Ganesha in Vedas & Upanishads
My Dear Children,
Are you suffering from constant obstacles and hardships?
If so, then try to worship Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi, so that you can say “goodbye” to all of your problems and obstacles. Ganesha Chaturthi comes during the lunar month of Bhadrapada, on the fourth day of the waxing moon. Depending on the year, Ganesha Chaturthi may come either in August or September. In 2021 the festival falls on September 10. Although this is considered the most auspicious day of the entire year to worship Lord Ganesha, in truth, whichever day you worship Lord Ganesha becomes like a Ganesha Chaturthi day. Lord Ganesha is extremely kind and compassionate, so whenever you worship him according to your ability, he happily accepts your love and offerings, and he removes all of your obstacles.
The Vedas say, “Kalau Chandi Vinaayakaa!” This means, in this age of Kali yuga[1], one obtains immediate results by the worship of Divine Mother Chandi[2] by performing Chandi homa, or by the worship of Lord Sri Ganesha. The fourth day, Chaturthi,[3] of the ascending phase of the moon cycle in the lunar month of Bhadrapada (August/September) on which Hasta Nakshatra[4] also falls is considered to be most auspicious for the worship of Lord Ganesha. Any practice or homa performed on this day is sure to annihilate the karma load of millions of sinful actions.
The Rig Veda says:
“Vinaayakaanaam veda priyaha bhadrapada chaturthi yajna mahaa priyaha.”
When one performs yajna, the sacred fire ceremony, on the auspicious day of Ganesha Chaturthi by following all the correct rituals, Lord Ganesha will surely grant the devotee the fruits of this sacred and meritorious action.
Lord Ganesha is referred to as Gananam pati. This means Sri Ganesha is Pati, the Supreme Lord who presides over all ganas or forms of creation, including: devatas, the demi-gods, nakshatras, the stars, millions of brahmandas, the galaxies, and sapta rishis, or the holy seven sages.
This is the reason why his name is Ganapati, the Lord of all ganas.
The significance of the name Ganesha can be understood by learning about the meaning of each syllable in the name.
Gam stands for jnana, eternal knowledge.
Nam means mukti pradata or nirvana pradata meaning one who grants liberation.
Isha means the Divine Father who rules.
Thus Lord Ganesha is Nirakara Para Brahma Svarupa, the embodiment of the formless Supreme Consciousness, who grants jnana and nirvana.
The Sri Ganesha Tapini Upanishad says:
“Ganeshovai sadajaaya tavadvai Param Brahma!”
This means it is only akhanda satyam or the eternal supreme truth, and Para Brahma tejas, the effulgence of the eternal Supreme Consciousness that has assumed the form of Lord Ganesha.
It is a most difficult and herculean task for people to gain control over the ari shadvargas or the six enemies of desire, anger, greed, attachment, pride, and enmity. However, one can remove all of these negativities and obtain auspicious benefits by worshipping Lord Ganesha and by chanting the mantra, “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha,” daily 108 times counting along with a rudraksha mala, a rosary of rudraksha beads. Lord Ganesha confers supreme protection for all those that worship him. One can find a great amount of salient information about Lord Ganesha in the Mudgala Purana[6]. In this purana it is mentioned that there are many divine forms embedded in the viswa rupa or cosmic form of Lord Ganesha. By performing homa to Lord Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi, one obtains various benefits through these divine forms. The divine forms and the benefits are:
Sri Vakratunda Ganapati
This form of Ganesha is most pleased with homa or sacred fire ceremony. He removes “matsarya”, enmity, from the devotee’s heart.
Sri Ekadanta Ganapati
This form of Ganesha burns away “madam”, pride, from the devotee’s heart.
Sri Mahodara Ganapati
This form of Ganesha removes “moha”, attachment, from the devotee’s heart.
Sri Gajanana Ganapati
This form of Ganesha vanquishes “lobha”, greed, from the heart of the devotee.
Sri Lambodara Ganapati
This form of Ganesha burns away “krodha”, anger, from the devotee’s heart.
Sri Vikata Ganapati
This form of Ganapati burns “kama”, desire, which pervades the devotee’s heart, to ashes.
Sri Vighnaraja Ganapati
This form of Ganesha removes “mamata”, self-centered love, from the heart of the devotee.
Sri Dhumravarna Ganapati
This form of Ganesha burns down both “durabhimana”, evil-mindedness, and “ashta madas”, eight types of pride, from the devotee’s heart.
Devotees who are unable to worship Lord Ganesha on a daily basis will find the benefits one hundred times more powerful when they worship Lord Ganesha on the day of Ganesha Chaturthi. By performing japa, that is, repetition of the mantra “Om Gam Ganapataye namaha” 108 times on a daily basis, the devotee receives one thousand times more immensely auspicious benefits and also fulfillment of all desires.
