“Lord Ganesha” - A Spiritual representation behind his true form

Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, is worshipped first, before any important event. If we closely read through the tales, many of his anecdotes form an integral part of Hindu Mythology, which also proves that he is a great teacher for the human race. 

To Ganesha, his parents (Lord Shiva & Devi Parvati) were of prime-most importance to anything else in his life. This attribute, if attained truly, has the power to change the minds of many contemptible children and also the fate of many abandoned parents today. Also, in-order to be highly dutiful, especially towards a parent, one can go up to any extent and Ganesha has taught us in his legend that, it is the greatest virtue of all, one can possess. 

Another tale of Ganesha, explains the Power of forgiving. No matter how anger gets the best of us, we should have the power to overcome it by forgiving the other person or rather forgetting the incident. If we hate a person out of anger, then it is we, who are defeated by them, and that doesn’t make us any better.

Commitment towards completing a task meant for the greater good and is dedicated to doing what we ought to do to ourselves and our parents would take us a step closer to success than we already are.

One another story of the Elephant God tells us to stand up for our self-respect and to never let anyone undermine our capabilities.

Interestingly, there is a deep spiritual symbolism behind the form of Lord Ganesha as in the painting above. 

1. His elephant head symbolizes knowledge, the power of understanding, and an astute intellect that one must possess; in simple words, to be brainy.

2. His wide mouth denotes the endless, worldly desires a human wants to enjoy in his life.

3. His large ears explain the importance of listening to others and the person with greater capacity to listen & assimilate ideas are near to perfection

4. His eyes explain the humility one should possess and surrender our self-pride in-order to lead a contented life. Despite how big and powerful we are, the smaller eyes allow perceiving objects bigger than what they really are that we should never underestimate anybody.

5. The Trishul over his forehead denotes the inner peace one can beget with the power of understanding the time (past, present & future) by not worrying about one’s unknown future, known past & present.

6. His trunk symbolizes the strength to hold anything & everything with will power and also the qualities of high adaptability to co-exist in this universe.

7. His two tusks signify wisdom and emotion (the broken tusk), whilst the broken tusk draws the concept that we must surmount emotion with wisdom for a peaceful living. Similarly, the foot dangling over the other foot illustrates that in order to live a successful life one should utilize knowledge and reasoning to overcome emotions.

8. Of the four hands illustrated here, the first with an axe is a symbol of cutting-short of all the endless desires and all the bearers of pain. Second hand with a whip denotes the power that ties together the religiousness of a devotee and the felicity of God. While the third hand signifies how a God abundantly blesses & protects his devotees, it also interprets the love & care a mother can shower eternally to her family. The fourth hand with a lotus flower can be related to the blooming happiness & peace one can attain by realizing one’s inner self.

9. His pot-belly symbolizes the ability one should possess to face wholeheartedly both pleasant & unpleasant experiences during one’s lifetime.

10. Ganesha’s childlike heart, deeply explains how vital it is to express kindness, love, care & compassion to all living beings on earth.

Thus the elephant-headed, human bodied Lord Ganesha, showed that, just the physical appearances cannot determine one’s inner self & abilities to achieve the goal and that nobody can judge you with how we seem to their eyes.

Art and Article by Swasthi

Facts reference: Britannica