Lord
Ganesha - the Hindu deity in a human form but with the head
of an elephant - represents the power of the Supreme Being that removes
obstacles and ensures success in human endeavors. For this reason, Hindus
worship Ganesha first before beginning any religious, spiritual or worldly
activity. In Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the first son of Lord Shiva
and the Divine Mother Parvati. Their second son is Lord Subramanya and
their daughter is Jyoti. As explained below, the portrayal of Lord Ganesha
as the blend of human and animal parts symbolizes the ideals of perfection
as conceived by Hindu sages and illustrates some philosophical concepts
of profound spiritual significance.
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Elephant head, wide
mouth, and large ears: the large head of an elephant symbolizes wisdom,
understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to
attain perfection in life. The wide mouth represents the natural human
desire to enjoy life in the world. The large ears signify that a perfect
person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to others and
assimilate ideas.
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The trunk and two tusks
with the left tusk broken: there is no known human instrument that
has an operating range as wide as that of an elephant's trunk. It can uproot
a tree and yet lift a needle off the ground. Likewise, the human mind must
be strong enough to face the ups and downs of the external world and yet
delicate enough to explore the subtle realms of the inner world. The two
tusks denote the two aspects of the human personality, wisdom and emotion.
The right tusk represents wisdom and the left tusk represents emotion.
The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with
wisdom to attain perfection.
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Elephant eyes: the
elephant eyes are said to possess natural deceptiveness that allows them
to perceive objects to be bigger than what they really are. Thus the elephant
eyes symbolize the idea that even if an individual gets "bigger and bigger"
in wealth and wisdom, he should perceive others to be bigger than himself;
that is, surrender one's pride and attain humility.
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The four arms and various
objects in the four hands: the four arms indicate that the Lord is
omnipresent and omnipotent. The left side of the body symbolizes emotion
and the right side symbolizes reason. An axe in the upper left hand and
a lotus in the upper right hand signify that in order to attain spiritual
perfection, one should cut worldly attachments and conquer emotions. This
enables one to live in the world without being affected by earthly temptations,
just as a lotus remains in water but is not affected by it. A tray of Laddus
(a popular snack) near the Lord denotes that He bestows wealth and prosperity
upon His devotees. The lower right hand is shown in a blessing pose, which
signifies that Ganesha always blesses His devotees.
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A human body with a
big belly: the human body possesses a human heart, which is a symbol
of kindness and compassion toward all. Ganesha's body is usually portrayed
wearing red and yellow clothes. Yellow symbolizes purity, peace and truthfulness.
Red symbolizes the activity in the world. These are the qualities of a
perfect person who perforrns all duties in the world, with purity, peace,
and truthfulness. The big belly signifies that a perfect individual must
have a large capacity to face all pleasant and unpleasant experiences of
the world.
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A mouse sitting near
the feet of Ganesha and gazing at the tray of Laddus: a mouse symbalizes
the ego that can nibble all that is good and noble in a person. A mouse
sitting near the feet of Ganesha indicates that a perfect person is one
who has conquered his (or her) ego. A mouse gazing at the Laddus, but not
consuming them, denotes that a purified or controlled ego can live in the
world without being affected by the worldly temptations. The mouse is also
the vehicle of Ganesha, signifying that one must control ego in order for
wisdom to shine forth.
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Right foot dangling
over the left foot: as stated above, the left side of the body symbolizes
emotion and the right side symbolizes reason and knowledge. The right foot
dangling over the left foot illustrates that in order to live a successful
life one should utilize knowledge and reason to overcome emotions.
- Bansi Pandit |
