PAVAMĀNA: Enduring Indic Wisdom

Leadership Best Practices from śrī gaṇapati–Part 2

© Bala Bharadvaj, 25 January 2025

reading time: Approx 10 minutes

Summary

This is Part 2 of a series of articles on how the descriptive names of śrī gaṇapati (or śrī gaṇeśa) point to a list of Leadership Best Practices from Shri Ganapati which are encoded in the form of a śloka (shloka).  The wise ones will understand the underlying meanings, invoke the blessings of śrī gaṇapati, and become successful leaders. You can access Part 1 here.

Introduction

In Part 1 of this series of articles, we discussed the special messages indicated by the first eight descriptive names of śrī gaṇapati.  In this article, we continue to explore the hidden meaning conveyed by additional names.

Join me as we do a time travel back to ancient times in India to learn about these meanings.

Nayak the budding leader

Imagine you are a close friend of an important official of a prosperous kingdom in ancient India.  The king has appointed your friend Nayak (nāyak) to oversee the construction of several grand monuments to commemorate the king’s recent victories and celebrate the general prosperity of the kingdom.  Nayak has already proven himself to be a trusted budding leader by completing some smaller projects in an excellent manner, and the king has now entrusted Nayak with greater responsibilities.

Nayak is a humble guy and a sincere learner who has great respect for the traditions and the teachers.  He is grateful to the king for this larger role, but also a bit overwhelmed by the massive scale of this project compared to the earlier ones.  Nayak wants to complete these new projects flawlessly and was pondering how to get started.  After some thought, he decided to go visit his guru for guidance.

Guruji

Nayak’ s guru was a highly learned man who was also a friend of Nayak’s father.  In his younger days, guruji used to be an advisor to the king, but has slowed down recently and spends his time mentoring others and pursuing his own spiritual goals through sādhana (spiritual practices such as pūja, japa, meditation, deeper study of scriptures, etc.)

Nayak: “praṇām-s guruji!  I have come to seek your blessings and get your guidance on the best way to accomplish the king’s new projects.”

Guruji: “I was expecting you Nayak!  I knew that one day you would be recognized by the king, and this elevation in your rank is in line with your capabilities.  You should start these new projects with a special ceremony to invoke the blessings of Lord gaṇapati.  His grace will guide you to a successful completion.”

Nayak organized a special pūja to śrī gaṇapati and invited all the key personnel associated with the new projects.  The grand traditional pūja was followed by an equally grand feast.  While Nayak was pleased with how the events were conducted, he was also a bit puzzled about how this pūja to śrī gaṇapati would help ensure the success of the projects.  Was it simply a matter of faith, or was there something more to it?  It was once again time to learn from guruji and get his guidance.

Conversation with guruji

Nayak: “praṇām-s guruji!  Thank you, for guiding us through the rituals today to seek Lord gaṇapati’s blessings.  I am indebted to you for your invaluable help.”

Guruji: “My child, the blessings of the Lord are always available.  You only have to invoke them and connect with them to benefit fully.”

Nayak: “Guruji, please help me understand how to invoke śrī gaṇapati’s grace.”

G: “You are familiar with the mantra

सुमुखश्चैकदन्तश्च कपिलो गजकर्णकः । लम्बोदरश्च विकटो विघ्नराजो विनायकः ॥१॥

धूमकेतुर्गणाध्यक्षो भालचन्द्रो गजाननः । वक्रतुण्ड शूर्पकर्णो हेरम्बस्स्कन्दपूर्वजः ॥२॥

षोडषैतानि नमानि यः पठेच्छृणुयादपि । विद्यारम्भे विवहे च प्रवेशे निर्गमे तथा । सङ्‍ग्रामे सर्व कार्येषु विघ्नस्तस्य न जायते ॥३॥

sumukhaścaikadantaśca kapilo gajakarṇakaḥ | lambodaraśca vikaṭo vighnarājo vināyakaḥ ||1||

dhūmaketurgaṇādhyakṣo bhālacandro gajānanaḥ | vakratuṇḍa śūrpakarṇo herambasskandapūrvajaḥ ||2||

ṣoḍaṣaitāni namāni yaḥ paṭhecchṛṇuyādapi | vidyārambhe vivahe ca praveśe nirgame tathā | saṅgrāme sarva kāryeṣu vighnastasya na jāyate ||3||

You can chant this mantra with devotion to get Lord gaṇapati’s blessing.  However, to get the full benefit from the mantra you must understand the meanings, and your actions must be aligned.”

N: “I thought these are simply different names of śrī gaṇapati.”

G: “Yes, they are names; but these are special descriptive names with greater significance.”

N: “How so?”

G: “The first eight names are descriptions of the skills that a leader must have.  You are already familiar with them. (This info can be accessed in Part 1 here).

“The next eight names explain the behaviors that leaders like you must practise to invoke Lord gaṇapati and receive His grace.”

N: “guruji, please teach me about the special significance of these names.”

