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The elephant headed, cutely hypnotic and wise Ganapati is the patron of letters and learning. He is the first lord of all. He is worshipped first. He is a lord, friend and idol for the bloggers, storyteller’s (advertising, marketing & business) and people in journalism. He is entrusted by his father, lord Shiva to lead the Gana (his followers).
As told to us, while sage Vyasa narrated the epic Mahabharata, Ganesha promised and scribed it uninterruptedly and without pause. He fulfilled Vyas’s condition and wrote only after having understood fully the complex slokas that Vyasa narrated to buy time. That is first lesson for all of us. Understanding before acting. While writing his pen broke down and Ganesha broke off a tusk to use it as a pen and to continue writing. We need to keep our side of the promise.
Ganesha Visual representation is a lesson in coding. Every element has its own value and significance: The direction of his trunk holds the promise of what he can do for you. Turned towards his left, it shows success in the world. A design we are most familiar with. Truck towards his right it represents moksha. And the trunk at the central position – the Siddhi position.
Ganesha represents balance. Equilibrium between polarities. Force and kindness. Power and beauty. Maturity and child innocence. Yet, he represents the sheer ability to differentiate between truth and illusion, the real and the unreal. Just another set of polarities.
The elephant head indicates fidelity and intelligence. The wide ears denote wisdom, importance of listening to ideate later. Desire and the capability to gain knowledge. Listening to people seeking help.
On forehead he has Trishula, symbolising his mastery over Past-present and future. A thing that we mortal wish to attain and fail again and again.
His one leg is raised and the other rests on ground. It reflects the need to be part of both the material world as well as in the spiritual world.
His ability to destroy every obstacle is represented in his vehicle- the rat. Rat is known for gnawing its way through most things. It symbolises wisdom, talent and intelligence. Leading a life underground (ignorance) and afraid of light (knowledge). It shows the need to remain in constant stage of alertness.
Ganesha is to be resource full. His is mostly shown with 4 arms. They symbolise four inner attributes. Mind (Manas), Intellect (Buddhi), Ego (Ahamkara), and Conditioned Conscience (Chitta). The complete whole (Lord Ganesha) represents pure consciousness – the Atman.
In the most common statue of Ganesha with four hands, you will find an axe representing retrenchment of all desires, bearers of pain and suffering. The next holding a pasam. A triple twine noose. Each twine indicating learning and a danger. Arrogance and conceit, Maya – the illusory nature of the real world, and Ignorance. His third hand is turned towards the devotee in a way to bless, refuge and protect. The fourth hand holds a lotus flower (Padma) a symbol of realised inner self.
Impressions up to 14 arms are known to exist. Each hand is known to hold a unique item. In fact there are some 57 different items that are attributed to lord Ganesha and the idol could be depicted holding any of them. A 9480240 unique combinations for a four handed Ganesha and 6.86052E+23 ways if you would ant to consider a fourteen handed Ganesha.
It is for no reason that people only start a business or new venture or trip post invoking
his blessings. He is the vignaharta. One who takes care of all problems.
Vakra-Tunndda Maha-Kaaya Surya-Kotti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryeshu Sarvadaa
“O one with a majestic trunk, a massive form and the radiance of a million suns, I pray to you to remove the obstacles from all my endeavours, always.”
And that is where the brand scores. It’s association and emotional payoffs are so well simplified. The Obstacle Remover, the first God, The Elephant faced and the some of Shiva and Parvati.
