Ganesh: The Elephant God

Ganesh , the destroyer of obstacles and the Lord of success is one of the most well known deities of Hinduism. He is one of the five most important Gods worshiped by Hindus with the other four being Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga. He is also referred to as Ganapati, Lord of the tribe.

Ganesh is son to Shiva , the most powerful God of the Hindu Trinity , and was born by the Goddess Parvati to be guardian to her sanctuary. Legend says that Parvati sought a protector to keep her privacy. She chose Ganesh to be her gate keeper and told him that no one was to be admitted into her home without her approval. Meanwhile, Shiva was away at war with his army fighting for the gods. He returned home one day full of joy after a victory for the gods to find an ordinary boy guarding the entrance to His home. Ganesh would not let Shiva, whom he did not know to be his father, into Parvati's abode. A battle ensued and Ganesh was decapitated by His father. Upon learning that He had harmed his son, Shiva sought to ease Parvati's immense grief. He sent his army in search of Ganesh's head but it was nowhere to be found on the battlefield. He swore to Parvati that he would atone for his mistake by taking the head of the first living animal that walked by to replace Ganesh's head. The first animal that crossed His path was the elephant. He took the head of the elephant, placed it on Ganesh's body and thus re-created His son.

Lord Ganesh is also depicted as having four hands. In His hands he carries an axe-to cut earthly attachments from his devotees, a sweet dessert-to reward the spiritual deeds of his devotees, a rope-intended to carry His believers to the truth, and His fourth hand is always faced palm up to bless His devotees. A small mouse is shown as His vehicle and represents presence of mind, intelligence, and wisdom. Ganesh is often referred to as Vinayak meaning "knowledgeable" or Vigneshwar meaning "remover of obstacles." This "destroyer of obstacles" is worshipped at the beginning of any auspicious event or journey for blessings and good fortune and aids those seeking self-realization by eradicating difficulties that may obstruct their path.

A mantra for Lord Ganesh: Aum Gam Ganapataye Namah

This mantra, which comes from the Ganesh Upanishad -ancient Sanskrit scripture, is Lord Ganesh's "root" mantra. It combines His "seed" sound "gam" with the expression "praise be to Ganesh." It is used to invoke His spirit so that we may unite ourselves with His knowledge and tranquility.

Sources:

www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/deities/ganesha

www.allelephants.com/allinfo/ganesh

www.lankalibrary.com/myths/ganesh

www.hindunet.org

www.pantheon.org/articles/g/ganesha