Gods Series: Sri. Ganesh

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Brahman: Thank you for all this. Jai Ganesha!

Aum Namasivaya

[brahman]

The noose of Ganapati

Ganapati has also a noose in another hand. A noose is a sign of bondage and an obstacle. According to Saivaite belief, to which context Ganapati also belongs, all beings are cows. Siva is the cowherd (pasupati) and all beings are held bound by Him with a noose. He saves the stray cows from going into wilderness by pulling the noose of the destructive forces of deliverance.

The Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad says that when the first being came into manifestations it was like a person, though it was neither male or female. When the person recognised its beingness, it said “I am,” or in the original Sanskrit text, aham, “I am That.” The Upanishad says when a person introduces himself he first says “I am,” and then adds his name. So first we say aham, “I am” and then we say whatever we want to add to it, like “I am Brahman”, “I am Eastern Mind”, “I am Smaranam”, etc.

After creating the existence of something (when certain interest develops from the centre of our being, it enlarges and becomes a whole field of interest. As a function, this aspect of the self is called kala in Tantra.), the mind assumes the role of the seer, with creation as the seen. An interaction is unleashed between the seer and the seen. Then the mind thinks, “I am the knower.” after developing an affection for the known (or the seen), it perceives “I am the enjoyer.” Yet it is all the same mind.

There is an ego centre which measures the situation, evaluates it, and says “I am its knower, i am its enjoyer. I am seeking enjoyment. I know what is pleasurable which is not yet present. i want to actualize it.” Here the same ego assumes one more position, that of an actor.

“I am the seer; I am the actor; I am the enjoyer.” When all three of these come together, we are in a single world of interest. A world of interest remains sometimes for only seconds, sometimes for two minutes, sometimes for the whole day, a few days, months, or even years. its length varies, but we go from one world of interests to another in a continuous series.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad goes on to say when the Original Person recognized that it was all alone, it was filled with fear. It says when you are alone, you are afraid. Then the thought came, “What am I afraid of if I am all alone?” With that the fear left. No one can be afraid if there is not any other thing. One can only be afraid of another.

Then the person thought, “What can I do if I am all alone? I can’t do anything.” With that thought it split into two and became ‘a he’ and ‘a she’. It split like a centre of a pee seed, into two halves.

According to the Brihadaaranyaka, neither man nor woman is a full person; each is a half. For each half, all space is filed with rati, the desire for the other. This means space filled with that which is to be sought and enjoyed. And who is it that experiences this enjoyment? The Eros in each person. Eros becomes the enjoyer, and the rati is what being enjoyed.

In actuality, what we see here is, when the Original Person felt the need to have the company it did not go in search of a mate. Instead, it turned upon itself and divided into two (as we already seen it).

The story goes that when the person divided itself into a male and female, the male desired to mate with the female. The female thought, “How can I allow this? We are brother and sister and now he is after me. I will go and hide.”

Space suddenly became full of her for him, full of his desire for her. She went and became a cow. He changed into a bull and mated with her. She changed into a mare, so he changed into a stallion. This went on through all of creation. In this way whatever beings are here have come from the many tricks of the original mother to escape the original father. All of space is now filled with the many different kinds of beings, and Eros or Rati is toying with them all.

Contrary to these, another instance in Brihadaranyka Upanishad establishes what exactly true love is, when Yanjavalkya decided to divide his wealth between his two wifes, Kaatyayani and Maitreyi, Maitreyi asked him, “With all this wealth, will I become immortal?” to this he answered “No. You can live like a rich person, but you won’t become immortal.” She said, “Then show me that by which I can become immortal.” He gave her this great truth:

“No love is greater than the love for the happiness of the Self”

Scientific validity and Metaphysical correctness are combined in the Upanishad without even a hint of duality.

Mind alone binds the mind. By knowing this we can diligently work out our deliverance.

For the present we shall do no more than to refer again to the Bhagavad Gita (VI. 6) which also posits two selves for resolution into unitive terms, as follows:

'To one who has overcome the self by the Self, the
Self is his kin: for one self-less, however, the very
Self can remain inimical like a (veritable) opponent.'

The verse immediately preceding (VI. 5) also refers to the subtle inner structure of the Self in man:

'One has to support the self with the Self, one should
not let it down. The Self is the kindred of the self,
the very self is the Self's (own) enemy.'

