The Chant of Ganesh with vedic Mantras

LORD GANESH & MAA PARVATHI

Lord Ganesh

Lord Ganesh (sometimes spelled Ganesha, but usually pronounced "gah-nesh") is also known as Ganapati. Being the son of Parvati and Shiva, he is definitely a Tantric deity. One myth is that Shiva (who is the highest teacher or adiguru of Tantra) wouldn't reveal any of the secrets of Tantra to his beloved wife, Parvati. But she discovered a time when he would be weak enough to reveal the secrets...during sex! So as they made love, she would ask him about the spiritual secrets of Tantra and he would reveal them. Ganesh, hidden in the shadows, would write it all down. This is the metaphoric source of the supposed 108 classic books known as "The Tantras".

In this sense, then, Ganesh has similarities to the gods Mercury or Thoth. He brings writing and knowledge. But he is most often known as the "Breaker of Obstacles". This does not mean that if something blocks your way to success that appealing to Ganesh will result in your thundering through your opposition like some great juggernaut (a word derived from the name of a Hindu deity Jaganath). Rather, Ganesh breaks obstacles by working around them. He may not help you fix a relationship, but He might help you find a new one. He might not get you a raise at work, but you might get a job offer from another company for more money. Ganesh is a warrior, but is not into fighting for fighting's sake. Indeed, that is why he lost his head and it had to be replaced with the head of a elephant. Rather, He helps you find other ways of overcoming obstacles. The real obstacles He breaks are those which prevent you from recognizing alternative solutions.

Ganesh is very popular, even among mainstream Hindus. Most worship rituals, no matter the deity they are focused toward, usually begin with a call to Ganesh. Most shops will have a statue or painting of the fat, elephant-headed, one-tusked deity near the door. He is one kewl dude.


Meaning Of Mantra

All sound has an effect on the things around it. This is known as resonance. One of the most famous examples of this consists of playing certain notes on a violin near a piano, resulting in some of the piano strings beginning to vibrate and make a sound.

Most words and sounds are simply random. But certain ones, mantras, have great power. They can cause surpirsingly powerful changes in your physical body, the environment around you, your non-physical bodies (or koshas) and the spiritual planes that interpenetrate our world.

The most famous mantra is probably om or aum. It is considered so important that there is a special additional Sanskrit letter, the omkara, to indicate the sound. When repeating longer mantras, you will frequently begin and end with the om.

The most popular mantra in India is probably the Gayatri (pronounced "guy-a-tree") mantra. There are many varations of it, but it is little known in the West. Here in the U.S., thanks to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the "Hare Krishna" mantra is better known. In this article, however, I would like to introduce you to a short mantra you can use, the mantra of Ganesh.

The Ganesh Mantra

There are many chants to Ganesh, but a simple and powerful one is this:

Om gam ganapataye namaha!

A very loose translation might be:Om = Salutations! Everyone wake up!
Gam = The secret power sound of Ganesh. It is his "seed syllable" or bija mantra.
Ganapataye = Another name of Ganesh, the breaker of obstacles.
Namaha = Yo! Ganesh! You da God!

The pronunciation is also pretty easy:Om = ohm or aum
Gam = Somewhere between "gahm" and "gum". In some dialects it is "guhng".
Ganapataye = gah-nah-paht-ah-yeh
Namaha - nah-mah-hah

Traditionally, Tantrics would use a mala when chanting a mantra. A mala consists of 108 beads with an extra larger one, the "guru bead", to mark the beginning and end of the necklace. You would hold the mala in one hand moving from bead to bead with each repetition of the mantra. One cycle of the beads is called a "round".

When beginning, take your time. The mantra is meant to be chanted. There is an African saying, "If you can talk, you can sing", so don't be afraid to chant. Simply pick a note and sound the mantra on that note.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!

As you do your first round of 108 repetitions, you should slowly speed up.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!

As you do, chances are your voice will get quieter and quieter. Indeed, Tantrics are known to "mumble" their mantras. Very soon you should be able to go very quickly.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!

Traditionally, you might do 10 rounds or 108 rounds. Or maybe you'll do 10,000 rounds, 108,000 rounds or more! You could also simply do it continuously (whenever you are not consciously doing some activity) and not need to keep count.


Doing Japa

The term japa refers to repeating a mantra. You can begin by using a statue of Ganesh, a drawing of Him, or just your imagination. Treat it well. As Apu of The Simpsons says "Please do not offer my God a peanut." Instead, you can offer Ganesh rounds of His mantra.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!

At one time or another we are all faced with obstacles in life. Perhaps it is passing a test or getting along with someone. Maybe it is a relationship with problems or financial difficulties. Go to the real or imagined image of Ganesh and share your problem. Ask for help. Then offer something in return: rounds of the Ganesh mantra. The more serious difficulties the more rounds you should offer.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!

You don't have to do a million rounds all at the same time. You could do just 10 minutes worth a day. Perhaps you could do 30 minutes a day. Or you could just do it continuously - any time you are not consciously doing something else - for a given period of time.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!
Om gam ganapataye namaha!

