Lord Ganesha

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings

The wisdom teachings explain that the obstacles in our life are in us and not outside. Inner distortions are seen as outer obstacles. The outer obstacles are self-made. They arise because something is disarranged in our thought patterns. The problems we encounter today evolved from false ideas or earlier carelessness and neglect. If we forget details while executing a plan, they develop into future impediments; later it will be expensive or difficult to make changes. Right thoughts which come at the wrong time or right thoughts which come at the right time but are either not executed or not correctly executed might also obstruct us. If we have the right thought at the right moment, it flows unhindered like a stream.

Some people have ideas which work out by themselves. They get the right ideas at the right moment and execute them in the right way. In astrological terms, Jupiter is well aspected in their chart. Jupiter is the planet presiding over order in creation. We can recognise people with a confused mind, who create complications for themselves and for others, from the position of Jupiter in their chart indicating that something in their inner is confused. Their thought patters have to be restructured so that the obstacles can be overcome. The key to this is held by Jupiter.

The presiding deity of Jupiter on all planes, namely the planetary, solar and cosmic planes, is called Ganesha or Ganapati in Eastern wisdom. This means Lord of groupings, of systematic arrangement. He orders the sounds and utters them to shape creation.

The wisdom teaches us that if we worship Ganesha we won’t encounter obstacles and impediments in our life. If Jupiter or also other planets are seriously afflicted either in the birth chart or progressive chart or by transits, these negative effects can be neutralised when we regularly contemplate on the elephant-headed deity Ganesha.

Ganesha is among the intelligences which can be very easily invoked. The sound related to Ganesha is GAM; the mantra is Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha. The colour is cream or honey-yellow, the stone is topaz. The mantra brings unfoldment of the Buddhic plane and fulfilment in life. Its number is 3. It can be uttered in multiples of 3, 12, 21, in the Muladhara or the Ajna centre.

Normally we don’t work with the lower centres on the path of Raja Yoga, except with the Ganapati mantra; with some mantras the invocation is done in the lower centres together with the higher centres. The Lord of the base centre is Saturn, for in the Muladhara we are anchored in the physical body. If we want our body to be stable and to support us in fulfilling the purposes of the soul, we should worship Ganesha. Then, Saturn is replaced by the cosmic Jupiter, Ganesha. Thus, the expansion begins and Ganesha graces us with the experience of bodiless consciousness which is no more conditioned by matter.

The sound of Ganesha causes profound transformations in us. He rearranges the four-petalled lotus of the base centre and also gives order to our life. This order generates magnetism in us; life expands and becomes splendorous. Before beginning an important activity, at first the blessing of Ganesha is sought to conduct the work in harmony and to finish it in poise. The symbols, mantras and rituals related to Ganesha help in this regard.

His symbol is the triangle within the circle with a point in the centre. In a more illustrative form it is the head of the elephant. When we think of Ganesha, we can visualise our own head functioning as an elephant head. We can imagine that, by invoking Ganesha, he descends into our head with love and wisdom, so that the day can progress without disturbances. Love and wisdom never create impediments.

We can also visualise the form of our head, the ears and the spinal column in a radiant light as the head and the trunk of an elephant. From the tip of the trunk to the head of the elephant there is happening of a humming sound. This sound is called Hastinada, the voice of the elephant. It is self-born when emanating from the Absolute and it is also called OM, the sound of silence. We contemplate on it in the base centre. From there it emerges and moves upwards through all the etheric centres clearing the blockages in our body. The sound then reaches the Ajna, and then there is the illumination. We can visualise our head as a globe of light and our ears as big etheric ears. The globe of light is standing on a column of light, the spinal column; a feeble sound emerges from the base of our spinal column and moves up like a serpent.

The Eastern Scriptures contain profound symbolic stories about Ganesha. Thus, he was immaculately conceived by the World Mother, Parvathi. She prepared a substance and gave it the form of a 5 year old boy, installed vital power and bestowed the power of which she is presiding. Thus, the boy knew the Mother but not yet Shiva, the Father. When Shiva returned home, to Kailash, the boy refused him entry. Shiva smiled, for he saw that the boy was a creation of Parvathi and carried her power in him. He told the boy that he is the Master of the house and that he wants to enter. But the boy remained obstinate. He was the son of the Mother but he lacked the knowledge of the Father, the Supreme Self, the pure and absolute existence. Shiva therefore removed the boy’s head by his most powerful weapon, the Trident (the Rod of Initiation) and replaced it with the head of an elephant, the head of wisdom. This way the boy was initiated into the I AM consciousness and realised THAT, the Brahman. The symbol of Ganesha has the wisdom of the Most High, the power of Nature and the skill of action. It is therefore a complete symbol for contemplation.

As a mount, Ganesha has a small rat. It stands for the quick, skilful and intelligent activity. Like the rat, smart businessmen can reach their goals with great skill but if they aren’t guided by wisdom and good-will, they are a danger for society. The rat stands for Mercury, and the deity presiding over it, Ganesha, stands for Jupiter. Without skill, the wisdom of a person is neither useful for himself nor for others. It is only a heavy load, however big the head might be. The symbol of Ganesha and the rat teaches us that wisdom needs skill in action to be effective. When skill is linked to wisdom, such persons will be no longer exploiters of Nature but use it for the well-being of mankind and Nature.

As the cosmic Jupiterian intelligence, Ganesha works in our solar system with the triangular force of Neptune, Mercury and Jupiter. On our planet, he is present as Master Jupiter. He is the Avatar of Synthesis who presides over the Aquarian Age. In Vedic tradition, he is the great Sage Agastya and has his abode in Sirius. The place from where he is functioning for our earth is the Nilagiri hills, the Blue Mountains of South India. Ganesha is the regent of the second ray of Love-Wisdom and the teacher on all planes. Thus, Agastya, Master Jupiter, has taken on the role of the Guru, Teacher to our system.

There is a beautiful and helpful story in the Puranas of how the younger brother of Ganesha, Kumara, the cosmic Martian energy, challenged him. He wanted to know who is the faster of the two. Ganesha does not believe in challenge; it is not his quality. He said, “If you like it, let it be so.” Kumara sat on his vehicle, the peacock, flew away quick like an arrow and travelled through the worlds. Ganesha remained seated and smiled. The Lord asked him, “Don’t you want to start?” Ganesha replied, “Your Will will be done.” Then the Lord said, “You move around me three times.” Ganesha did so. Wherever Kumara now arrived he saw that Ganesha was already there. Kumara returned totally exhausted, while Ganesha was simply sitting there. The Lord asked Kumara, “Now, who has won?” Kumara replied, “No doubt, it is Ganesha. Everywhere he was ahead of me.” Kumara now took Ganesha as his teacher, and Ganesha taught him to go inside and to be there with the Father and to realise the Plan of the Divine Will.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: Jupiter. The Path of Expansion / notes from seminars. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India