Why I Love Ganesha
My whole life I have had a calling to seek out the spiritual. I was raised to know that God existed and was drawn to know more about it. This compelling force to cross over into spiritual knowledge is equated to Ganesha, also known as Ganapati. He is the “child” of Consciousness and its Power to create (Shiva and Shakti). He is the Lord of Beginnings, and the Remover of Obstacles–both material and spiritual kinds. Why I love Ganesha is because he is the voice of Spirit calling me to know the sweetness of its presence within me.
Interestingly, Ganesha is also known as the force that places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. When partnering with Ganesha, the obstacles are seen as his way to pull us closer, to embrace the messiness of life as the field of play that teaches us who we really are.
Using the Force
When I begin a journey or take on a project, big or small, I invoke Ganesha to be with me and to help in any way possible. I have come to think of this deity as a loving guide and gateway to living my highest expression of who I am. Ganesha is the lord of the elements–gunas–and as such is a master of the flow of energy. By aligning my thoughts towards him I make a statement to the Universe that I choose to be in harmony with all manifestations of Shakti, the divine alchemy of energy creating the material world in which we live. To me, Ganesha represents the Highest governing the world of the mundane and ordinary existence of life on planet Earth.
The Symbolism of Ganesha
What makes Ganesha a personal favorite from amongst the multiple higher-vibration divine beings is that he is the force that brings me deeper into Spirit. He cuts through the obstacles of self-serving ego and turns the experience of living as a human being into an existence of creativity and play.
Ganesha is frequently pictured with different tools that serve similar purposes. His sword or his ax cuts loose the attachment to ego and the material world. His conch calls us to him and his lasso or his hooked staff binds the devotee to his awakening spiritual identity. His agile trunk points to a bowl of fruits and candies, the rewards that come from diligence and practice. These are the compelling sweets of life one can achieve by venturing close.
Ganesha’s large ears allow him to hear the cries for help when our path seems blocked and Spirit is nowhere to be found. With the compassionate eyes of the powerful elephant he sees and knows us. With great wisdom he guides the beseecher towards an awareness of how they are intimately part of the big cosmic picture. The broken tusk represents “not two,” or nonduality.
As a yogi and spiritually-oriented person, Ganesha helps me see the bigger picture. I recognize that my “small-self” identity is just a tool for learning that I am here on Earth to participate as Spirit in embodied form. His gifts are given to those who wake up to seek the hand of the Divine and do the work of spiritual practice. To me, Ganesha is partnership with my own Highest Self that knows that Supreme Consciousness is interwoven through all things and experiences.
Ganesha’s Tools
Below is a diagram pointing out many of Ganesha’s attributes and tools.