When one’s name is recited during the sankalpa[7] before a homa, sacred fire ceremony, the devotee is sure to receive millions of times more powerful and auspicious results. The devotee will be liberated from “pancha maha patakas”, five types of the most heinous sins and also from all “upa patakas”, minor sins. “Vighnas”, obstacles, will not haunt these devotees anymore. Lord Ganesha removes all of their sorrows and grants them many auspicious benefits.
The day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi is extremely auspicious. Anyone sponsoring a homa on this day will experience the benefit of having all “arishtas”, negative influences removed and “divya tejas”, divine effulgence will encircle and illuminate the devotee’s whole body.
The following is a shloka couplet from Sri Ganesha Upanishad[8]:
“Evam dhyanti yo nityam sa yogi[9] yoginaam varaha”
Devotees who worship on the auspicious day of Sri Ganesha Chaturthi, as well as on a daily basis- Lord Sri Ganesha, who is “nasha rahita”, without destruction, who existed even prior to Creation, and who is Para Brahma svarupa, the embodiment of Supreme Consciousness- those who perform Ganesha homa, and those who chant the Ganesha Mantra on a daily basis, all such devotees will verily transform into the most noble and supreme yogis among all yogis. They are sure to become the most noble paramahamsas[10]. Lord Sri Ganesha is sure to grace these devotees with true yogitva—the state of union with Universal Consciousness—and bless them with Atma jnana, knowledge of the Self. When, with a particular desire in mind, a devotee chants the Ganesha mantra 1008 times daily, that desire will be readily fulfilled by Lord Ganesha. Devotees who worship Lord Sri Ganesha in accordance with vedic principles and vedic rituals will be granted with “vak sakti”, the power to speak divine knowledge, and “kavita sakti”, the power to become a poet and a literary scholar.
Those who perform the homa sacred fire ceremony on Sri Ganesha Chaturthi day while observing the austerity of fasting throughout the day, or have a homa performed on this day by a priest with knowledge of the correct rituals required to perform fire ceremonies—all such devotees will receive the boundless compassion and grace of Lord Sri Ganesha. The Lord will shower upon them like nectar the auspicious benefits of vidya, knowledge, vijnana, knowledge of the Self, and Veda jnana sampatti, the treasure of vedic knowledge. Sri Ganesha will grace these devotees with the experience of Atma jnana, Self-Realization.
Sri Ganesha Upanishad:
“Yo modaka sahasrena yajati”
On Ganesha Chaturthi day, whoever performs with sincere devotion Ganesha homa with the offering of 1008 modukas[11], while carefully following the vedic rituals of performing a homa—Lord Sri Ganesha will grant such a devotee “apara aiswarya”, boundless wealth, “yasas”, fame, “gaurava”, respect, “shanti”, peace, “jnana”, knowledge, and “medhas”, powerful intellect.
“Maha vighnaat pramuchyate. Maha doshaat pramuchyate”
On Ganesha Chaturthi, when you follow worship of Lord Ganesha with a Ganesha homa, Lord Ganesha will remove “maha vighnas”, all of your greatest obstacles, and will destroy all “doshas”, all the negativities that have been responsible for all your hardships.
All those devotees who constantly repeat the Ganesha Mantra, “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha” elevate themselves spiritually, and become eligible for attaining Brahmatva, the state of Self-Realization. Obstacles will not come in the way of a devotee who is in constant worship of Lord Ganesha. Such devotees are freed from the load of “maha patakas” or the most severe sins from all of their past births, and they will experience shanti, peace and tranquility. When devotees chant the Sri Ganesha Mantra both morning and evening, Lord Ganesha removes the load of all of their sins. When you are in constant worship of Lord Ganesha and when you continually chant the Ganesha Mantra, Lord Ganesha will not let any obstacles come in your way. Such devotees will acquire the fulfillment of all the four purusharthas[12].
Chaturthi, the fourth day of every moon cycle, is very auspicious for performing a homa sacred fire ceremony, as well as for the worship of Lord Ganesha. In general, while performing worship, mantra repetitions, and fire ceremonies for Lord Ganesha, one should be aware of the appropriate day, time, nakshatra (or star of the day), and tithi (the position of the moon in its cycle). When the afore-mentioned spiritual practices are performed at appropriate times, Lord Ganesha will grant the devotee with good results and auspicious benefits.
