GANESHA CHATURTHI SPEECHGANESHA CHATURTHI SPEECH

BYBY

KOOSRAJ

Yogesh’s place, London: 5.9.2010

First, is Ganesha a hindu god?

Yes, in the hindu sense that god

means: “giver of directions”, g-o-d.

There are so many gods, givers of

directions, both living and dead. E.g.

Sai Baba, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, etc.

Then, we may ask: what directions

Ganesha, the guru, is giving to all of

us?

Ganesha’s image symbolises

meditation, the best of all forms of

spiritual practice. It is an invitation

to meditation.

Meditation, implying a change of Meditation, implying a change of

mentality/of head, leads us to self-

fulfilment and supreme happiness

(SVANANDA). Who does not want

these blessings in their lives?

What is the meaning Ganesha?

Gathering-All-Natural-Energies-

Sitting-Herenow-Attentively.

This is the meaning of Ganesha or This is the meaning of Ganesha or

meditation.

Whenever you do just that ,

Ganesha is with you and your mind

starts to change miraculously.

Now how to do that gathering of

energies, which is the very

foundation of all true religions?

The murthi or photo of Ganesha

gives us important clues. It says:gives us important clues. It says:

Be still and silent like the murthi,

just being here and now.

Let us learn more from Ganesha.

First: eyes of ganesha – teach us: to

observe keenly and attentively. Turn

our gaze inwards towards the inner

space of our own being and just look.

Second: large ears of ganesha -learn Second: large ears of ganesha -learn

to listen attentively, ears wide open

and mouth shut; just listen relaxingly,

silently to the outer sounds and to our

inner noises, without any form of

reaction.

Third: flexible trunk - be flexible,

not rigid; be curious, be forgiving,

be playful; learn to expand through

smiling, working and serving others.

Fourth: axe - gradually cut off all

links to past sufferings and hurts;

enjoy this moment of being alive, of

breathing, and of experiencing.

Fifth: rope - bind the world lovingly

with the strings of love. Do not hate or

hurt anyone deliberately.

Ganesha has cut off his attacking tusk

and has kept only the defense one. It is

white, meaning: we need to defend white, meaning: we need to defend

ourselves without using violence. Say

sorry, please; say it's OK, never mind;

& understand that no one is perfect;

forgive, forget, and move ahead.

Sixth: blessing hand - bless everyone in

your meditation; never curse anyone

in life. Help those who are weak,

ignorant, needy. Do not exploit others.

Seventh: sweet modaka - share sweet Seventh: sweet modaka - share sweet

words with others, do not utter harsh,

untrue words. Enjoy the sweetness of

being alive, of breathing, of accepting

life as it comes.

Eighth: big belly - learn to breathe

deeply, this will help you to digest

more knowledge and to stay

healthy, physically and mentally.

The big belly stands for Intelligence.The big belly stands for Intelligence.

Be aware of your breath moving

from nose to belly and feel the joy

of being alive.

Ninth: riding the rat - only a higher

level of consciousness can control,

manage, & lead our lower (rat)

energies such as anger, greed,

jealousy, lust, false belief, egoism, jealousy, lust, false belief, egoism,

hypocrisy, etc.

The higher energy is joyful,

attentive awareness, the elephant

head, developed by meditation.

Tenth: two wives - meditation attracts

two main powers in us: intelligence

(buddhi) and self-fulfilment (siddhi).

Meditate, change your mentality, in

order to develop these two shaktis in order to develop these two shaktis in

you.

In due time, you will reap: shubham

(auspiciousness or happiness) and

lâbham (success in life).

Jesus is said to have sacrificed himself

to show his devotees how to be free

from their sins.

Ganesha sacrificed his old head to

show us the way to free ourselves

from our lower, negative energies. from our lower, negative energies.

Ganesha’s image or murthi is dissolved

in the sea to teach us to move away

from shallow rituals into the deeper

ocean of true spirituality.

May all of us be enlightened by the

directions of Ganesha. Let’s not

just worship the image with words

and sounds, but follow the rules

and direction offered by god and direction offered by god

Ganesha, through the murthi.

This alone will lead to the good life

and to everlasting joy.

OM SHANTI.