Another name of Ganapati is Vighneswara, the Lord of Obstacles. One who can create an obstacle can also remove it.

=============================================
Vankkam EM: We see these words as your blessings. Love
=============================================

.

[brahman]

Ganapati has a mouse for his vehicle.

The mouse-vaahana of Ganapati marks the extreme pole of size in the animal world in which Elephant tops the list, while the mouse is representative of the smallest life.

Animals live on the ground. They cannot rise by themselves into the air. They move about on a horizontal plane. They represent the here and now of actualities of life.

There is no difference between a cow and a man in the kind of discrimination which is of a lower order (that is, the discrimination refers to the part of the mind which is guided by instinctive urges and mechanical conditioning).

A cow also runs away on seeing a brandished stick, and comes near on seeing a handful of grass. Those who spend all their time to satisfy only their instinctive urges are said to have only an animal existence. The heavy body with its granular secretions and instinctive urges, and reasons guided by passions refers to the animal in us which is the very vehicle in which we move about.

“I am the Human quality in man” (Paurusham nrishu BG 7:8) “I am desire which is not contrary to the righteousness” (asmi kaama dharma aviruddha BG 7: 11)

The divine and the animal are both in us. And our higher reasoning and intuitive perception of the Supreme Spiritual Values belong to the divine. The physical and emotional propensities which tie us down to the world of necessities belong to the animal in us.

A mouse for an elephant to ride on! Isn’t it ridiculous?

Beyond the humorous situation of an elephant riding on a mouse there is something which is akin to the inexpressible wonder in this dialectical (pertaining to Yoga mimaamasa) picture which is referred to in the Katha Upanishad by the mere sound “Ah” and in the Bhagavad Gita as the Wonder with which people speaks of Brahman, the Wonder with which one listens to Brahman.

“A certain person sees This as wonder, likewise another speaks about This as wonder. Another hears of It even as a wonder, but even hearing no one understands This at all.” BG 2:29

Indian thinkers, unlike their Western counterparts, rarely insist on the final conclusion of their philosophical speculation being logically tenable. A willingness to admit that reality is mystery, which defies all attempts at reasoning out or to be expressed, is fundamental to Upanishad Methodology.

Among the animals on dry land the elephant is the biggest and the mouse is one of the smallest. Both Ganapti and mouse keep a ball of rice in their hands. All beings are thus linked together on a physical plane with food (anna).

The first impulse of life is the eating of food. As soon as the child is born it cries for food. It is the same with a newly born calf. Soon after they are born, they suck from the mother’s breast. The greatest wonder of the world is the provision in nature for every living being to get food and drink to suit its requirements.

In the Taittiriya Upanishad food is first equated(see our last post) to Brahman, the Absolute. Because the first joy of life is the joy of nourishment. Life itself is nothing but nourishment. Decay is death. The golden thread of food links all forms of life from the highest to the lowest.

The world is so systematized that all the entities in it, the living as well as the non-living, exist harmoniously, one’s existence ensuring the existence of the other, one’s joys is ensuring the joy of the other. As part of it, each individual human being also is provided with all that is needed for his or her happy existence. In short, first we renounce ourselves and our possessions to their real possessor Isa, and then we enjoy what is right to us part of the total system of the Universe.

Hence Isa Upanishad says:

“Maa gridha kasyavid dhanam”

“Do not desire anyone’s wealth” or “Do not have any desire. Whose is wealth?”

It is in this joy, Ganapati and the mouse get related.

If the universal being of the world could be compared to a city(pura), then the one resides in that city, the inner content of its being is the purusha(person). Purusha is defined as, “the one who reposes in the city (pura).” The same is the purusha that reposes in the little city of the individual being also. Therefore the supplicant says “so ham”, meaning “I Am He.” This is one of those saying quite familiar in the world of Indian spirituality, which is a variant version of the Maha-Vaakya ‘aham brahma asmi’(I am Brahman).

The universal is never seen but in the particular. The ideal never exists but in the actual. Even so the incomprehensible Brahman is to be perceived in the Jiva as the effulgence that animates our very being. (Ayam Atma Brahma)

The allegory of the elephant riding on the mouse refers to all-pervading Almighty God residing in the tiny heart of his devotee.




ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

============= The End =============

=====================================
Your valuable add-ons, comments and criticisms
are very well appreciated in advance. Love
=====================================