Ganesh Chaturthi or "Vinayak Chaturthi" is one of the major traditional festivals celebrated by the Hindu community. It is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). Typically the day falls sometime between August 20 and September 15. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi, and is traditionally celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha.

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the son of Shiva (The God of Destruction in the Hindu Holy Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer) and Parvati (Shiva’s consort). The cutest and most lovable Indian God, Ganesha or Ganpati has the head of an elephant on which rests an elegant tiara, four podgy hands joined to a sizeable belly with each hand holding its own symbolic object - a trishul or a trident in one, an ankush or goad (made from his very own broken tooth) in another, a lotus in the third and a rosary (which is sometimes replaced by modaks, his favourite sweet) in the fourth. Revered as the deity of auspiciousness and wisdom, Lord Ganesha is also famous for being a trickster and for his profound sense of humour.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh was born on a fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Magh. Since then, an association between Ganesh and chaturthi has been established. Thus the festival dedicated to the worship of Lord Ganesha on this chaturthi day is named as Ganesh Chaturthi.

There is a curiously interesting tale about the birth of Ganesha. It is believed that once while Parvati was bathing, she created a human figure from some unguent and balm, gave him life and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. After a long period of meditation on Mountain Kailash (Lord Shiva’s abode), Shiva chose that very moment to drop by to see his better half, but was abruptly stopped by the man-god Parvati had posted at the door. Outraged by the cheek of this stranger, Shiva cut off his head only to discover moments later that he had killed Parvati’s son! For fear of enraging his wife, Shiva immediately dispatched his ganas (attendants) to get him the head of the first living creature they could find. Well, the first living creature happened to be an elephant. As instructed, the head was chopped off and brought back to Shiva, who placed it on Parvati’s son’s body, bringing him back to life. This elephant-headed god was welcomed into the first family of the Hindu heavens and named Ganesha or Ganapati, which literally means the chief of the ganas, or the attendants of Shiva. Ganesha is the foremost god of the Hindu pantheon. This brave guardian of the door to Parvati’s bath is beheld today as the most auspicious God of new beginnings. He is worshipped during every festival and before people undertake a journey or embark upon a new venture. You will also see him carefully guarding entrances to temples and homes, peeping out of calendars and happily gracing marriages and other such occasions.

It is not known when and how Ganesh Chaturthi was first celebrated. But according to the historian Shri Rajwade, the earliest Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be traced back to the times of the reigns of dynasties as Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya. Historical records reveal that Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were initiated in Maharashtra by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism. And it had continued ever since. There are also references in history to similar celebrations during Peshwa times. It is believed that Lord Ganapati was the family deity of the Peshwas. After the end of Peshwa rule, Ganesh Chaturthi remained a family affair in Maharashtra from the period of 1818 to 1892.

1857 was a landmark year for India and moreso in the context of Indian freedom. It was the year of Sepoy Mutiny, an armed rebellion against the ruling British Empire by the Indian soldiers. This was the first war that India waged to gain back her independence from her white rulers. Though unsuccesful, this battle marked the beginning of the Indian struggle for independence. Many orators, leaders and freedom fighters all over India teamed to put up a united resistance to the British domination. One of these eminent leaders was Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an Indian nationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter. Greatly esteemed by the Indian people, especially of Maharashtra, Tilak was commonly referred to as "Lokmanya" or "he who is regarded by the people". It was Tilak, who brought back the tradition of Ganesh Chaturthi and reshaped the annual Ganesh festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event.

Lokamanya saw how Lord Ganesha was worshipped by the upper stratum as well as the rank and file of India. The visionary that he was, Tilak realized the cultural importance of this deity and popularised Ganesha Chaturthi as a National Festival "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. He knew that India couldn't fight her rulers until she solved the differences within her own. Hence, to unite all social classes Tilak chose Ganesha as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule because of his wide appeal as "the god for Everyman".

It was around 1893, during the nascent stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. He was the first to put in large public images of Ganesha in pavilions and establish the tradition of their immersion on the tenth day. The festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of learned discourses, dance dramas, poetry recital, musical concerts, debates, etc. It served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities, at a time when all social and political gatherings were forbidden by the British Empire for fear of conspiracies to be hatched against them. An important festival during the Peshwa era, Ganesha Chaturthi acquired at this time a more organized form all over India largely due to Lokmanya's efforts.

