Mahaganapathi Meditation

Om SrIm HrIm KlIm glaum gam

ganapataye varavarada sarvajanam me vasamAnaya svAhA
1. First, while repeating Om, mentally imagine the beautiful
elephant face of the Lord.
2. SrIm indicates the divine couple, Lakshmi and Narayana.
Imagine in Mahaganapathys right uppermost arm the discus
of Narayana and in the left uppermost arm the lotus of
Laksmi. They represent Time and the Earth (in its gross
aspect), respectively. This appears to us as the Time-Space
continuum (the sthiti), which prevents an individual from
experiencing the eternal. We can here interpret this as relating
to an individual in the world and his seeking of a Guru to
him experience the unlimited.
3. HrIm indicates the divine couple, Gauri and Sankara.
Imagine in the second-from-the-top right arm the trident of
Sankara, and in the corresponding left arm the noose of
Gauri. They represent the removal of triputi (the three
stages of experience- the seen, the seer and the act of seeing)
and of desires respectively. This is the annihilation (
samhara), which is the removal of the individual ego by the
grace of a compassionate Guru.
4. KlIm indicates the divine couple, Rati and Manmatha.
Imagine in the third-from-top right arm the sugarcane bow
of Manmatha, and in the corresponding left arm the blue lily
of Rati. They represent pure mind and secret spiritual knowledge,
respectively. This may be likened to creation (srusti) of
a new field of experience for the blessed aspirant by the
Guru, in directing him to follow a given path (sadhana) to
attain a constant experience of the eternal.
5. Glaum indicates the divine couple, Bhumi (Earth) and
Varaha (the boar-faced avatar of Vishnu). Imagine in the
fourth-from-top right arm the mace of Varaha, and in the
corresponding left arm the paddy, indicative of Earths fertility.
They represent action and cycle of life (cyclic in the
sense of sowing, reaping, and again sowing), respectively.
Though this may be likened to veiling of the universal experience
(tirodhana), for an aspirant it is more akin to being led
by the Guru to complete detachment, in renouncing all fruits
of his actions.
6. Gam indicates the divine couple, Siddhalaksmi and
Mahganapathy. Imagine in the right-lowermost arm the
pomegranate, representing different universes stacked like
pomegranate seeds; and in the corresponding left arm the
tusk which represents the fruit of all sadhana, Ekam sat, the
One Truth, which is the experience of unqualified, undivided
Brahman as Bliss. This verily is the grace (anugraha) whereby
the seeker dives into a deep state of samadhi upon constant
practice and the grace of the Guru, who merges into him.
7. Ganapataye is the form for invoking the Lord. Imagine
your head resting upon His feet. This implies a continuance

of the above-noted state of Samadhi.

8. varavarada is a prayer to the Lord to bestow upon us the
best boons and blessings. Meditate here upon the ornamental
pot of nectar held by His trunk. Imagine that He is showering
it over you and you are drenched. The best of boons is
the experience of the Unlimited Bliss that leads to immortality;
amruta. This may represent the sahaja state, wherein the
realized one goes about his daily chores but remains aware of
his blissful state always. (The dhyana sloka ends with a prayer
to the Lord who is the creator, sustainer and annihilator of
the world to bestow our cherished boons.)
9. sarvajanam me vasamAnaya means let all people be subjugated
to me. We find the clue for our meditation in the
word people, which indicates the Universe. The embrace of
Siddalakshmi can be interpreted as the creative urge and the
lotus in the other hand as the manifest (gross) Earth (the last
subtle element; the result by default of mixing the other
four previous subtle elements). Hence we meditate on
Siddhalakshmi the Creatrix of the Universe, seated on the
left lap of the Lord with a firm conviction that the world,
the divine couple and the self are One.
10. Finally, svAhA indicates an offering into the fire (here we
are also reminded of the fire sacrifice, ganapathy homam).
Since whatever is offered into the fire becomes one with it,
meditate upon the above truth and try to be in that experience
for a moment.