And then simply be open to ways of resolving the conflicts and obstacles in your life. remember to complete the number of rounds or time period vowed, even if you overcome the obstacle before you finish the promised number of repetitions.

Namaste!
(That which is of the gods in me recognized and acknowledges that which is of the gods in you.)

Posted By: Donald Michael Kraig
Southern California

About My Old Friend:
Donald Michael Kraig was given the name Shambhalanath when he was initiated into a Tantric tradition over 20 years ago. He has taught Tantra all over the U.S. and contributed a chapter to the book, Ecstasy Through Tantra by Dr. John Mumford. he has also written other books, including his famous Modern Magick, Modern Sex Magick, and Tarot and Magick. He lectures all over the U.S. and in Europe, and has worked in sleight-of-hand magic shops, occult stores, costume shops, as a rock musician, a writer of erotica, a courier, a radio talk show host, and as an editor. He is currently working on obtaining a doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy.

Is Hinduism a Pagan Religion?

Lord : Brahma, Vishnu , Siva

Some American law-makers recently characterized Hinduism as pagan. This raises the question: is Hinduism a pagan religion?

The Abrahamic religious traditions, as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are collectively called, associate paganism with the worship of many gods, and their many idols. The former is condemned as polytheism and the latter as idolatry; and the two are viewed as inextricably intertwined forms of worship, which has been superseded in the aniconic monotheism and which these religions self-consciously uphold and propagate.

Hinduism at first blush appears to conform to paganism. It seems to worship many gods and seems to do so by worshipping different images. It thus comes across as polytheistic and idolatrous and therefore pagan. This perception fuels the missionary zeal of the Abrahamic religions to destroy such paganism.

There is only one problem with this scenario. It is based on a false presumption. It is true that there are many gods in Hinduism and that it abounds in image worship, but while these various gods are considered different gods in paganism as traditionally represented, in Hinduism they represent the various forms of the one and same God. Thus a plurality of gods does not denote polytheism in Hinduism but rather the plurality of the forms in which the same one God might appear. A new word such as polyformism may have to be coined, or an older word polymorphism may have to be invoked, to be set beside polytheism, to provide the corrective. The Hindu situation is characterized not by polytheism but what might be called at best “apparent polytheism,” because the reality underlying all the different gods is the reality of one God. Hence, ironically, the situation could also in a sense be described as one of “apparent monotheism,” in the sense that the one God appears in various forms.

Similarly, the various images of the various gods also reflect the same point. Any of the many forms, in which God might be seen as appearing, can be visually represented in Hinduism, as a way of focusing the mind on God. This should not be taken for some new-fangled apologetic exegetical sleight of hand performed by modern Hinduism. When the 17th century French traveler, Francois Bernier, was shocked by what he saw of Hinduism, this is how the pandits of Banaras explained the situation to him: “We have indeed in our temples a great variety of images. …To all these images we pay great honour; prostrating our bodies, and presenting to them, with much ceremony, flowers, rice, scented oil, saffron, and other similar articles. Yet we do not believe that these statues are themselves Brahma or Vishnu; but merely their images and representations. We show them deference only for the sake of the deity whom they represent, and when we pray it is not to the statue, but to that deity. Images are admitted in our temples because we conceive that prayers are offered up with more devotion when there is something before the eyes that fixes the mind, but in fact we acknowledge that God alone is absolute, that He only is the omnipotent Lord.’”


The explanation may not have convinced Bernier but Hindus apparently have no difficulty with it. Sometimes Abrahamic parents wonder whether this plurality does not end up leaving the Hindus confused, and particularly their children. For the Hindus, however, such plurality does not create any confusion of identity, no more than several pictures of us in our album, taken at different stages of our life and in different forms and dresses, causes us to become confused about our identity.

Thus no matter how paganesque Hinduism might appear, it is not pagan in the sense attributed to the word by Abrahamic religions. As a well-known scholar of Hinduism, who was also a missionary in India for a while, Klaus K. Klostermaier observes: “Many Hindu homes are lavishly decorated with color prints of a great many Hindu gods and goddesses, often joined by the gods and goddesses of other religions and the pictures of contemporary heroes. Thus side by side with Śiva and Viṣṇu and Devī one can see Jesus and Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha and Jīna Mahāvīra, Mahātmā Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and many others. But if questioned about the many gods even the illiterate villager will answer: bhagvān ek hai – the Lord is One. He may not be able to figure out in theological terms how the many gods and the one God hang together and he may not be sure about the hierarchy obtaining among the many manifestations, but he does know that ultimately there is only One and that the many somehow merge into the One.”

This then is the great difference between Hinduism and the Abrahamic religions. Monotheism in Abrahamic religions represents the denial of gods in God, while the monotheism of Hinduism represents the affirmation of gods in God. Failure to recognize this tempts the followers of Abrahamic religions into branding Hinduism as pagan.



Source: Mr Arvind Sharma

Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University, huffingtonpost.com