Symbolism behind Ganesh Chaturthi

 

Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the day on which Lord Ganesha is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. Though it is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the symbolism behind the festival is much deeper. Though Ganesha is worshipped as the elephant-headed God, the swaroop (form) is just to bring out its parabrahma roopa (eternal divine formlessness). 

Ganesh Chaturthi marks a unique art of reaching the formless paramatma called Lord Ganesh by the repeated worship of his manifest form. Even the Ganesh Stotram, the prayers recited in the praise of Ganeshji, conveys the same. We pray to Ganesha in our consciousness to come out and sit in the idol for us for a while so that we can play with Him. 

After the puja, we again pray, asking Him to go back to where He came from – our consciousness. While He is in the idol, we offer back whatever God has given us through the puja of the idol.

Ganesha is the lord of all the good qualities in us. So when we worship Him, all the good qualities blossom in us. He is also the Lord of knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge dawns only when we become aware of the Self. When there is inertia, there is no knowledge, no wisdom, nor is there any chaitanya (liveliness) or progress in life. So, the consciousness has to be awakened, and the presiding deity of consciousness is Ganesha. That’s why before every puja, the Lord Ganesha is worshipped to awaken the consciousness. 

Therefore, install the idol, worship it with infinite love, meditate and experience Lord Ganesha from within. This is the symbolic essence of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, to awaken the Ganesh tattva, which is masked inside us.

And in the end, say, ‘You have come from my heart, and you will get back into my heart.’ Like that, saying that, Ganapati, the idol, you leave it in the ocean or in the water, from where you took it. The Visarjan is for you to understand that Ganapati is not just in the idol. He has come from your heart into the idol. The prana has come there, and then the prana gets back into you after fulfilling your desires. 

Putting forth your desires in front of Ganapati, you then say, ‘Ganapati, you are back in my heart.’ Then you leave that idol in the water.

The ritual of immersing (visarjan) the idols after a few days of worship reinforces the understanding that God is not in the idol; He is inside us. So, experiencing the Omnipresent in the form and deriving joy out of the form is the essence of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. In this way, such organised festivity and worship leads to an upsurge in enthusiasm and devotion. 

Embrace the symbolism of Lord Ganesha and let wisdom guide your path as you navigate the journey of life with awareness and grace.

What does awakening of kundalini mean?

 

Do not try awakening your kundalini by force. It is a natural phenomenon. Many people go crazy in doing so and ultimately lose their sanity. You should not do that. Meditation happens effortlessly when your kundalini is awakened. Whenever you meditate, you find that scintillating energy flowing all over your being. That is what kundalini is. 

When you do the Sudarshan Kriya, every cell becomes awake and alive. The awakening of energy happens very naturally. We should adopt the natural manner only. Otherwise you will lose sleep. 

If someone approaches you and tells you, “I will help you awaken your kundalini shakti”, simply thank them respectfully and move away. When a banana ripens on its own it is naturally sweet. If someone forcefully tries to ripen the banana, then it is no longer remains fit for consumption. So, if someone tries to awaken the kundalini shakti by force, there are high chances that one may lose one’s mental balance. Only those who have years and years of practice of yoga and deep knowledge about this can really practice these techniques properly without any side effects. 

Unfortunately, today people do not comprehend the sanctity of these powers. Someone learns a few techniques randomly and teaches it to others. They try to awaken the energy with these techniques but without much result; rather it creates more problems. The effect is akin to the fuse blowing up inside a bulb due to an excess and unchecked surge of energy. Some lose their mind, become deranged, or are unable to sleep. We should not try such things at all.

Once a lady visited a mystic, who told her to do certain things. When she did as instructed, she experienced a lot of difficulty and great discomfort. She told me, "Gurudev, I'm not able to go to the temple and my body is not in my control." It should be the opposite way around. You should be able to control even your involuntary system when you do sadhana. When you do wrong sadhana without proper guidance or just by reading books, then the voluntary and involuntary systems get messed up. So you should be careful about this. Key is proper guidance and effortlessness.

The energy should be awakened very naturally and effortlessly. When energy rises naturally and through proper technique, one experiences immense enthusiasm, joy, total belongingness. All these are signs of a true awakening of the shakti (energy). It happens spontaneously when you do Sudarshan Kriya. You feel as if every particle in your body has been infused with energy. That is what the awakening of kundalini is.