G: “Let us look at the four names dhūmaketur-gaṇādhyakṣo bhālacandro gajānanaḥ.

dhūmaketuḥ (dhumaketu)

dhūmaketuḥ is a very interesting description of śrī gaṇapati.  Here ketuḥ means an eminent person, and dhūma means smoke.  For a devotee, dhūmaketuḥ represents the great eminent gaṇapati who is veiled by the smoke of the yajña where sacrificial offerings are made.  śrī gaṇapati is not clearly visible, but the devotee knows that He is present in the background protecting us.

A leader’ s position is somewhat similar.  Most people working on a large project will not see or interact with the leader often, but they know that the leader is active behind the scenes and can be approached for help if needed.  As a leader, you must allow your people and teams to operate on their own while providing the assurance and confidence to the team that you are always available to support them if needed from the background.”

N: “How can I do that? Is there a recommended way?”

gaṇādhyakṣa (ganadhyaksha)

G: “The next name gives you the clue.  Just as śrī gaṇapati is gaṇādhyakṣa (one who provides oversight to the many followers) you must become a leader who keeps an eye on your teams without becoming intrusive.

As an adhyakṣa (overseer) you should regularly monitor the work of every team under you.  If the team is making progress as expected, you should continue to provide support from the background; however, if there is any hint of emerging difficulties, you should get actively involved, clear the roadblocks to progress, and provide specific guidance to the teams to enable them to succeed.

N: “This is fascinating.  These two names are so instructive about how I should do my job.  Pray tell me about the other names.”

bhālacandra (bhalachandra)

G: “The next name of śrī gaṇapati in this list is bhālacandra.  You are familiar with the image of śrī gaṇapati with the crescent moon on his forehead.  The literal meaning of this name yields ‘someone who has the moon placed on the forehead’.

Our sāstras use the moon as a symbol for our mind which is the seat of emotions.  The message conveyed by placing the moon on the forehead is that śrī gaṇapati is in complete control of his emotions and uses them as an ornament or decoration.

To be successful as a leader, you must demonstrate this aspect of śrī gaṇapati. You must develop mastery over your emotions.  During the course of these projects for the king, you will encounter various types of internal and external challenges.  These situations can be pleasant or unpleasant, your teams may be happy or sad, angry or dejected.  Your task at those times is to invoke the bhālacandra aspect of śrī gaṇapati and maintain equanimity while dealing with these various challenges in an objective manner.  Only then you can provide unbiased help and objective guidance to your teams.

N: “This is fascinating, guruji!”

gajānana (gajanana)

G: “The next name gajānana is equally fascinating.  The meaning sounds like someone with an elephant face – the popular imagery of śrī gaṇapati that we are all familiar with.”

N: “What special quality does this point to?”

G: “We humans can learn a lot from elephants.  They are very strong but gentle creatures that are also highly protective of their family.  They are very intelligent animals with a phenomenal memory.  When we humans look at the elephant’s face, we cannot decipher what the elephant may be thinking, or it’s mood.   All these traits point to important behaviours for leaders.

“A leader should be strong but gentle.  A good memory and sharp intellect are very important for a successful leader.  Being protective of your teams, and how you express your emotions are also very important behaviours.”

N: “Guruji, I never knew about these aspects of śrī gaṇapati.  He is indeed a great leader.  I am very thankful to you for educating me about śrī gaṇapati and the behaviours that I must adopt.

“As I embark on these new projects, I’ll strive to remember śrī gaṇapati, invoke His blessings, and emulate the behaviours that you have so generously pointed out.

“You mentioned that there were eight names of śrī gaṇapati that related to leadership behaviours .  What are the messages from the remaining four names?”

Additional names

G: “Yes, there are four more names that provide important pointers for leadership.  However, it is getting late today and time for my evening duties.  I’ll tell you about those on another occasion.

“For now, go forth with my blessings and the grace of śrī gaṇapati.  May the Almighty guide you for the successful completion of these projects.

“Come and see me in about two weeks.”

Nayak took leave of guruji, amazed at the ideas he had just learned from a mantra he had heard many times before.  He decided that he would commit the mantra to memory and make every effort to connect with the deeper meanings imbedded within.

Nayak started seeing śrī gaṇapati not just as a mythological figure, but as the very personification of a great leader, and a constant companion and inspiration for leadership.

His respect for guruji went up by several notches.  For Nayak, guruji was no longer a traditional priest who was chanting some indecipherable mantras but had now become a very practical wise man and mentor who was very aware of the real world of people and projects.

As Nayak walked slowly back towards his horse, he was deeply engrossed in thought.  This conversation had kindled a new kind of curiosity in him.  “I wonder what other mysteries are imbedded in these ancient mantra-s.  I must visit guruji more often and continue to learn from him.”

Conclusion

We can learn important Leadership Best Practices from Shri Ganapati – key behaviours that are important for general management and project management. The conversation between the guruji and Nayak connect us with the leadership qualities imbedded in the four descriptive names of śrī gaṇapati they discussed.  Using modern terminology, the mantra-s point to the following important leadership behaviours:

• support your teams while remaining in the background, i.e., provide support without becoming intrusive.
• establish a standard operating rhythm to provide regular oversight on the projects, remove obstacles, and help guide the team.
• have control of your emotions and make decisions in an objective manner.
• be strong but gentle, cultivate a good memory, sharp intellect and always protect your teams.

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