Significance of Vinayaka Worship

In His most unique loving and patient way, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba explains in this Divine discourse the inner significance of Ganesha Chaturthi [holy day to worshipping Ganesha], underscoring the need to cultivate the universal wisdom and discrimination to always see and do good. 

Man’s life is marked by different stages. In each stage, man falls prey to vices like egoism, jealousy, and falsehood instead of cultivating truth, righteousness, and humility. A life, which should be holy and pure, becomes poisonous. What should be a meaningful and divinized human existence is made worthless and evil.

Boyhood is the first stage in human life. During this stage, man leads an innocent life, not aware of the preyo or shreyo marga (worldly or sacred path). However, as he ages, he takes to the worldly path versus the sublime path. Endowed with the vigor of youth, and in full possession of his mental and other powers, he forgets his basic human qualities, and leads a meaningless worldly life. He fails to discriminate between the good and bad, and the high and low. He even forgets his essential human nature, and is unaware of the Divine. Indeed, he descends to the level of the animal. At the end, he ceases to be human.

Necessity to have satsangam

Plunging into the river of desire, tossed by the waves of delusion, getting immersed in the waters of family life, and submerged by lack of peace and strife, man is swallowed by the whale of discontentment. To turn human life from this mundane existence toward the Divine, it is essential to have satsangam (association with truth). The term sat refers to that which is not subject to change over time. It is the truth that remains the same regardless of time, place, or circumstance. Man should associate himself with this truth. Merging one’s consciousness with this truth, he [man] should experience the bliss of such association. Satsangam means experiencing sat-chit-ananda (truth-awareness-bliss).

Satsangam has three facets as indicated in the Manu Dharma Shastra (original edicts of righteous living)—”Bhadram pashyanthu, Bhadram srun-vanthu, Bhadram kurvanthu” (See only what is good, hear only what is good, and do only what is good). Unfortunately, these qualities are absent in man. He may appear to have devotion, but it is neither sincere nor constant. Spirituality is viewed more as a formal observance than an inner experience.

What really constitutes spirituality? Do bhajans constitute spirituality? Does repeating the words “Sai Ram” or making pilgrimages to holy shrines reflect spirituality? All these are signs of human weakness. True spirituality consists in the elimination of all animal instincts in man and manifesting the Divine light within him.

Today, man practices meditation and performs japa (repetition of the holy name), but along with them, the animal qualities are also allowed to grow. As long as these (animal) qualities remain, the observance of religious practices is worthless. All such spiritual practices amount to practicing deception on the Divine itself. Therefore, true sadhana (spiritual practice) entails getting rid of all of one’s animal qualities such as cruelty, wickedness etc. Two qualities make a man alien to God: asuya and ahamkara (envy and egoism). Envy and egoism are two pests that destroy the tree of life. They deprive man of his essential human nature. These two bad qualities divorce people from the company of the good.

Significance of the festival

The purpose of the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival is to teach a person to avoid the company of bad people, and cultivate the company of the good. What does the term Ganapati signify? “Ga” means buddhi (intellect); “na” means vijnana (wisdom); so, “Ganapati” means one who is the Lord of the intellect and wisdom. He is also the Lord of all ganas (spiritual entities). Ganas also symbolize the senses. Ganapati is thus the Lord of the senses. “Vigatho nayakah ithi vinayakah”—Vinayaka or Ganapati is one who is without a master above him.

All festivals of Bharatiyas (Indians) are full of transcendental significance, and are not related to worldly phenomena. The first thing that is done on a festival day is to hang a festoon of green leaves on the front doors of the house. A festoon of green leaves is a sign of auspiciousness. By having such a festoon, the householder indicates that he seeks auspicious happenings. This custom has also scientific significance. The green leaves hung at the door serve to absorb the carbon dioxide exhaled by people, and they release oxygen that is inhaled by people. Thus scientifically, the green leaves serve a vital purpose.

Inner and outer purity

On a festival day, every person in the house takes an oil bath early in the morning. Personal cleanliness is conducive to good health. Moreover, as the Divine dwells both inside and outside the body, external purity is also important. To achieve inner purity, one has to get rid of all bad qualities, and cultivate good qualities. Wearing new clothes on festival days signifies replacing the mind’s dirty linen with good thoughts. The heart is called vastra, a term used for cloth. Hence, inner purity has to be achieved through purifying the heart. The wearing of new clothes is intended to serve as a prelude to purifying the heart within. Thus, the different practices connected to a festival have an inner significance apart from the external observances.

During the Ganesha festival, prasadam (food offering) is dedicated to the deity in the form of Kudumulu and Undrallu (names of two edibles). What are the kinds of edibles that should be offered to the deity? The preparations should not involve the use of oil or fire. They are cooked using steam. One of the edibles utilizes rice flour, some lentils and til (sesame). This preparation does not require the use of oil or fire. The significance of this offering is: During the month of Bhadrapada (name of the month), farmers bring home the harvest of til [sesame] seeds. Til seeds have medicinal properties for curing lung and eye diseases. When the til seeds and pulses are steamed, the preparation is easily digestible. Two purposes—taste and wholesomeness (pleasure and good health)— are garnered through this offering. Such were the reasons behind the observance of various festivals by our ancients.

It is only when a man is pure can intelligence blossom. And, it is only when intelligence blossoms can siddhi (the spiritual goal) be attained. Vinayaka presides over buddhi and siddhi (the intellect and spiritual realization). Siddhi signifies the realization of wisdom. The scriptures say that siddhi and buddhi are the consorts of Vinayaka, and kshema (well-being) and ananda (bliss) are his two sons. Siddhi and buddhi symbolize Ganapati’s power of attraction.