Since then, Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout Maharashtra as also in other states with great community enthusiasm and participation. With the independence of India in 1947, it was proclaimed to be a national festival.

Today, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and many other parts of India. The festival is so popular that the preparations begin months in advance. Days before the actual worship, homes are cleaned and marquees erected at street corners to house the idols of the Lord. Elaborate arrangements are made for lighting, decoration, mirrors and flowers. The artisans who make the idols of Ganesh vie with each other to make bigger and better sculptures. The sizes of the relatively larger ones range anywhere from 10 meters to 30 meters in height. These are installed in marquees and in homes prior to the Puja (worship). During the festival days, the Lord is worshipped with great devotion and prayer services are performed daily. The duration of the Lord's stay varies from place to place; once the worship is complete, the statues are carried on decorated floats to be immersed in the sea after one, three, five, seven and ten days. Thousands of processions converge on the beaches to immerse the holy idols in the sea. This procession and immersion is accompanied with dancing and the sound of exciting drum-beats, devotional songs and exploding firecrackers. As the idol is immersed amidst loud chants of "Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!" (Hail Lord Ganesh), the festival comes to an end with pleas to the Lord to return the next year with chants of "Ganpati bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh, return again soon next year). Tourists from all over the world come to witness this wonderful event in the sun kissed beaches of Goa and Mumbai.

While celebrated all over India, Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are most elaborate in states like Maharashtra, Goa (It is the biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world), Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated in Nepal by the Newars.

In the 21st century, with the world turning fast into a global village, Ganesh Chaturthi is now celebrated all over the world, wherever there is a presence of a Hindu community.

Vinayaka Chaturthi Story - 2

Ganesh Chaturthi

* Since Ganesha leads, when Gods are invoked, installed and adored, this festival leads the long line of festivals for other forms of God: Navarathri, Deepavali, Sankranthi, Sivarathri etc. The duty this day is to contemplate on the universal and eternal truth embodied in Ganesha and worship him with purity and faith, praying for the grace which can prevent lapses and promote progress in all efforts to achieve the highest goal.

The elephant-head of Ganesha is a symbol of intelligence, discrimination, and wisdom. The elephant is ever alert and eminently conscious of its surroundings. Its memory is strong and deep. It trends through thick forest imprinting huge foot marks on the track. One such print can subsume the marks left by other animals, both wild and tame. It moves majestically through. It is a path maker, helping others without being aware of it, because it is its nature. Ganesha guides. He is the Lord of obstacles, causing them when needed and also helping men to over come them.

There is astronomical support also for the Ganesha festival, celebrated on the fourth day of the bright half of the Bhadrapada month. Constellation with the appearance of the elephant head is brightly visible on this very night.

Ganesha is the embodiment of intelligence (Buddhi) and achievement (Siddhi). He was approached by sage Vyasa with a prayer to write down the Mahabharatha even as he composed the hundreds of thousands of its verses! Ganesha agreed immediately, He brooked no delay, even to secure a writing too, he broke his pointed tusk and was ready to start.

* The essential purpose of the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival is to teach a person to avoid the company of bad people and cultivate the company of the good. What does the term
Ganapathi signify? ‘Ga’ means Buddhi or intellect, ‘Na’ means Jnana (Wisdom). ‘Ganapathi’ means one who is the Lord of the intellect and of wisdom. He is also the Lord of all Ganas (spiritual entities). Gunas also symbolise the senses. Ganapathi is thus the Lord of the senses. "Vigath nayakah Vinayakaha" (Vinayaka is one who is without a master above him).

* On this day, students place books in front of the Ganesha idol and offer worship. They pray to the deity to illumine their minds. Hence, Ganesha is known as ‘
Buddhi Pradaayaka’, one who grants intelligence. No one should regard Ganesha as uncouth because of his elephant head and his immense belly. Vinayaka is a deity who encompasses the Universe within himself. He is a deity of infinite Potency. Hence holy days like Vinayaka Chaturthi should be celebrated only to remind ourselves of sacred truths and to sanctify our minds and time accordingly. They should not be treated as holidays for feasting and merry making.

