Ganesha: Not an elephant ‘God’

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

There is no important activity or auspicious occasion which the Hindu starts without invoking Shri Ganesha, who is Vinayaka (the Best of Guides), Vighneshwara (Remover of Obstacles) as well as being possessed of wise learning: He was the scribe who wrote down the well-known epic, Mahabharata, as Vyasaji was narrating it.

Ganesha. Pic – CNBC

According to late Dr Sarvapelli Radhakrishnan, Philosopher-President of Bharat, as it evolved Hinduism chose colourful diversity over dull uniformity. The many festivals in the Hindu calendar are a living expression of this truism – the richness of Hindu culture – through the plurality of customs and practices that they have been associated with since practically time immemorial in Bharat. Hindu festivals are strewn along its calendar throughout the year, for the gift of life is meant to be always glorified.

This can only happen to a healthy body possessed of a pure mind – which prepares the individual to live life in the Hindu spirit, which is – again according to Dr S Radhakrishnan, ‘that attitude towards life which regards the endless variety of the visible and temporal world as sustained by the invisible and eternal spirit’. If properly understood and celebrated, Hindu festivals meet all these objectives of a purposeful and meaningful life.

The fundamental aspect of the festival is of course the symbolism that underlies it in all its dimensions. Through the ideas and concepts that symbolism encompasses, an attempt is made to represent the Hindu vision of existence. The objective is to facilitate understanding of the profound truths and abstract concepts by means of forms and objects which are more or less familiar to all of us.

Symbols that are more frequently used are either geometrical forms, such as the triangle, the circle, the dot, or natural objects from the world of plants and animals.

For the latter possess characteristics which can be similar, different or even surpass those of man – such as strength (the lion), speed (the cheetah), hearing (the bat), vision (the owl) and so on. If we have any superiority in the spectrum of the living, it is that we possess chaitanya or consciousness which supports a mind with which we can think and reason. This allows us to explore and seek knowledge of the external world with which we transact, which in Hindu tradition we call lower knowledge.

However, this same urge to enquire makes us seek answers to questions such as who we are, where we come from, and what happens when we die. This kind of internal enquiry carried out profoundly by our rishis (sages) in ancient times led them to the conclusion that the whole of existence emanates from a supreme source possessed of all knowledge, all intelligence and all power to create – sustain – destroy the universe in a perpetual cycle of renewal (hence: multiverses), and to That Supreme – the underlying eternal spirit — they gave the name Brahman, with the powers of creation-sustenance-destruction vested in divinities referred to as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva respectively.

That Higher Knowledge also known as Spiritual Knowledge is the One Truth or Ultimate Reality of existence, and our purpose in life is to discover it for ourselves through spiritual seeking, which Hindu festivals help us to do, since preparation for them entails following sadhana or spiritual discipline.

 This recognition of an underlying eternal spirit, rather than a God in the Abrahamic sense of the term who is outside of the creation, is why we affirm that Hinduism is a culture of all-sacredness. This means that we are all part of a whole that includes living and non-living things. And thus we can see that all forms and names, in other words, all objects that exist in nature, can be considered to be permeated by and representing that underlying eternal spirit or Brahman. Certain objects have been chosen to act as symbols for the divine because of the characteristics they possess, and the elephant is one of them.

According to our scriptures, Shiva and his consort Parvati live on Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. Once Shiva was returning from one of his meditation wanderings, and he was stopped from entering their abode by Ganesha who was barring the entrance. Using her special powers, Parvati who was feeling lonely in Shiva’s absence, had brought forth Ganesha from her own body, and Shiva having been absent could not recognize his own son. Using his trishul (the three-pronged weapon) he cut off Ganesha’s head.

When Parvati-Mata came out and saw this, She was appalled and told Shiva to bring their son back to life. So, he went out and the first creature he came across was an elephant. He cut off the elephant’s head and placed it on the body of Ganesha, thus restoring him to life.

This story may sound fantastic and unbelievable – until we understand the profound symbolism that it conveys. But first, one must understand what is the mind. In the Hindu perspective, the mind has four dimensions: manas – thinking, that is analyzing inputs it receives, internal and external; buddhi – intellect, coming to a conclusion on the basis of the analysis; chitta – memory; and ahankar – ego.

Ganesha as a child is the small human being who has a big ego (like most of us) and the only way to get rid of the ego is by means of acquiring Spiritual Knowledge which confers enlightenment. As we sometimes do when we go to sleep over a problem, and on waking up in the morning we suddenly realise we have the solution, so too comes the Eureka moment of enlightenment as suddenly – so say the rishis. Ignorance, i.e. the ego disappears forever. That is the profound significance of the sudden cutting of Ganesha’s head – in which resides the ego — by Shiva, and its replacement by the big head of the elephant, which represents intelligence and Higher Knowledge.

Thus, by understanding of the symbolism associated with a festival, not only does one gain a clearer appreciation of all the steps and aspects involved, but also derive joy in doing so because this contributes to elevate and purify the mind, which in turn translates into a higher quality of living and learning.

Such learning makes us realise, among other things, that the elephant because of its size is mightily strong and in spite of its size is a very gentle creature; it loyally responds to man’s requests for its services without ever complaining, granting its favours without discrimination; it does not kill other creatures for its pleasure or for eating; it has a very good memory, and it allows children and even adults who are so inclined to play with it without getting irritated or angry, displaying an almost infinite patience.

Readers are invited to consult the abundant sources available to understand further the symbolism associated with Ganesha’s large ears, his small squinting eyes, the trunk curved inwards and upwards, the single tusk and that too broken! the large belly, the mouse over which he rides… It is fascinating exploration into Higher Knowledge. Aum Shri Ganeshayanamaha.

RN Gopee

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 6 September 2024