicious function. He is the Lord (ISA) of the followers (Ganas) and therefore called Ganesha or Ganapati. According to mythology the human head of Ganesha was severed by His father, Lord Shiva who, entreated by His consort and Ganesh's mother, Parvati, put an elephant head on the body and resuscitated Ganesha.

In the Sastras it is said that Ganesha should be worshipped especially during the Ganesha festival with blades of fresh green grass. Most of us observe this scriptural direction without knowing its significance. Some people say that this elephant-headed God is vegetarian and therefore grass is offered to him. Some others say that they are only following what their fore-fathers did.

The offering of the blade of grass is symbolic. Grass is a plant which grows everywhere without anybody's effort. In the same way man is born into this world helplessly without his conscious effort. The present population explosion resembles closely the growth of grass. In both cases there is neither any plan, nor any arrangement, nor thought. The grass is perhaps the lowest of plants and the humblest in the world of plants. Similarly man is perhaps the most low among beings though he claims himself to be superior to all the animals and other beings. The tender blades of the grass always grow upward though rooted firmly under the earth. In his original nature man also has a tendency to grow up, that is to evolve himself to reach the higher realm to which he really belongs. It is the experience of man that it is very, very difficult to pull out the grass with its root. It is firmly embedded underneath the earth. Similarly, it is a very hard task for man to shed this ego which is firmly and deeply rooted in his egocentric personality almost unknown to him. You may pull out the grass by its root any number of times but it has a tendency to sprout again. In the same way the ego in man raises its ugly head every time it is pulled out. To see that the grass does not grow again, it is necessary that no trace of its root should be allowed to remain under the earth. It should be pulled out lock, stock and barrel. Similarly, the ego in man should be erased in such a way that there remains no sign of it. Thus the offering of the blade of grass signifies the offering of the ego in us at the feet of the Lord who is the remover of all the obstacles in the path or spiritual progress of man.

There is another point to note with regard to the blade of grass offered to the Lord. It denotes that man should be as humble as the blade of grass when he approaches God. An ego-ridden being is unworthy of worshipping God. The tiny blade of grass is symbolic of purity and simplicity which are virtues to be cultivated by man to become fit to approach God. An impure and ostentatious man cannot even think of God, let alone approach Him. Man should therefore cast off love of exhibition, vanity, conceit, and pride, and become humble and small like the tiny grass. Then alone he can offer himself to God. Self-offering, as the scriptures declare, is the highest and most noble offering that can be made to God.

If you go on slowly removing each blade of grass, you will discover the fleshy white part inside. Place that in your mouth and chew it and then you will experience that a sort of sweet juice comes out of it and you would like to taste it again. Similarly, when the Yogi goes on shedding his gross body, senses, mind and intellect, and in the end divests himself of the ego, he will rediscover the Atmatattva. The process will be hastened by worshipping Lord Ganapati with grass with proper attitude and right understanding.

Another offering which is made to Lord Ganesha on the day is sugarcane. It is offered to Ganapati not because he has the head of an elephant which loves sugarcane very much, but the offering of sugarcane has also an esoteric meaning. Sugarcane possesses an attractive colour. Everyone knows that beneath its hard outer layer, there is nectarean juice. However the juice cannot be had as it is. It calls for much effort. Similarly, to obtain the knowledge of the Self hidden inside us, we have to labour hard and break away the hard coverings concealing it, just as we have to remove the hard, coating of the sugarcane to get the juice. By merely removing the hard, outer covering you will not get juice. The inner white stem will have to be squeezed hard to yield the juice. In a like manner, the ego in us is to be squeezed out fully to obtaining the Self which pervades our entire personality just as juice pervades the entire sugarcane in a subtle way. The drinking of the sugarcane juice is the attainment of the Self, and that inexplicable and limitless experience is what our scriptures call Atmananda.

Ganapati - Saviour of the World

The Deity having such strangely peculiar names as Ganapati, Gajanana Lambodara and Surpakarna, is Vigneswara. He enjoys priority in every worship. Ganapati is remover of every trouble. He prevents the doing of evil deeds, and, removing all obstacles, promotes good deeds. Since He can either remove or cause obstacles. He is called Vigneswara.

There is not a single God or Goddess, however big or mighty, who does not offer adoration to Lord Vigneswara. The Creator sought His favour before He started on the work of creation. Shiva meditated upon Him as a preliminary to His killing the demons Tripura. At the time Vishnu descended, incarnated as Vamana, with the object of confining King Bali in the bowels of the earth, He worshipped Ganapati. In the task of upholding the world, Adi Sesha, the thousand-hooded serpent king, and in the work of killing the demon Mahisha, Jagadamba, the Mother of the worlds, came to possess the strength and power to do their allotted work, owing to the Grace of Lord Vigneswara which was bestowed upon them.