* Bharathiya’s festivals are pregnant with spiritual significance. Unfortunately, Bharathiyas today give importance to only externals rituals and observances, ignoring their inner meaning and eternal values.

"Parvathi thanaya Ganaadhipa"-‘Oh son of Parvathi! Lord of the Ganas’. In these terms the Vedas extolled Ganapathi. Who is this Parvathi? Who is her son? What is the relationship between mother and son? Few Bharathiyas care to inquire into these questions. The Vedas proclaimed, "Oh Ganaadhipa!" Who are these ‘Ganas’? Are they celestial hosts or demonic (Asura) beings? They are celestial beings. Where are they? Are they wandering in the external world or are they present subtly in human beings. He (Vighneswara) is called Ganaadhipathi because he is the Supreme Lord of the Ganas. The Ganas are the embodiment of the organs of perception (Jnanendriyas) and of action (Karmendriyas). The mind is the master of these ten senses. The presiding deity of the mind is called Indra, as he is the Lord of the Indriyas (the senses). The master over the mind is the Intellect (Buddhi).

What does the name "Ganapathi" signify? ‘Ga’ means Buddhi (or intellect), Na means Vignaana (wisdom). As Vighneswara is the Lord of the Intellect and Wisdom, he is called "Ganapathi".

* It follows from this that what are called
Ganas are parts of the human body. The individual (Vyakti) is a part of creation (Srishti). Hence, Divinity, of which the cosmos is a projection, is immanent in the human being. "Vigath nayakah Vinayakah" (Vinayaka has no master over him"). This means that Vinayaka is a totally autonomous and independent deity. He has no Lord above him. In the world, any individual or authority has someone superior above him. But Vinayaka has no overlord.

The worship of Vinayaka has been in existence from times immemorial in Bharath. The Rig Veda, the Narayanopanishad and the Thaithriya Upanishad have passages referring to Vinayaka. It is embedded also in a - Gayatri mantra :

Thathpurushaya Vidmahe,

Vakratundaaya Dheemahi,

Thanno Danthi Prochodayaath.

This mantra indicates that Vinayaka’s Divinity is glorified in this Gayatri mantra. Hence, Ganapathi signifies an all-pervading Divine potency.

* In everyday parlance, Ganapathi is described as son of Parvathi. Parvathi represents Prakriti (
Nature). Man is a child of nature. Hence, every human being is a Vinayaka. He is a spark of the Divine Siva-Sakthi, the union of the Lord and nature. Everything in the world has emanated from Nature (Prakriti). All things are aspects of Nature. It is to reveal this sacred truth that holy festivals are observed.

* How does it happen that Vinayaka has the head of an elephant and has a mouse, as his Vehicle? The mouse is called
‘Mooshika’ (in Sanskrit). It is a sign of night, which signifies darkness. The mouse is a symbol of darkness. Because Vinayaka has control over darkness, he is described as the rider on a Mooshika. He is the one who dispels darkness and shed light on the world.

The mouse (Mooshika) is also a symbol of the sense of smell. The mouse moves about following the direction of the smell (Vaasana) . Vinayaka is the one who has the mastery over vaasanas, that is desires and ignorance (represented by "Mooshika").

What is meant by describing the mouse ("Mooshika") as the vehicle of Vinayaka? It means that Vinayaka rides on the Mooshika, representing desires (vaasanas) and ignorance (darkness).

Vinayaka is one who drives away all sorrows, difficulties and miseries. He is the enemy of all obstacles. He will not allow any obstacle to come in the way. He is the destroyer of obstacles. He confers happiness and peace (on his devotees). He is the master of all those powers (Buddhi and Siddhi). What is this Siddhi? When there is purity of mind, you achieve peace (which is Siddhi). Vinayaka is thus the Lord of Buddhi and Siddhi (the Intellect and Self-Realisation). Hence, every human being should acquire control over the mind.

