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Ganesh Mantra: Om Ekadantaya Namah

Do thoughts in your head scurry around like rats in a cage?
Do minor interruptions throw you off course?

Chant to Ekadanta – the Single-tusked One

This mantra is for attaining single-mindedness in whatever you undertake. Meditating on Ganesha’s single tusk helps in focusing your energies. Also, the tusk is one of Ganesha’s deadly weapons, used to skewer demons. The mantra thus acts as a protective force field around you.

Whether you recite, whisper or utter them silently to yourself, mantra japa or repetitive chanting is said to be the simplest way to access God.

Ganesha's Favorite Foods Contd.

Elephant God Ganesha is a hearty eater with a special liking for high calorie treats! Besides Modaks & Laddoos mentioned earlier, Ganesha is also partial to pedas or dry milk sweets made with sweetened, reduced milk and moong lentil halwa, a dense, sweet dessert of mung beans cooked in ghee.

In modern times, not all sweets are made at home, with more women entering the work force. Sweet shops fill in the need and constantly innovate with their wares to grab customers’ attention.

While Ganesha is obviously inclined to sweetmeats, he’s not partial to salted snack foods either. Maharashtrians, who keep open house during Ganesh Chaturthi, prepare various sweets and savories for each day of the festival. Chaklis are a popular tea-time snack, made with rice flour and gram flour, deep-fried until crunchy.

Southern India has its own set of goodies to satiate Ganesha’s appetite. Modaks are a must, of course. Additionally, a Tamilian home would prepare sundal or chick peas flavored with grated coconut and tempered with mustard seeds, red chilies and curry leaves. Others might offer a bowl of sweet pongal, a rice-and-lentil mash cooked with jaggery. Accompanying this is vada, a doughnut shaped, deep-fried savory made of urad dal. Ganesha rounds off this sumptuous repast with a bowl of rice payasam or kheer (rice cooked in sweetened and reduced milk)

Ganesha is also fond of fruits, with bananas, mangoes and guavas being his favorites.

Ganesha's Favorite Foods

Offering food to the gods (known as prasad) is an integral part of virtually every prayer ritual in Hinduism. With Ganesha, this takes on a special dimension, since the elephant God is a hearty eater with a special liking for high calorie treats! During Ganesh Chaturthi, a a variety of his favorite sweets and savories are prepared in homes with much the same love and care as they’d be made for a child’s birthday.

Topping the list of goodies is the modak, a steamed dumpling. Two varieties are made, one a savory ball of rice flour and black gram lentils and the other, stuffed with a coconut-jaggery filling. There’s more to the modak than meets the eye – it’s symbolic of the oneness of the universe.

In popular art, Ganesha is often depicted with a bowl of laddoos (pictured here) placed before him as prasad (there’s an aesthetic unity about this that’s visually pleasing, the golden yellow balls complementing Ganesha’s own rotund form!) Ganesha isn’t overly fussy about what sort of laddoo is offered. He’s extremely fond of the orange-hued motichoor laddoo, made of tiny, deep-fried gram-flour droplets. But he won’t say ‘no’ to rawa (semolina) laddoos or yellow, besan (gram flour) laddoos, either.

Ganesh Rituals - I

While  Hindu puja (prayer) rituals are more or less common to all the gods, several practices have evolved that are unique to Ganesha.

Ganesha can be worshipped even without an idol or picture. A bowl filled with rice, with a betel nut (or sometimes a coconut) placed on top represents him equally well. In many ceremonies, a priest will invoke his presence by creating a small cone of thick turmeric paste! Some devotees like sculpting their own idol out of clay for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Often, a devotee faced with a difficult, problematic or challenging situation in his life will make a vow to Ganesha, offering to break a certain number of coconuts at the temple if Ganesha will resolve his problems. The coconut represents the most evolved part of a human being – his head. Smashing a coconut before the Lord is symbolic of destroying one’s ego and surrendering oneself to His grace. When the ego disappears, the true Self reveals itself, much like the sweet water in the innermost recess of the hard shelled coconut.

Pictured above Terra-Cotta Ganesh Statue from Ganesh Mall.

Ganesh Mantra: Om Kshipra Prasadaya Namah

   

For all his vastness (and dare we say it, ungainly bulk), Ganesha is known to move with surprising dexterity – hence the name, Kshipra, which means “The Swift One”.  Chant this mantra when you are in a tight spot, when you feel overwhelmed, helpless and out of your depth. Regular practice of this mantra will offer you Ganesha’s constant protection and act as a shield against dark, negative forces. In more mundane terms, this mantra endows you with the ability to think on your feet and summon forth reserves of courage you didn’t think you possessed.

