PAVAMĀNA: Enduring Indic Wisdom

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः ।

Invocation

oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ |

गजाननं भूत गणादि सेवितं कपित्थ जम्बूफल सार भक्षितम् ।

उमा सुतं शोक विनाश कारणं नमामि विघ्नेश्वर पाद पङ्कजम् ॥

gajānanaṃ bhūta gaṇādi sevitaṃ kapittha jambūphala sāra bhakṣitam|

umā sutaṃ śoka vināśa kāraṇaṃ namāmi vighneśvara pāda paṅkajam||

MEANING: I offer my salutations at the lotus feet of vighneśvara the Lord of obstacles, (and seek his blessings) to remove all difficulties and sorrow.  He is the child of umā (or pārvatī devī) and has the face of an elephant (gajānana); He has many followers (gaṇa-s) and consumes all the ripe jambū (java plum) fruit.

In the Hindu tradition, śrī gaṇapati (also known as vighneśvara) is invoked and worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious activity, and the scriptures assure us that worshipping śrī gaṇapati will keep obstacles away.  śrī gaṇapati is a unique deity who is accepted by all followers of sanātana dharma (ancient Indian tradition originating from the vedic period) irrespective of their affiliation or affinity to any specific sect or region of India.

In earlier generations, most Hindus accepted the importance of worshipping śrī gaṇapati as an act of faith without questioning.  His exploits are captured in different purāṇa-s.  However, today, some of us may question why one should venerate a deity that looks very different from the commonly depicted concept of a strong and majestic figure.  We’ll delve into this topic in a future post.

Another invocation based on a couple of lines from the mahāgaṇeśa pañ‍caratna stotram below.

हृदन्तरे निरन्तरम् वसन्तमेव योगिनाम् ।

तमेकदन्तमेव तं विचिन्तयामि सन्ततम् ॥

hṛdantare nirantaram vasantameva yoginām |

tamekadantameva taṃ vicintayāmi santatam ||

MEANING: I constantly remember (and invoke) that śrī mahāgaṇapati appearing with one tusk, the One who is known to the yogi-s as the divine power that constantly resides in our heart.

These lines are loaded with meaning and give us a peek into the exalted mystical aspect of śrī mahāgaṇapati.  He is not just an imaginary character from the purāṇa-s, but the very substratum of creation who resides in our hearts and enlivens us.  This is understood by yogi-s (enlightened masters).  May that Divine Force bless us in our endeavour.

Do we know any yogis? Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, an exceptional Indian who lived in very recent times comes to mind.  He was a celebrated aerospace scientist, an inspirational intellectual, a consummate karma yogi, an avid author, and the President of India from 2002 to 2007.  He was honored with a Bharat Ratna award in 1997 for his many contributions.  His respect for śrī gaṇeśa can be understood from the audio clip below.  When a person of his caliber, someone who was born and raised in a Tamil Muslim family and was also a highly successful man of science and technology, showed great regard and respect for śrī mahāgaṇapati one can safely say that it was not because of some unintelligent family superstition, but because of his enlightened perspective and understanding.