First correct your own faults

The Ganapati festival is an occasion for people to purify their minds. People generally tend to see in others the faults that they themselves have. Thereby, they try to cover up their own defects by attributing the same defects to others. This is a bad quality. A man can improve only by recognizing his fault, and not by seeing the same faults in others. You must see what is good in others, and look at your own defects. Only such a person can improve. Man does violence to his human nature by ignoring his own defects, and magnifying the faults in others. This trait is widely prevalent among students today. Students should aim at achieving harmony in their thoughts, words, and deeds.

Harmony in the Lord’s family

Men today are overly immersed in selfish pursuits. Animals and birds are less selfish than man. The purpose of festivals like Ganesha Chaturthi is to remind men of their inherent divinity, and awaken in them the sense of oneness of all mankind.

Easwara’s (Lord Shiva’s) family consists of Shiva, Parvati (Shiva’s wife), Ganapati, and Subrahmanya (Shiva’s sons). When you consider the vehicles of the aforementioned four, you find that by nature, they are antagonistic to each other. Shiva’s vehicle is Nandi (the bull). Parvati’s vehicle is the lion. In nature, the bull and the lion are inimical toward each other. On Easwara’s head, there is the Ganga (river). On His forehead, He has fire. There is natural antagonism between water (in the Ganga) and the fire in the Lord’s forehead.

Ganapati has an elephant’s face, and His vehicle is a rat. There is a natural antagonism between Parvati’s lion and Ganapati’s elephant-head. Likewise, there is natural enmity between the serpent around Easwara’s neck and Ganapati’s vehicle that is the rat. There is also enmity between Shiva’s serpent and Subrahmanya’s vehicle, a peacock. In spite of the natural enmity among these disparate vehicles of Easwara’s family, there is absolutely no discord among them. Perfect harmony prevails among the members of the Divine family and their different vehicles. This harmony and unity is an example to the world.

Unity is essential for achieving good things. There should be no unity for evil purposes. Whether a person achieves fame or goes down depends on the kind of people with whom he associates. Thus, students should not associate with fair-weather friends. The only true friend is God. All others are friends only for their own selfish purposes. God is always with you, in you, and around you. He will not give you up in any circumstance. But if your heart is polluted, God will leave you. There is no room for God in a polluted heart.

Significance of elephant-head

Vinayaka has the head of an elephant. What is its significance? No human being has an elephant’s head. It is against the order of nature. How then did Vinayaka acquire an elephant’s head? This has an inner significance. Vinayaka is known for His supreme intelligence. The elephant is also known for its high intelligence. The elephant will not trust anybody except its master. Because Vinayaka is endowed with exceptional intelligence, His elephant face is symbolic of supreme intelligence.

Those of you who are staying in the hostel notice that cars are going up and down the road. On the other side of the hostel resides Sai Gita (Bhagavan’s elephant). Sai Gita takes no notice of the innumerable cars going on the road. But, without any notice, it smells, as it were, the passing of Swami’s car, and immediately comes out with a roar to greet Swami. That act expresses Sai Gita’s devotion to her Lord. The faith of the elephant is as strong as its intelligence. His love for the master is equally strong. It is steadfast love. These qualities of devotion, faith, and intelligence are associated with the elephant. Whoever has these qualities can be regarded as endowed with the head of an elephant.

Students who may be inclined to entertain doubts about the reasons for Ganesha having an elephant-head should understand the inner meaning of this appearance apart from what is seen on the surface.

Sacred ritual reduced to ludicrous practices

Unfortunately, people attach more importance to external forms than to the inner meanings of these festivals. As a result, meaningful festivals are often reduced to superstitious practices. Often sacred rituals are reduced to ludicrous observances. In the olden days, there was a practice of confining the domesticated cat in a basket during the performance of the Sathyanarayana Vrata (a holy day dedicated to the worship of a form of Vishnu) so that the cat would not go after the various edibles kept for the deity. In days of yore, cats were domesticated in houses to control rats that would eat up the grains stored in the house. Even though there are no rats any longer in houses today, and hence there is no need to keep a cat, the practice of confining a cat in a basket is being observed as a part of the religious ceremony. This is how a practice, which was relevant in the past, is observed [now] though it serves no purpose.

Students! You should realize that for every action there is a consequence. The results of each action depend on the nature of the action, just as the nature of the tree depends on the seed that is sown. The consequences of one’s actions are inescapable, and it was for this reason that Emperor Manu (the original king of India) laid down that all should observe dharma (righteous action). The consequences of actions may appear sooner or later, but they are bound to occur. Students like to worship Ganapati. They pray to Ganesha to confer on them intelligence and the capacity to realize their aspirations.

In the name Ganapati, “Ga” stands for guna (virtue) and “na” for vijnana (wisdom). When Ga and na are joined, we have the combination of vijnana (worldly wisdom) and prajnana (spiritual wisdom). Sujnana (supreme knowledge) emerges out of this combination of vijnana and prajnana. Sujnana is the distinguishing mark of a true man. Ajnana is the sign of ignorance. Ganapati is the Lord of worldly knowledge and spiritual wisdom. Therefore, when a devotee prays to Ganesha, he asks for the conferment of vijnana, prajnana, and sujnana.

Education today lacks all these three types of knowledge—vijnana, prajnana, and sujnana. You have only bookish and superficial knowledge. They are of temporary value, perhaps no farther than the examinations! If the value of education is to last all through life, students have to cultivate faith in God. They should realize that when they constantly think of God and perform all actions with divine feelings, they will experience the full blossoming of their human qualities. Dedicate every action to God. You cannot avoid actions. You must transform work into worship. You have to perform work in this spirit. You cannot substitute prayer for work. You have to combine both work and worship.

Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 25