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Increasing
Popularity of Lord Ganesha
amongst
Hindus and non-Hindus [Part II]
BY
GYAN RAJHANS P. Eng. *
Part
I
Popularity around the World
Hundreds of years ago Hindu missionaries went to
different countries. They carried with them the idols of Ganesha who was
their supreme deity. They spread their ideas about his form, power and
the symbolic significance of his form Merchants used to carry the idols
of Ganesha to foreign countries so that their journey and trade may be
free from obstacles. Perhaps, Ganesha came to be known to people of
other lands for these reasons; Anyway, Ganesha is a popular God even in
foreign countries.
Hinduism Today in its February 1989 issue wrote,
“It is an incontrovertible fact that Lord Ganesha is real, not a mere
symbol. He is a potent force in the universe, not a representation of
potent universal forces. Of course, Ganesha belongs to all mankind, not
to Hindus alone, though not all men on the planet call Him by our name,
Ganesha. To the Chinese He is embodied in the form of a massive dragon,
whose physical immensity depicts His incredible and irresistible force.
To some Chinese He is Kuan-shi t'ien or Ho Tei, the large-bellied God of
Happiness. To the Polynesians He is God Lono. The Tamils call him by the
affectionate term Pilliar, Noble Child. The Tibetians know Him as ts'
ogs-bdag, and the Burmese worship Maha-Pienne. In Mongolia His name is
Totkhar-our Khaghan. Cambodians offer worship to Prah Kenes, and the
Japanese supplicate Vinayaksa or Sho-ten. By some He is envisioned as
the feminine Mother Nature, and even non-believers seek to understand
Him through personifying His great powers as Fate, Destiny or Numen. The
Greeks called Him Janus and sought His blessings at the outset of any
new venture. In the West He is revered as the corpulent Santa Claus, the
giver of boons and gifts. The Buddhists and Jains also honor Ganesha. In
one form or another, Lord Ganesha is honored throughout the world.”
Symbolism
of Ganesha Image
Lord
Ganesha symbolizes auspiciousness. As mentioned earlier Ganesha's image is a strange composite of elephant and man. Every part of His
image is symbolic.
The elephant head of Lord Ganesha is the over-seeing, all-seeing,
eternal witness, the unmanifest supreme. Below the head is the belly,
the symbol of the manifest, the mortal.
Ganesha is the lord of all, manifest and unmanifest. The memory
of an elephant is, of course, proverbial. Ganesha's twisted trunk
represents the zigzag path to wisdom. It reminds us that there is no
direct path that we must turn right and left in the search for truth.
The elephant ears are like winnows that separate the wheat from the
chaff. All experience must be subjected to scrutiny to determine what is
essential and what is nonessential. This is a critical aspect of
judgment. The discerning and the wise do what they must and let the rest
be.
Ganesha's endearing potbelly is equated with space; it is vast
enough to hold all wisdom and all life. Gentle and harmless, he uses his
great strength only when provoked.
Ganesha's vehicle, the lowly mouse, stands
for the dark, fertile forces of the earth into which it burrows,
avoiding light. As a recurrent threat to the harvest, it had to be
tamed. But the rat also represents swiftness of movement. He burrows
with his sharp teeth, chews through anything, and squeezes out of the
smallest hole. In this way, he proves an excellent transport for Ganesha,
who has to be everywhere and anywhere at short notice to remove
obstacles.
My
Experience
Lord Ganesha has always been there for me to steady
my mind and open the proper doors as I evolved and progressed. He never,
ever failed me. He was always there for me when I needed Him. I have to
just think of His form to contact His ever-present mind. He was
listening, though He would never speak back but always took into His
vast mind my prayer and slowly worked it out. He influenced events and
decisions slowly and subtly, in unseen ways.
____________
Gyan
Rajhans, an internationally recognized health & safety professional
has been broadcasting the only non-commercial Vedic religion radio
program in North America since 1981 & worldwide web cast on www.bhajanawali.com
since 1999. Mr. Rajhans has published extensively on religious and
spiritual matters. Some articles are available on the Bhajanawali web
site. He has translated Sri Mad Bhagvad Gita in English for the younger
generation. Mr. Rajhans has been conferred various titles, including that
of Rishi by Hindu Prarthana Samaj of Toronto Hindu Ratna
by Hindu Federation of Toronto. He received an award for 2005 in the Internet category -
Opinion - for his Spirituality columns in South Asian Outlook e-Monthly,
from Canadian Journalists' and
Writers' Club (CEJWC), now re-named as Canadian
Ethnic Media Association.
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