Ganesh Mantra: Om Vakratundaya Hum

‘Vakratunda’ refers to Vinayaka’s curving trunk, in this powerful mantra from the Ganesha Purana that specifically deals with ordeals, complex problems or situations that are out of the ordinary. Ganesha’s trunk is an extraordinary weapon with which he sets straight those who go astray. In the legends of the Puranas, the mantra is chanted by devotees suffering under the tyranny of demons. By saying ‘hum’, we seek Ganesha’s immediate intervention in resolving our suffering. The mantra is also chanted 1008 times to heal and rectify health problems connected with the spine and limbs. Such powers of healing however, are attained only by those who attain a high degree of spiritual evolvement.

Which is the best spot to place a Ganesh Statue in a home?

All devout Ganesh followers begin any activity with the invocation of Lord Ganesh. He is the God of Success and the remover of obstacles.
A statue of Lord Ganesh is never placed on the floor or near the ends of beds. The statues are always placed at an elevated level. In fact, the best place for the statue is above the front door of one’s home. This is said to bring good luck and positive energy. Small Ganesh figurines are also enshrined in the altar at the homes. Ritual worship is offered to such statues every day.

Depicted above is the Stone Ganesh Statue from Ganesh Mall

Ganesh Mantra: Om Shri Ganeshaya Namah

Another mantra for all new beginnings, chanted before undertaking meditation, prayer or any fresh enterprise. ‘Ganeshaya’ is a reference to the god’s elephant head. The elephant evokes images of great size and phenomenal strength but also intelligence, wisdom and an inexplicable gentleness. When we meditate upon Ganesha’s form, we attune ourselves to these qualities.  Thus, the mantra is a heartfelt greeting to the elephant-god, a means of drawing upon his great powers to fulfill the task at hand.

Whether you recite, whisper or utter them silently to yourself, mantra japa or repetitive chanting is said to be the simplest way to access God.

Ganesh Mantra: Om Gam Ganapataye Namah

Taken from the sacred text of the Ganapati Upanishad, this mantra is typically chanted at the beginning of all new ventures. Chant it prior to writing an exam; before signing a contract, writing a new book, or starting a business enterprise. Among the simplest of the Ganesha mantras, this chant calls upon Ganesha as ‘gam’, (the seed within which the Universe is contained) to come forth and remove obstacles both seen and unseen. If there’s a way to overcome Murphy’s Law, this is it!

Whether you recite, whisper or utter them silently to yourself, mantra japa or repetitive chanting is said to be the simplest way to access God.

Ganesh Mantras 101

Modern motivational speakers expound the virtues of positive thinking. That’s exactly what a mantra is, a simple, yet potent mind-tool devised by the ancients, which brings untold benefits to its practitioners.  What’s more, it fits with ease into our daily activities. Ganesha is symbolic of everything that’s good and positive; to chant his mantras is to absorb the qualities he represents.
 
Any time is fine to touch base with Ganesha. However, since he is the God of Beginnings, what’s better than to start off the day connecting with him? The calm of morning is an ideal time to speak to Ganesha, sing his praises and seek his presence in all activities of daily living through chanting the mantras dedicated to him.

Ganesha Everywhere
While the true blue devotee (alas, a dwindling tribe) will schedule sufficient time for a full session of 108 chants, there’s the convenient option for most of us laggards of choosing a smaller multiple of 3. Ganesha mantras will help working men and women, and homemakers through a hectic day’s schedule.  Whatever one is engaged in – academics, medicine,trade, scientific  or creative pursuits – dedicating one’s chosen field to Ganesha will help enhance your capabilities and help you through hard times.

How to invoke Him
Whether you recite, whisper or utter them silently to yourself, mantra japa or repetitive chanting is said to be the simplest way to access God. The 15 Ganesha mantras are described as ‘siddhi mantras’ (siddhi in Sanskrit  varyingly means “perfection”, “accomplishment” or attainment of spiritual power.), with each one containing powers attributed to the elephant god. Meditating on these awakens our own untapped potential for accomplishment in varied endeavors. Regular chanting will also enhance one’s ‘psychic body’, energizing the kundalini or subtle energy that lies coiled at the base of the spine. Thus, the worshipper is freed from negative thoughts and emotions; at the same time, his mortal body too is cleansed of toxins.
 
Ganesha being the presiding deity of one’s everyday life, his mantras have to do with material and physical well-being, success in one’s chosen field of work and the removal of hindrances. The Ganesha Gayatri mantras primarily focus on attaining enhanced intellectual powers and spirituality to guide the devotee on the path of dharma.

We will discuss each of the Ganesh Mantras in the following posts.