Those who worship Lord Sri Ganesha daily twenty seven times with garika grass[13] while chanting the Ganesha Mantra, “Gam,” will receive wealth equivalent to that of Kubera, who is well-known as the Lord of riches. Lord Ganesha will end “ashta kashtas”, the eight types of hardships, and “ashta daridryas”, the eight types of poverties of all such ardent devotees. Sunlight will shine fully and brightly on the bodies of those that worship Lord Sri Ganesha, and Ganesha will destroy their ignorance or lack of knowledge. Worship of Lord Sri Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi day will grant “pavitra vak sampada”, the sacred gift of speaking lovingly, “Brahma tejas”, divine effulgence, and “Brahma jnana siddhi”, the fulfillment of the goal of Self-Realization. It will ensure that devotees are not affected by the negativities of others. Devotees of Sri Ganesha will acquire all knowledge and they will become “sarvajnas”, those who have acquired all knowledge. When you see such elevated souls, it is verily equivalent to witnessing Lord Ganesha only.
Even without your knowledge, Lord Ganesha, who is the embodiment of Supreme Consciousness, protects you at all times by side-stepping those that are about to harm you. It is auspicious to worship Sri Ganesha with red hibiscus flowers, red roses or rose petals, garika grass, red sandalwood paste, and red akshatas or energized rice mixed with vermilion. Such worship will grant you “akhanda jnana”, boundless knowledge, and “aishwarya”, wealth, and you will be steadily free of your problems of debt. When you worship Sri Ganesha and perform the fire ceremony with ten thousand modukas on Ganesha Chaturthi, it will bestow auspicious benefits to all the people in this entire universe, thus becoming a deed of service to humanity.
Ganesha Chaturthi is indeed a very special day. Hasta Nakshatra, which falls on this day, is very dear to Lord Ganesha. When vedic priests perform Sri Ganesha homa on this day during the time of Hasta Nakshatra—Lord Ganesha.
The following shlokas extol the benefits of repeating Ekakshara Ganesha Mantra or the single syllable Ganesha mantra, “Gam”:
“‘Gam’ beeja ekaakshara yogenaiva vishaantakaha
‘Gam’ beeja shabda mantrocchaarana maatrena visham daashaya chochyata
‘Gam’ beeja shabda maatrochaarana nena sarva rogaan hara hara”
The moment you chant the mantra, “Gam,” all the poisonous and negative thoughts in your mind will be burnt into ashes. The moment the sound “Gam” reverberates in your body, all diseases will disappear, much in the same way as people shout “Hara Hara! Hara Hara!” to cleanse their sins. When you repeatedly chant the “Gam” bija mantra, seed syllable, all the devious plans of your enemies will cease to work against you. The “Gam” bija mantra blockades all such harmful plans. In ancient times, when sage Kashyapa[14] asked sage Marichi[15] about the power of the Ganesha Mantra, sage Marichi revealed many secrets about this powerful mantra.
The Ganesha Upanishad continues with the following shlokas:
“Tvam guna traya titaha
Tvam avastha traya titaha
Tvam deha traya titaha
Tvam kala traya titaha”
Sri Ganesha is guna traya titaha—he is beyond the three attributes of “tamas”, dullness, “rajas”, activeness, and “sattva”, the state of harmony and purity.
Sri Ganesha is avastha traya titaha—he is beyond the three states of “jagrit”, the awake state, “svapna”, the dream state, and “sushupti”, the state of deep sleep. He is even beyond “turiya”, the state of Self Consciousness, awareness of the Self.
Lord Ganesha is deha traya titaha, beyond the three bodies—the “sthula sharira”, the gross or physical body, “sukshma sharira”, the subtle or astral body that is guided by “antakarana” or the inner conscience, and “karana sharira”, the causal body which veils the innermost Self.
Lord Ganesha is kala traya titaha, beyond the three time periods of “bhuta kala”, the past, “vartamana kala”, the present, and “bhavishyat kala”, the future.
The following shlokas extol the benefits of repeating Ekakshara Ganesha Mantra or the single syllable Ganesha mantra, “Gam”:
“‘Gam’ beeja ekaakshara yogenaiva vishaantakaha
‘Gam’ beeja shabda mantrocchaarana maatrena visham daashaya chochyata
‘Gam’ beeja shabda maatrochaarana nena sarva rogaan hara hara”
The Ganesha Upanishad continues:
“Tvam muladhare sthitosi nityam”
Sri Ganesha resides in the muladhara chakra[16] and guides the flow of kundalini shakti[17] which is in a coiled state in the muladhara chakra.
“Tvam sakti trayatmakaha”
Sri Ganesha is beyond the three powers of “iccha Shakti”, the power of will, “jnana shakti”, power of knowledge, and “kriya Shakti”, the power of action.
“Tvam yogino dhyayanti nityam”
Sri Ganesha is being constantly meditated upon with utmost devotion by nija yogis, those who are truly in constant bliss or those who are in constant union with Brahman, Supreme Consciousness.
“Tvam Brahmastvam Vishnustvam Rudrastvam Indrastvam Agnistvam
Vayustvam Suryastvam Chandramastvam Brahma Bhur Bhuvas Suvar Om”
O Lord Ganesha! You are Brahma the Creator! You are Vishnu the sustainer! You are Maha Rudra, the One who presides over the dissolution of the individual into the Supreme! You are air, fire, the sun, and the moon! You are everything including Brahma Loka, the abode of Lord Brahma, Bhu Loka, the Earth, Bhuvar Loka, the astral plane, and Suvar Loka, the abode of celestial Gods!