* Vinayaka is the Lord of all learning (
Vidya). Does learning mean bookish scholarship? No. Everything pertaining to cosmos is included in the term learning (Vidya). Walking, talking, laughing, sitting, eating, strolling, thinking - every kind of activity is related learning. Today, learning is identified with acquisition of information. But apart from the knowledge of the physical world, we have many other kinds of knowledge relating to chemistry, the fine arts and other skills.

Vinayaka is the master of every kind of knowledge. Learning is related to the intellect (Buddhi). It is not mere scholarship. Familiarity with book is not knowledge. One’s entire life is a continuous process of learning. Any process of inquiry is related to learning. But, basically our inquire should be concerned with finding out what is transient and what is permanent. This is true knowledge.

* Students worship Vinayaka with zeal. Vinayaka is not the one who merely comes to the aid of those who read their books. He helps everyone at every step in life’s journey. He is readily accessible. He is pleased with an offering of flowers of no value (
Jilledy flowers). It is said that anyone who eats these flowers will become insane. Such flowers are offered to Vinayaka. Vinayaka is also worshipped with an offering of green grass.

What is the inner meaning of these kinds of offerings? It means that earlier Vinayaka used to be worshipped even by animals. His face is that of an elephant. His vehicle is a mouse. These are symbols from animal kingdom. They indicate that Vinayaka is worshipped even by birds and beasts.

Vinayaka is thus worshipped by all beings and is Lord over all beings. He does not belong to one country or one nation or one period of time. He is related to all places and all times.

* Vinayaka is the Lord of life. Man should learn to shed selfishness and cultivate love of the Supreme Self. This is the inner truth about Vinayaka. Vinayaka should not be considered as merely an elephant-headed deity riding on a mouse.

* There is a mythological story which reveals how the practice of offering fresh green grass to Ganapathi during the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival originated.

Once, the story goes, Parvathi and Parameswara were playing a game of dice with Nandiswara (Parameswara’s vehicle, the bully as the umpire) . Although Iswara lost the game, Nandi declared Him as the winner. Enraged at this unfair decision Parvathi cursed Nandi that he would be afflicted with an incurable disease. Nandi, seeking Parvathi’s forgiveness, explained that he gave the verdict in Parameswara’s favour because the latter was his master and his duty as a servant was to serve him. Parvathi relented and said that Nandi would be freed from the curse if he offered to her son Ganapathi what was most relished by Nandi. Nandi pondered for a moment and declared that what he loved most as a bull was fresh green grass. He would offer that to Ganapathi. That was how the practice of including fresh green grass among the offerings made to Ganapathi during festival occasions came into vogue.

Ganapathi accepts as offerings many things which we consider useless and trivial. One of the names of Vinayaka is "Arkadronapriya" (one who loves thummi and jilledi flowers - flowers which are usually not valued by people). Other offerings to Vinayaka include a special kind of grass. There is a story relating to this.

* Once upon a time there was an Asura (
demon) named Gajasura. He performed a penance. Iswara, pleased with his penance, offered him as a boon whatever he desired. Iswara is a deity who is easily propitiated. Hence he is known as Bhola-Sankara. When he is pleased with a devotee, He gives the devotee whatever he asks. Sometimes He gets into a difficult situation, as in the case of Bhasmasura who was granted by Siva the boon to turn into ashes anyone on whose head he placed his palm. Immediately after getting the boon he wanted to test his power by trying to place his hand on Siva’s head itself!

* What was the boon Siva gave to Gajasura? The demon desired that fire should go forth from him continuously so that no one dare approach him. Siva granted him the boon. Gajasura continued to do penance and Siva used to appear before him off and on. Once Siva asked him what he wanted. The demon said: "I want you to dwell in my stomach." Siva granted the boon and lodged himself in the demon’s stomach. Siva’s consort Parvathi, searched for Siva everywhere and could not find Him. As a last resort, she went to her brother, Vishnu, and appealed to Him to trace the whereabouts of her husband. The all - knowing assured her; "
don’t worry, dear sister. Your husband is Bhola - Sankara. He grants readily whatever boon his devotee prays for, without considering the consequences. I suspect that he must have got into some trouble. I shall find out what has happened."

