Today in Times of India I read an interesting article in the "speaking tree" Column and was overwhelmed by the knowledge it gave to me .I thank the writer Kishore Asthana for giving us,a wide knowledge about Lord Ganesha's Image.
Before going into details the first thing we should know is that Lord Ganesha not only symbolizes the wisdom but also power to ward off any problems from our Life In the following points ,we will now find out the meaning of every part of his image and how they are related to us ........
1. The very first thing we see in Lord Ganesha is his trunk. An elephant has the ability to pick a tree as well as a needle from his trunk. Similarly Ganesha's trunk also symbolizes that the wise person has both immense strength and fine discriminatory power.
2.The next thing we see are the big ears of Ganesha. It symbolizes that a wise person hears all .
3.Lord Ganesha has four hands and each of his hands symbolizes a great meaning.
In one hand he holds a Lotus which is the symbol of enlightenment.
In other hand he holds a hatchet which symbolizes that when enlightenment comes all the past deeds whether good or bad ,of our old karma get cut.
In the third hand he holds Laddus.These Laddus symbolizes the rewards of a wise life .Here a very interesting point has been raised by the writer and that is that Ganesha has never been shown eating Laddus.It says that a wise man never gets attached to the rewards of his deeds.
The fourth hands is shown blessing to every one and so wise men ask the best for everyone.
4.Ganesha has always been shown with one tusk only while the other one is broken.The single tusk symbolizes that we should see the world as one and ourselves as an integral part of the world.
5.Ganesha is shown sitting with one foot on the ground and the other resting on his knee above the ground.It means that though wise man is a part of this earth,yet he keeps away himself from this earth.
6.Lord Ganesha is shown sitting on the rat.This rat is a symbol of our senses,which are never satisfied.As a rat never gets satisfied and keeps on nibbling everything,similarly our senses always crave for new things .As Ganesha rides on a rat to control it, similarly wise man also rides on his senses to keep them under his control.
7.Quite often Lord Ganesha is shown seated in front of tray of sweets .In these images the rat is shown sitting in front of Ganesha ,looking up to him.Similarly though the rewards of wise man may be in front of him ,his senses should be always under his control.
8. Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati who are supposed to be the Lord governing the universe and the Earth Mother.This symbolizes the spirit and body of a wise man.
9. Ganesha has the face of elephant,which focuses on the dignity of an elephant .Similarly wise man always has a dignity in his life.
10.And Finally when we chant "Om Ganeshaya Namah"before starting anything we tell ourselves that whatever we do let our wisdom take over us.
Thus in a nutshell Lord Ganesha the symbol of wisdom in our life is a part of ourselves only.It is up to us to control our senses and let our wisdom take over us.
8 comments:
Interesting article Mami, but I strongly feel that in the zeal to "explain the importance of the image", we go a bit too far.
e.g.
"4.Ganesha has always been shown with one tusk only while the other one is broken.The single tusk symbolizes that we should see the world as one and ourselves as an integral part of the world."
The above seems completely contrived to me. The author just correlates "one" with "world as one". What do you think?
On a flip side, can we not cast any image as that of evil by similar interpretations?
Thoughtful comment Atul.
First let me write what the writer wanted to explain here.According to him "The single tusk of Ganesha symbolizes the oneness among us.He feels that in this material world,our mind creates a duality in us where we tend to think that we die when our body dies.This me and other creates an ego in us which also keeps us away from realising ourselves.But wise men look beyond this.They feel that there is some thing beyond this body which relates us together."
I feel that the single tusk of ganesha symbolizes that our "atman"
are all one and so we should see this world as one only.Basically it may be a suggestion of co existing.
I am not sure whether we can do such thing......
Mami,
Good thoughts.
However, my point is that how do we know that is what the one tusk means? Can I not say that the one torch that the statue of liberty holds also means that 'our "atman"
are all one and so we should see this world as one only'?
Similarly, I can say that one tusk of Ganesh says that all people of the world should follow only 'one' religion -- Hinduism. How does one confirm what it really symbolizes? And if we cannot, then what is the point in guessing?
i too read the article and felt happy reading it.i think that is what is most imp. u feel positive energy inside u and feel happy .
nilima
There is no harm in thinking that the single torch Of Statue of Liberty says that the world is one,because it is a positive thought. In fact it is an excellent thought because for world's peace it is important for people to think that world is one.
I feel we should look towards the broader side and not take ourselves towards religion side which had always been a cause of disputes. "Why to guess for Hinduism?" May be , Think Like this "In heart all religion are one ." Or "The broken tusk symbolizes the end of evil and the single entact tusk symbolizes the survival of good and pure in this earth."
A very nice article.
I would differ on the fourth point:"Ganesha has always been shown with one tusk only while the other one is broken.The single tusk symbolizes that we should see the world as one and ourselves as an integral part of the world."
As far as I feel this indicates to retain good & throw away bad.
Dear Animesh and Seema,
While surfing the net I came across your interchange of comments on the symbolism of the single tusk in the Ganesh image. All of us view the world through our own perspective. The symbolism of the Ganesh image has been expressed through the standpoint of the basis of our faith - advaitya or non-dualism.
When enlightenment comes it brings with it a feeling of one-ness with the universe. The boundary between the self and the 'other' vanishes and one thinks of others as oneself. If you kick a rock you sense yourself feeling what the rock would have felt.
This is easier to perceive if one has experienced it. Otherwise it is only theory.
As head of Mensa India, Delhi, I encourage cynicism in everyone. Questioning things which appear too pat is a good trait, but we must also temper this with wisdom, keeping in mind the subject matter and the overall picture. A container of frothy yellow liquid in a bar may be beer but in a hospital it may be quite something else.
The single torch carried by the statue of liberty and and the single tusk of the Ganesh image are two entirely different things if one keeps in mind the perspective.
We have to delve deep and derive inspiration from others who KNOW, in order to truly understand. Unless we do so, we will keep being suspicious of every symbolism, since a shallow thought process can find superficial holes and parallels in everything.
Read the symbolism of the Ganesh image and that of the Mahabharat (also published in the Speaking Tree), after deep meditation and with your mind attuned to things spiritual and you will not doubt it. Till then, you will only quote funny parallels (I can do so about single things even more funny than the statue of liberty but that would be facile) and will not learn much.
Best wishes,
Kishore Asthana
I love your thoughtful exploration of this subject. I just read an article about how Ganesha received his elephant head. I wonder if the broken husk might allude to the original severing of Shiva and Parvati's son's head, which was linked to a state of blind devotion and protection of the goddess, but ignorance of Shiva, the father god of destruction. Regarding the significance of these two tusks, perhaps, it is just as important that we remember our woundings (the broken tusk) as the wisdom we gain as a result. Carl Jung, the great Swiss psychiatrist said it is important that we hold the tension of the opposites, as it is from this that the transcendental third, or healing function arises.
Keep exploring!
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