The following shlokas reveal the secret of the Ganesha Mantra, “Gam”:
“Ganadeen purva mucharya varnadeen stadantaram Anusvaraha parataraha ardhendu lasitam tarena ruddham etattava manu svarupam Gakarah purva rupam akaro madhyama rupam Anusvaraschantya rupam binduruttara rupam Nadassandhanam samhita sandhihi nysha ganesha vidya ganaka rishihi nricchad gayatri chandaha Sri Maha Ganapatirdevata Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha”!
First come the ganas or metered syllables. Then come the Sanskrit alphabets beginning with “a” and ending with “ksha.” Then, anusvara or the nasal sound, “m,” and later the beautiful sound of half moon or half circle. After all of these comes the primordial sound, “Om”!
Therefore, first the form of the Ganesha Mantra begins with the syllable “g”. Then, you add to it in the middle the syllable “a”, and later at the end you add the syllable “m.” Thus, when you go through the process of “g+a+m”, you obtain the seed syllable “Gam”. Then when you add “Om” in front, you have “Om Gam”, which is verily the subtle form of Sri Ganesha. Thus, “Om Gam” is the subtle form of the Ganesha Mantra. This subtle form of the Ganesha Mantra is subtlest of the subtle and its effulgence is also in a subtle form. The effulgence of the “Gam” mantra is most wondrous and brilliant. When you chant the “Gam” mantra, your heart and your whole body is filled with effulgence and brightness. As your heart radiates with effulgence, the six enemies in your heart are burnt away and you are filled with supreme peace in your heart.
The rishi, sage of this Ganesha vidya or knowledge, is Ganaka.
The chandas, meter, is Ncchrud Gayatri.
The devata, presiding deity, is Maha Ganapati.
The complete Ganesha Mantra is “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha”. This mantra is very fruitful for those who are addicted to drinking. Chanting of this mantra will not bear good results to those who do not have faith in the Guru, the preceptor, and those who think that the Guru does not know very much.
Lord Ganesha has supreme compassion for his devotees. He has been in existence prior to the creation of the universe and He himself is responsible for this Creation. Those who worship Lord Ganesha will feel abundant, and they will not experience a shortage of anything.
If a devotee is suffering from acute poverty and debt, and constant worry and anxiety, then it is highly beneficial to observe fasting, maintain external as well as internal cleanliness, and worship Lord Sri Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi by performing Ganesha mantra japa or repetition, or performing Ganesha mantra homa with modukas—then Lord Ganesha will grant the devotee abundance of wealth, and the devotee’s debt problems will be removed permanently. This has been discussed in the sacred text, Mantra Maharnavam[18]. Also, if you are suffering from “nava graha doshas”, negative effects of the nine planets, then you must perform Ganesha mantra homa on Ganesha Chaturthi. Then, all negative effects of the planets will be completely destroyed.
There is also a very wonderful idol of Ganesha, which is in the form of a female. The head of this form of Ganesha is attached to the body of Devi, Divine Mother. This Devi is called “Gaaneshi.” Those who are blessed to realize the complete knowledge of Gaaneshi are sure to attain the supreme state of moksha, liberation.
Benefits of Worshipping Red Sandstone Ganesha, Red Sandalwood Ganesha, & Red Ruby Ganesha
The worship of these Ganeshas will remove negative effects of the sun. Black spots on the face will be erased and the ”ashta daridryas”, the eight types of poverty, will be removed. All diseases of the body will be removed when you worship any of these Ganeshas on every Sunday, with utmost devotion.
Benefits of Worshipping Marakata Ganesha or Jade Ganesha
Marakata Ganesha or Jade Ganesha will not come to a devotee’s home unless the devotee has acquired benefits of good and meritorious deeds for several of the past births. Devotees will get the sacred opportunity of worshipping Sri Marakata Ganesha only when they have overcome the dark days of their life and have entered into their good and bright period.
When you get the wonderful opportunity of worshipping Jade Ganesha on Ganesha Chaturthi, it will permanently drive away the “ashta daridryas” (eight types of poverty). You will flourish consistently in your businesses and ventures, and you will scale great heights in acquiring wealth. All the negative effects of the nine planets will be removed and you will not have to work unduly hard to accomplish your tasks. You will gain respect in society and your financial position will improve day by day. You will not have any worries about financial matters when you worship Jade Ganesha every Wednesday. Devotees, who worship Jade Ganesha daily twenty seven times with fresh garika or fresh green grass, will receive the grace of Lord Ganesha and will attain all auspicious benefits.
