Loving Ones,
Hope you all are doing well and are safe.
This year the month of August was a most festive month. We celebrated our beloved Shri Guruji's birthday, Lord Krishna’s birthday and Goddess Radharani’s birthday. And, recently, on 22nd August, we celebrated Lord Ganesha’s birthday at the ashram, as well as on Zoom (if you missed this Zoom session but would like to view the recording it is now on the website - under the Events tab scroll down to
Online Media Resources).
We performed Lord Ganesha's abhisheka (the bathing of the statue of a deity with water or other sacred substances while also chanting mantras) and some rituals. Lord Ganesha's birthday festival, as per the Hindu calendar, is observed during Bhadrapad Maas starting from Shukla Chaturthi (mid-August to mid-September) and continues for ten days. Ganesha is worshipped as the Lord of Wisdom and remover of all obstacles.
Ganesha is one of the most popular gods of Hinduism. Ganesha means Lord of the ganas. Gana means a group or community and isha means Lord. Ganesha is the leader of the community of Hindu gods. Ganesha is also the first deity who awakens in our spiritual meditation and guides us on the path. In our spine, Lord Ganesha is represented at the bottom or money Centre – muladhara chakra.
Lord Ganesha is worshipped by almost every Hindu and his statues are found in almost every temple, every village and every household in India. In Hindu rituals, Ganesha is invariably worshipped first. We know Ganesha by many names, one of which is Vighnaraja because he is the Lord of obstacles. He removes them when he deems fit. For this reason, devout Hindus worship Ganesha before starting any new venture or project.
Symbolism of Ganesha:
Elephant Head - Calmness, majesty, wisdom and strength.
Mouse - Mastery of fear, indecision, anxiety and uncertainty and also control over beings of the subterranean worlds.
Bizarre body - Illusion and duality.
Large Ears - Discernment, supernatural auditory powers.
Broken Tusk - Indifference and detachment. Also, skill in action.
Curve of the Trunk - Connection with curves in the symbol of AUM as the Lord of speech.
Large belly - Completeness, contentment and fulfillment.
Pasha (supernatural lasso-like weapon) - The three impurities of anava, karma and maya.
Ankusha or Goad (elephant bullhook) - Complete control or mastery of self. The power to mitigate as well as inflict suffering.
We are praying for you all,
Centre of Kriya Meditation - Kriya Vidya Mandir