Hindu Symbolism: Lord Ganesha
At Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar we are learning about the different forms of God and the symbolism of each. Over the next few months we will publish a series of tables outlining each; so, please be sure to check back in each issue for the tables.
As with all pujas, we begin the series with Lord Ganesha who is the remover of obstacles and the bestower of wisdom.
LORD GANESHA
| Head | Lord Ganesha's large head symbolizes wisdom. It represents an understanding and discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life. |
| Ears | The large ears signify that a perfect person is the one who possesses a great capacity to listen to others. |
| Eyes | The elephant eyes are set to perceive objects to be bigger than what they really are. So elephant eyes symbolize the idea that even if an individual is bigger in wealth and wisdom, s/he should not perceive to be bigger than himself. That is to say that surrender of one's pride is necessary to attain the humility of a person of perfection. |
| Tusks | The two tusks denote the two aspects of human personality; wisdom and emotion. The right tusk represents wisdom and the left tusk represents emotion. The broken left tusk conveys the idea that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection. |
| Trunk | Lord Ganesha's trunk is a symbol of his discrimination. The elephant uses his trunk to push down a massive tree, carry huge logs and for other heavy tasks. The same trunk can also be used to pick up a small blade of grass, to break a small coconut and eat the soft kernel inside. The biggest and the minutest of tasks are within the range of this trunk, which is symbolic of Lord Ganesha's intellect and his powers of discrimination. |
| Human Body/ Big Belly | The human body possesses a heart which is a symbol of kindness and compassion. Lord Ganesha’s large belly signifies that a perfect person must have a large capacity to face all experiences of the world - past, present and future. |
| Four Arms |
The four arms indicate that the Lord is omnipresent and omnipotent. An axe in the left hand signifies that in order to attain perfection one should conquer emotions. This enables one to live in the world without being overly affected by it. The second hand holds a whip which is a symbol of the force that ties the devout person to the eternal God. The whip conveys that excessive worldly attachments and desires should be rid of. The third hand turned towards the devotee is in the pose of blessing. This represents refuge and protection (abhaya). Lord Ganesha’s fourth hand holds a lotus flower (padma) which symbolizes the highest goal of human evolution. This is the sweetness of the realized inner self. Just as the lotus that lies in the water is not affected by it, so too the inner self remains steadily pure while living in the material world. |
| Tray of Offerings | The tray of offerings symbolizes that Lord Ganesha bestows wealth and prosperity upon his devotees. |
| Mouse | The mouse symbolizes that ego can nibble all that is good and noble in a person. Mouse gazing at laddus but not consuming them identifies that purified or controlled ego can live in the world without being consumed by temptations. The mouse is also the vehicle of Lord Ganesha signifying that one must control ego in order for themselves to shine in the grace of the Lord for whom they are a vehicle. |
Induja Kumar is a student in the 4th grade Bala Vihar class of Chinmaya Mission, Phoenix chapter (www.chinmayaphoenix.org). Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar classes are conducted every Sunday at Sierra Vista Academy in Scottsdale. She wrote this article as part of her Bala Vihar curriculum.