Vinayaka/Ganesh Chaturthi Symbolism – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

It appears to be so strange when we read in the Puranas that Goddess Parvati collected dirt from her body and gave birth to a child. Shiva, who is supposed to be omniscient chops off the child’s head. Questions arise in our mind.. We ask if Parvati did not bathe? Didn’t Shiva know that child was His?

There is a secret behind this.

Parvati comes from the word Parva which means festival. When we celebrate a festival, the enthusiasm that arises within us; when the consciousness is awakened and we experience joy, that pleasure is called Parvati.

When we celebrate, there is some mistake in the celebration. We must learn something from that mistake. In order to learn from it, an elephant’s head is placed. An elephant is a symbol of knowledge.

When we celebrate and awaken the consciousness, we experience joy, ie. Parvati. In that state of heightened awareness when we experience silence and peace within ourselves, we experience the Shiva tatva.

Among all living beings an elephant’s head is the biggest. Ganesha, having an elephant’s head is a symbol of knowledge. All the five sensory organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch are present in the head. It symbolizes learning from ignorance.

One needs to recognise the innocence of the present moment. Mal (dirt of which Ganesha was made) symbolizes mistake. That mistake was removed by the Shiva tatva. In the present, we are pure and clean. Do not regret over past, learn from the past and move on. When we do this, there will not be any obstacles in our lives. We should not ruin our lives with anger and regret.

Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, we pray to Him before starting anything auspicious. We should not forget Him once the obstacles are removed. We should continue to pray to Him so that we do not face any obstacles later as well. Don’t ever leave Ganesha as you don’t know when you would have to face problems.

Ganesha’s stomach is big – this symbolizes that He is very generous.
Abhay varahast symbolises fearlessness.
Modaka (laddu) symbolizes happiness, joy..

The closer we get to the Divine we naturally feel happy, we smile. There is nothing great about being happy when everything is fine. If we are a true devotee, we will be happy in all circumstances.

An elephant’s ears can reach its eyes. It examines what it hears with what it sees. Often what we hear and see are different.

Ek danth (one tooth) – Ganesha has only one tooth. This is a symbol of being focused on the One, being centered. Elephants normally have one set of teeth to eat and the other to show. Two teeth can bite but one cannot. One hand cannot clap, however there is a sound that comes from silence, it symbolizes that silent sound.

Ganesha’s vehicle is a mouse. He sits on the mouse. Mouse bites. It symbolizes cutting the past and moving on. Such a big elephant sitting on a small mouse. It symbolizes taking one small mantra to destroy ignorance. One need not read many books to become knowledgeable. In our country, all saints who became enlightened did not read too many books.. they just followed one path. One should dwell within and can ride on a small mouse (mantra) and attain enlightenment. Mouse symbolizes reasoning, it is a scissor to cut ignorance and move on.

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The scientific explanation of Ganesha having an elephant’s head is that our DNA has the DNA of all the living beings. When we see an elephant, that DNA is awakened in us.
When a warrior goes to a battlefield, he is shown the picture of a lion.
Cows and goats symbolize compassion.
Birds symbolize freedom and a dancing peacock symbolizes happiness.

We need to awaken the elephant’s DNA in us as it is a symbol of knowledge. It leads to heightened awareness. When we meditate on Ganapati, we awaken the elephant’s DNA in ourselves.

Ganapati tatva is bala tatva. Ganapati never got old. He was always a child, symbolizing innocence, that innocence in us is Ganesha. Bala Ganapati resides in us.
May all be happy..
Jai Gurudev