Vishnu, who is the director of the cosmic play, staged a small drama. He converted Nandi (Siva’s bull) into a dancing-bull and led it before Gajasura, while himself assuming the role of a piper playing music on the pipe. Gajasura was in ecstasy over the dancing performance of the bull: He asked the piper (Vishnu) what he wanted. The piper replied: "Can you give what I ask?" "What do you take me for? I shall readily give you whatever you ask." The piper said: " If that is so, release from your stomach Siva who is dwelling there." Gajasura then realised that the piper was none other than Vishnu Himself, who alone could know the secret of Siva’s presence inside his stomach. He fell at the feet of Vishnu, released Siva from his stomach and prayed to Him for a boon. He said: "I have been blessed by many boons from you. My last request is that all should cherish my memory by worshipping my head after I pass away." Siva thereupon brought His son and placed Gajasura’s head on him.

Ever since, the tradition has prevailed in Bharath that, every auspicious function of any kind commences with worship of Ganapathi. It was the result of Siva’s boon to Gajasura.

* What is the inner significance of worshipping the elephant-faced deity? The elephant is a symbol of might and magnitude. The elephant’s foot is larger than that of any other animal. The elephant can make its way through the densest jungle. In this way, it signifies the quality of a leader who shows the way for others. The elephant is highly intelligent. The elephant is also known for its fidelity and gratitude. In any circumstance it will not forget its master. Even in its last moments, if it hears the voice of its master it will open its eyes and look for him. It will sacrifice its life for its master. These are the lessons man should learn from the elephant. Intelligence without gratitude is valueless. Every man should be grateful to those who have helped him.

* There are some inner secrets that should be noted in the worship of Ganesha. Bharathiyas make some special offerings to Ganesha as food offerings. These preparations are made entirely by using steam instead of heat from a burning stove. Combining rice flour with jaggery and til seeds, balls are prepared which are cooked in steam. In Ayurveda this edible is accorded a high place for its curative properties. The jaggery in the edible is a remedy for various ailments. The til seeds serve to purify the arteries. It also helps to improve the vision. The inner meaning of all this is that the food offerings to Ganesha have health giving properties. It should be noted that edibles cooked in steam are easy to digest.

* The Vinayaka Principle, symbolises health, bliss, peace, wisdom, prosperity and many other things. Unfortunately this truth is not recognised by most people. People are content to offer some kind of mechanical worship to any odd figure made of clay and add to the pollution around them.

What should be offered to God are things which will please Him. This is what Parvathi enjoined on Nandiswara. She told him: "Offer to My son what will please him and what is most pleasing to you."

The Vinayaka festival is designed to celebrate the offer of such pleasing things to Ganesa.

* Another notable fact about Vinayaka is His Vehicle, the mouse (
Mooshika). What does the mouse represent? It represents darkness, which is the symbol of ignorance. The mouse moves about in the dark. Ganapathi is regarded as controlling the darkness of ignorance.

The mouse is also known for its strong sense of smell (vasana). Based on the smell emanating from an object, the mouse finds its way to it. The inner significance of vasana in relation to humanity is the heritage of ‘vasanas’ which they bring from their previous lives. These vasanas (inherited tendencies) account for the actions of human beings in their present lives. They also signify desires. Without recognising this underlying significance of Vinayaka’s mastery over ignorance and desires, people merely wonder how a large being like Vinayaka could ride on a tiny creature like a mouse.

Vinayaka signifies the triumph of wisdom over ignorance and of ego-lessness over desires.

* If you want to lead a life of happiness, free from troubles and difficulties, you have to pray to Ganapathi, the remover of all obstacles. There is no need to go to an temple.
Vigneswara dwells in each and every one of you as your Buddhi (Intelligence) and Vijnana (Wisdom). When you make proper use of your inherent intelligence and wisdom, you will be successful in life. Realise that you have a conscience that is your guide and consciousness which represents your divinity. Ganapathi, who presides over the senses, should be your guide in acquiring mastery over the senses. There is an inner meaning in worshipping Ganapathi for ten days. The idea is that each day should be dedicated to acquiring control over one the sense organs (Indriyas).

