Lord Ganesha

Lord Ganesha stands for the lord of wisdom and the god that removes all possible obstacles from ones’ path. Ganesha is the son of Lord Shava and Parvati. Lord Ganesha is known for having saved the lives of the gods when they were in jeopardy from Talasur and Ravana. Lord Ganesha is known help people become successful in whatever, they do. Lord Ganesha is known to grant any ones wishes in several forms. His devotees have been granted great wealth, education and learning, heirs and salvation to be able to reach their goals however difficult they may be.

There are many verses that are associated with Lord Ganesha and the chanting of them by his worshippers is not uncommon.

One of the most famous verses that are associated with the Lord is:

““Vakratunda Mahakaya
Suryakoti-sama-prabha
Nirvighnam kuru me deva
Sarva-karyeshu sarvada””

This means that the gigantic and elephant lord, Ganesha will allow the sunshine of a million suns to flood my life and always allow me to be free of all possible hardships by removing the obstacles and blocks from the path of my endeavors.

Most devotees chant this hymn and several other similar ones in order to show that they offer obeisance to the lord and think of Ganesha before commencing any work of any kind.

The surprising thing about the Lord Ganesha is that not only is he the most popular god amongst the mortals but also the gods. The words Ganesha comes from the word ganas which means an army of the gods and the top most person of this gang is Lord Shiva. That is one of the reasons why he is known by two other names such as Ganapati and Gananayaka.

In India, Lord Ganesha is the most well-known figure. He is depicted by an elephant face, huge ears spanning out, a huge stomach and four hands. His three hands have a rope in them and the other one a spear that is used like a weapon. This spear is curved at one end. He always has a sweet called the modak in one of his hands. This symbolizes that he will help his devotees and fills their life with protection and joy. The overall color of Ganesha is a healthy pink depicting good health. The rat is never far away from any statue of Ganesha.

There is a legend that Ganesha was created by his mother Parvati, from the dusty layers of her very own body.

Every year, during Ganesha festival devotees all over India buys a small or humongous statue of the Lord and worships it throughout the festival which could last from a day to eleven days depending on the person’s resources. This symbolizes the relationship that the lord shares with the earth and his devotees. The four hands of Lord Ganesha has to depict the amount of help that he can generate for his devotees and this makes it all the more reason for the devotees to get attracted to this god in droves.

Another of the hand of the lord denotes the granting of wishes of the devotees. This also symbolizes that people who come to him, will not be denied help and protection. His devotees should not worry about anything in his presence. The other hand has an Anoushka. This is the weapon that is used to destroy the ignorance in people’s minds. The fourth hand has a vessel that is overflowing with modaks. This symbolizes the joy and cheer that the Lord can bring the two people who bow their heads to him.

Every part of the body of the Ganesha symbolizes some part of the universal truth. His huge head depicts intelligence that holds him in good stead. The ears which are used to span out and help in the winnowing of wheat symbolizes that one can separate the wheat from the chaff easily. This means that the truth and untruth will always be known.

The broad ears also depict the ability to be an attentive listener and listen to the woes of the devotees. In fact, every part of the Ganesha body depicts some truth and quality.