Our Lord Shri Ganesha(Credit: Google)
Parabrahma roopam Ganesham bhajema |
Lets us pray Lord Ganesha who is the parabrahman(Ultimate Reality).
Lord Shri Ganesha is one of the most powerful and popular deities in Sanatana Dharma(Hinduism). He looks lovely with an elephant head! He is the ruler and remover of obstacles. So, before we start any new work or any venture, we pray him for his blessings.
He is also one of the five main Vedic deities, viz. Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga. What is the most striking and differentiating feature of Ganesha among these? Yes, you’re right! it is his trunk! Is there any symbolic significance of this? Let us understand.
Lord Ganesha is elephant-headed God. By the way, what is the primary function of trunk in an elephant? It is a powerful tool to grip the things like trees. It is also used to access things to put in the mouth. It is also helps the elephant to enjoy a nice shower by pouring water on the back! The bottom line is: for an elephant, trunk gives an easy access to many things. Moreover, trunk is used to give things to others. This is important. Let us keep this in mind.
Left Side Turned Trunk
In Lord Ganesha, generally trunk is towards his left side accessing a laddu(sweet ball). What does it symbolize? It represents moon and the cool power of ida nadi in our psychic body. This Ganesha helps us to access the fruit of our work in the material world and he also gives the fruits to us very easily with his trunk!
In other words, laddu(sweet ball) indicates all material comforts. Since he enjoys the sweet, he will surely bestow them to you too. This why if we need to enjoy material prosperity and comforts, we need to worship and pray Lord Ganesha with left-sided trunk enjoying a sweet laddu! So, Ganesha with left-sided trunk provides us bhoga(material enjoyment).
Right Side Turned Trunk
There is another pose of Lord Ganesha. It is with his trunk turned towards his right side holding a pot of nectar. What is the symbolism here? It represents Sun and the hot power of pingala nadi in our psychic body.The pot of nectar held by right-turned trunk is nothing but the bliss or the happiness obtained in samadhi state in traditional yoga. So, this Ganesha helps us achieve moksha(liberation).
According to Hinduism, the highest purpose of human life is to get liberation from infinite birth and death cycle. So, people who are interested in achieving the real goal of yoga i.e. moksha (liberation) should pray Lord Ganesha with trunk turned to his right side.
Warning: Right side turned Lord Ganesha is very powerful and not forgiving. In this form, he must be worshiped adhering to the rules as prescribed by our Scriptures. Otherwise, you are simply betting on serious risks.
In summary, Lord Ganesha is omnipotent deity with absolute power to confer his devotees with material enjoyment (bhoga) and liberation(moksha) from endless cycle of birth and death.
Liked the discussion? You may check out the related articles:
1. Why Lord Ganesha is worshiped first?
Read the answer here.
2. What makes Lord Ganesha special from yogic perspective?
You may know the details here.
Let us pray Lord Ganesha for his blessing:
Ekadantam upasmahe |
We pray Lord Ganesha(for his blessing and Grace)!
Om Namah Shivaya ||
- Kalidas
Highlights from our archive:
1. Are you practicing some new age yoga without knowing anything about real traditional yoga?
Maybe it helps to read a fun-filled article on new age yoga vs. traditional yoga.
2. Are you a yoga practitioner who would like to know core fundamentals of traditional yoga? or
Are you curious to understand the features of real yoga as taught by Great Indian Masters?
If yes, you may want to read and understand the articles in the category: The Pillars of Yoga.
Enjoy reading! Have fun!! All the best.
Om Namah Shivaya ||
- Rudraksha Yoga