Vinayaka Chaturthi Stories - 1

Ganesh Chaturthi
By
Sri Swami Sivananda
SALUTATIONS to Lord Ganesha who is Brahman Himself, who is the Supreme Lord, who is the energy of Lord Shiva, who is the source of all bliss, and who is the bestower of all virtuous qualities and success in all undertakings.
Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,
Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,
Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,
Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe
MEANING: "O Lord Vinayaka! the remover of all obstacles, the son of Lord Shiva, with a form which is very short, with mouse as Thy vehicle, with sweet pudding in hand, with wide ears and long hanging trunk, I prostrate at Thy lotus-like Feet!"
Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. This is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is the day most sacred to Lord Ganesha. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world.
Clay figures of the Deity are made and after being worshipped for two days, or in some cases ten days, they are thrown into water.
Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God. He is worshipped first in any prayers. His Names are repeated first before any auspicious work is begun, before any kind of worship is begun.
He is the Lord of power and wisdom. He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva and the elder brother of Skanda or Kartikeya. He is the energy of Lord Shiva and so He is called the son of Shankar and Umadevi. By worshipping Lord Ganesha mothers hope to earn for their sons the sterling virtues of Ganesha.
The following story is narrated about His birth and how He came to have the head of an elephant:
Once upon a time, the Goddess Gauri (consort of Lord Shiva), while bathing, created Ganesha as a pure white being out of the mud of Her Body and placed Him at the entrance of the house. She told Him not to allow anyone to enter while she went inside for a bath. Lord Shiva Himself was returning home quite thirsty and was stopped by Ganesha at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesha's head as He thought Ganesha was an outsider.
When Gauri came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console her grief, Shiva ordered His servants to cut off and bring to Him the head of any creature that might be sleeping with its head facing north. The servants went on their mission and found only an elephant in that position. The sacrifice was thus made and the elephant's head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the elephant's head onto the body of Ganesha.
Lord Shiva made His son worthy of worship at the beginning of all undertakings, marriages, expeditions, studies, etc. He ordained that the annual worship of Ganesha should take place on the 4th day of the bright half of Bhadrapada.
Without the Grace of Sri Ganesha and His help nothing whatsoever can be achieved. No action can be undertaken without His support, Grace or blessing.
In his first lesson in the alphabet a Maharashtrian child is initiated into the Mantra of Lord Ganesha, Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah. Only then is the alphabet taught.
The following are some of the common Names of Lord Ganesha: Dhoomraketu, Sumukha, Ekadantha, Gajakarnaka, Lambodara, Vignaraja, Ganadhyaksha, Phalachandra, Gajanana, Vinayaka, Vakratunda, Siddhivinayaka, Surpakarna, Heramba, Skandapurvaja, Kapila and Vigneshwara. He is also known by many as Maha-Ganapathi.
His Mantra is Om Gung Ganapathaye Namah. Spiritual aspirants who worship Ganesha as their tutelary Deity repeat this Mantra or Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah.
The devotees of Ganesha also do Japa of the Ganesha Gayatri Mantra. This is as follows.
Tat purushaaya vidmahe
Vakratundaaya dheemahi
Tanno dhanti prachodayaat.
Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom and bliss. He is the Lord of Brahmacharins. He is foremost amongst the celibates.
He has as his vehicle a small mouse. He is the presiding Deity of the Muladhara Chakra, the psychic centre in the body in which the Kundalini Shakti resides.
He is the Lord who removes all obstacles on the path of the spiritual aspirant, and bestows upon him worldly as well as spiritual success. Hence He is called Vigna Vinayaka. His Bija Akshara (root syllable) is Gung, pronounced to rhyme with the English word "sung". He is the Lord of harmony and peace.
Lord Ganesha represents Om or the Pranava, which is the chief Mantra among the Hindus. Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of invoking Ganesha before beginning any rite or undertaking any project. His two feet represent the power of knowledge and the power of action. The elephant head is significant in that it is the only figure in nature that has the form of the symbol for Om.
