Hurrah! Our year long wait has ended. Vighnaharta is back again and quicker than 365 days this time. As usual he shall be arriving on Ganesh Chathurthi which falls on September 5th this time. As long as he is with us in his physical form of clay, we forget the cares of the world. More welcome than any guest, most endearing of them, till his very presence in the last idol in our vicinity has gone for immersion in some water body, our minds remain immersed in our Ganesha all the time – and of course till next Chathurthi, whenever we need his assistance.
Lord Ganesha is known by everybody by his physical form of a deity with an elephant’s head, a rotund belly, with four hands, three of which carry something, the fourth in blessing gesture. In most images, he is shown sitting with one leg folded, the other crossed above it and hanging down to a support while he is seated on his asana or seat. He has the rat as his carrier. But there is a hidden meaning or symbolism to this image that is seen by us.
His large ears say – Listen More!
His big head says – Think big and avoid the petty
His small eyes say – Sharpen your concentration to have correct insights about everything
His one tusk says – Retain the Good, let go off the Bad in what you absorb
His small mouth says – Talk less and say correctly when you speak
His trunk says – Be strong yet gentle in your adaptability like the elephant that can uproot trees and lift a blade of grass with the same trunk – be discriminating
His large stomach or belly says – digest the good and bad that you hear with equanimity. and maintain the trust that people lay on you when they confide in you
Lord Ganesha is considered the epitome of knowledge, the most learned of all in the universe, yet humble enough to impart it to whosoever seeks it with devotion. He is the scribe who wrote for Sage Vyasa on the behest of Lord Brahma, the scriptures and other works of knowledge that include the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Sept.5th being birthday of our second President of Free India, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, and observed as Teacher’s Day as per his wish, we salute all our teachers who have made us who we are – honest, worthwhile citizens of India and contributing our mite to the strengthening of the Nation. Naturally we salute the greatest teacher of all, the fount of knowledge, Lord Ganesha himself, when he celebrates his birthday on Sept.5th.
The solution provider Ganesha is with us for a few days. I am ready with my list of problems for his ears. Are You?