Ganapati's greatness is praised in Ganapati Sukta of Rig Veda and in Ganapati Atharva Shirsha of Vedanta.

When Bhagavan Vyasa intended writing the mighty epic the Mahabharata, he meditated upon Ganapati, got Him to appear before him and made Him, Ganapati, his fast writing amanuensis.

Though the astadasa puranas (the corpus of the puranas numbering 18) refer to His greatness at places, a few others are entirely devoted to describing His distinction among the Gods. These others are Ganesha, Brahmavaivartha, Mudgala, Brahmanda, Shiva and Linga Puranas.

The stories telling of the birth of Ganesha are many. In one He is described as Gauryamala Sambhava. In another He is considered to be Sri Krishna Himself born as Ganapati to Shiva and Parvati as a mark of His favour. These contradictions in the stories are due to differences in times and places of their origin. A single individual appears in different and varying shapes and forms depending on His varying functions. An actor, though he remains the same person may take on different roles in a play. Similarly, Maha Ganesha's sports display a rich and wide variety.

The only objective in all that Ganesha does, is the saving of the world and the securing of its welfare and prosperity.

That Ganesha is all Gods in Himself is the Upanishadic statement; 'Ekam sadvipraah bahudha vadanti'. The Ganesha Atharva Shirsha stated that Ganesha who is existence - activity - joy complex, is also creator, sustainer and destroyer. The worship and adoration of this great Deity brings man all-round prosperity. In Kaliyuga Ganesha is bestower of quick favours. Of the 32 forms of Ganesha enumerated in Mudgala Purana, kshipra - prasaadi is one.

Parasakti, who is really without form and without attributes, but who is, nevertheless, Sat-chit-ananda, is as indicated in our ancient texts, worshipped under different names and forms. Ordinary intellect cannot easily grasp the idea of a Divinity without shape, form and attributes. Contemplation of Deity endowed with form and shape is easier even for women and children. Hence, in this mode of worship, Ganapati, son of Shiva and Parvati, has had such an appearance that is very strange and extremely peculiar. He is different from other Deities in the Hindu Pantheon. This is the form with which He has been represented: His face is that of the elephant; His belly is pot-shaped; and the ears look like winnow fans. In His elephant-head, however, there is a single tusk-like tooth, instead of two that an elephant has. From top to toe His form is extremely odd-looking.

A devotee brings his favourite Deity to mind, and contemplating His form, offers Him worship. He should, however, learn to draw the Divine qualities of the Deity into himself. This is the meaning of So-ham or Sivo-ham. From this point of view, every limb of Ganesha has a moral to teach, a way of life to recommend.

Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, had always with him three monkey-shaped images. In one the eyes were held closed, in another the ears, and in the third the mouth. The images were supposed to teach the three cardinal virtues that one should not see evil, hear evil or speak evil. Here, too, the elephant-headed Ganapati suggests these very thoughts. The small eyes of the elephant-headed Ganapati teach people to shut their eyes to evil, the fanlike ears to winnow off all that is light and worthless, and the trunk upon the mouth to put a check on all evil talk. This is precisely the teaching of the benedictory verse from Ganapati Upanishat, beginning: 'Bhadram Karnebhih Shrunuyaama devaah'.

The single tooth of Ganapati proclaims advaita, the principle that Truth is one. The huge round belly stands for wide and deep knowledge and experience. His sitting upon the rat symbolizes the need to control evil tendencies and to check bad elements of society.

We are in the prime of Indian freedom. Ours is a Republic, a big Republic. It is not a nation of bandits. Ganadhyaksha, that is, Ganapati presides over its destiny. If our country should not become a land of dacoits, but remain the big Republic that it is and enjoy being a Rama Rajya (an ideally happy country) Gajaanana taadaatmya, identity with Ganapati, should be achieved, that is, qualities which Ganapati stands for should reform our lives and conduct. In our democracy, may Ganapati the granter of wisdom and success, give every body this taadaatmya and a will to do what is right. May Ganapati, who is the embodiment of Sat-chit-ananda, promote all good, and may world peace be established on the earth. For the establishment of world peace, we need to meditate upon the holy names of Ganesha.:

Vakrathunda, Ekadanta, Krshnapingaakhsa, Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraaja, Dhumravarna, Phalachandra, Vinaayaka, Ganapati, Gajaanana, Gajavaktra - these twelve names, cited in the Puraanaas, have acquired special significance and Spiritual power.

May Ganapati Sachchidananda grant happiness and prosperity.