The significance of riding on a mouse is the complete conquest over egoism. The holding of the ankusha represents His rulership of the world. It is the emblem of divine Royalty.
Ganesha is the first God. Riding on a mouse, one of nature's smallest creatures and having the head of an elephant, the biggest of all animals, denotes that Ganesha is the creator of all creatures. Elephants are very wise animals; this indicates that Lord Ganesha is an embodiment of wisdom. It also denotes the process of evolution--the mouse gradually evolves into an elephant and finally becomes a man. This is why Ganesha has a human body, an elephant's head and a mouse as His vehicle. This is the symbolic philosophy of His form.
He is the Lord of Ganas or groups, for instance groups of elements, groups of senses, etc. He is the head of the followers of Shiva or the celestial servants of Lord Shiva.
The Vaishnavas also worship Lord Ganesha. They have given Him the name of Tumbikkai Alwar which means the divinity with the proboscis (the elephant's trunk).
Lord Ganesha's two powers are the Kundalini and the Vallabha or power of love.
He is very fond of sweet pudding or balls of rice flour with a sweet core. On one of His birthdays He was going around house to house accepting the offerings of sweet puddings. Having eaten a good number of these, He set out moving on His mouse at night. Suddenly the mouse stumbled--it had seen a snake and became frightened--with the result that Ganesha fell down. His stomach burst open and all the sweet puddings came out. But Ganesha stuffed them back into His stomach and, catching hold of the snake, tied it around His belly.
Seeing all this, the moon in the sky had a hearty laugh. This unseemly behaviour of the moon annoyed Him immensely and so he pulled out one of His tusks and hurled it against the moon, and cursed that no one should look at the moon on the Ganesh Chaturthi day. If anyone does, he will surely earn a bad name, censure or ill-repute. However, if by mistake someone does happen to look at the moon on this day, then the only way he can be freed from the curse is by repeating or listening to the story of how Lord Krishna cleared His character regarding the Syamantaka jewel. This story is quoted in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Lord Ganesha was pleased to ordain thus. Glory to Lord Ganesha! How kind and merciful He is unto His devotees!
Ganesha and His brother Lord Subramanya once had a dispute as to who was the elder of the two. The matter was referred to Lord Shiva for final decision. Shiva decided that whoever would make a tour of the whole world and come back first to the starting point had the right to be the elder. Subramanya flew off at once on his vehicle, the peacock, to make a circuit of the world. But the wise Ganesha went, in loving worshipfulness, around His divine parents and asked for the prize of His victory.
Lord Shiva said, "Beloved and wise Ganesha! But how can I give you the prize; you did not go around the world?"
Ganesha replied, "No, but I have gone around my parents. My parents represent the entire manifested universe!"
Thus the dispute was settled in favour of Lord Ganesha, who was thereafter acknowledged as the elder of the two brothers. Mother Parvati also gave Him a fruit as a prize for this victory.
In the Ganapathi Upanishad, Ganesha is identified with the Supreme Self. The legends that are connected with Lord Ganesha are recorded in the Ganesha Khanda of the Brahma Vivartha Purana.
On the Ganesh Chaturthi day, meditate on the stories connected with Lord Ganesha early in the morning, during the Brahmamuhurta period. Then, after taking a bath, go to the temple and do the prayers of Lord Ganesha. Offer Him some coconut and sweet pudding. Pray with faith and devotion that He may remove all the obstacles that you experience on the spiritual path. Worship Him at home, too. You can get the assistance of a pundit. Have an image of Lord Ganesha in your house. Feel His Presence in it.
Don't forget not to look at the moon on that day; remember that it behaved unbecomingly towards the Lord. This really means avoid the company of all those who have no faith in God, and who deride God, your Guru and religion, from this very day.
Take fresh spiritual resolves and pray to Lord Ganesha for inner spiritual strength to attain success in all your undertakings.
May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May He remove all the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

I happened go through a posting in Facebook – A lecture given by Mr.J K Rowling which was very interesting. I thought I will share the same.

 

Quote

 

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

by J.K. Rowling

Speech Details

2008 Harvard University Commencement, June 5, 2008. Copyright of J.K. Rowling, June 2008

NPR.org, June 5, 2008 · President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates,

The first thing I would like to say is 'thank you.' Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honor, but the weeks of fear and nausea I've experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world's best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can't remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the 'gay wizard' joke, I've still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called 'real life', I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents' car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticize my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person's idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone's total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International's headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country's regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilizes thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's minds, imagine themselves into other people's places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathize.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the willfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathize may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people's lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people's lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world's only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children's godparents, the people to whom I've been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I've used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:

As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

I wish you all very good lives.

Thank you very much.

 

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Yoga-2 - Details about Tadasana

Link

http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=387§ion=9&cat=144

Yoga -1

I happen to go through a website which talks about each pose of Asana by giving the Name. Pronunciation, Technique & tips for beginners. I thought I will share with all the viwers of this blog.

I am giving the link. Please open the same & go through.

http://www.yoga.com/ydc/enlighten/enlighten_document.asp?ID=439§ion=9&cat=144

Yajurveda-23

[[1-1-13-2]]

(दिवम्) [1] ग॒च्छ ततो॑ नो॒ वृष्टि॒मेर॑य।

Fare to the sky[1], thence bring us rain.

आ॒यु॒ष्पा अ॑ग्ने ऽस्यायु॑र्मे पाहि

Guardian of life art thou, O Agni, guard my life.

चक्षु॒षपा अ॑ग्ने॒ ऽसि॒ चक्षु॑र्मे पाहि

Guardian of the eye art thou, O agni, guard my eye.

ध्रु॒वाऽसि॒

Thou art the secure one.

यं प॑रि॒धिं प॒र्यध॑त्था॒ अग्ने॑ देव पा॒णिभि॑र्वी॒र्यमा॑णस्तं त॑ ए॒तमनु॒ जोषं॑ भरामि॒ नेदे॒ष

The fence which thou didst put round thee

When thou wast beset by the Panis, O Agni,

That do I bring here to thee that thou mayst rejoice in it,

That it be not removed from thee.

Go ye two to the place of the Gods.

य॒ज्ञस्य॒ पाथ॒ उप॒ समितम्।

Ye are sharers in the remains (of the oblations), well nourished, mighty

सस्रावभा॑गाः स्थे॒षा बृ॒हन्तः॑ प्रस्तरे॒ष्ठा ब॑र्हि॒षद॑श्च॥

Ye Gods that are on the prastara and sit on the strw [2]

[1-1-13-3]]

दे॒वा इ॒मां वाच॑म॒भि विश्वे॑ गृ॒णन्त॑ आ॒सद्या॒स्मिन्ब॒र्हिषि॑ मादयध्वम्

Accepting this supplication, do ye all.

Seated on this strew enjoy yourselves.

I set thee in the seat of Agni whose abode is secure

सु॒म्नाय॑ सुम्निनी सु॒म्ने मा॑ धत्तम्।

For goodwill, O Ye ywo with goodwill, place me in goodwill

धुरि धु॒र्यो॑ पात॒म्

Guard ye yoke-horses at the yoke.

अग्ने॑ ऽदब्धायो ऽशीततनो पा॒हि प्रसि॑त्यै पा॒हि दुरि॑ष्ठ्यै पा॒हि दु॑रद्म॒न्यै पा॒हि दुश्च॑रिता॒त्।

O Agni, with life unhurt, with not-cool body, guard me this day from sky, guard from

Bondage, guard from error in sacrifice, guard from evil food, guard from ill deed.

अवि॑षं नः पि॒तुं कृ॑णु सु॒षदा॒ योनि॒ स्वाहा॒

Make our food free from poison, the lap pleasant to sit in; hail!

देवा॑ गातुविदो गा॒तुं वि॒त्त्वा गा॒तु

O ye Gods that know the way, knowing the way, go ye the way.

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मि॑त॒

मन॑सस्पत इ॒मं नो॑ देव दे॒वेषु॑ य॒ज्ञ स्वाहा॑ वा॒चि स्वाहा॒ वाते॑ धाः॥

O lord of mind, this sacrifice for us place among the Gods, O God,

Hail! In speech, hail! In the wind, hail!