GANESHA CHATURTHI SPEECH

BY

KOOSRAJ

Yogesh’s place, London: 5.9.2010

First, is Ganesha a hindu god?
Yes, in the hindu sense that god
means: “giver of directions”, g-o-d.
There are so many gods, givers of
directions, both living and dead. E.g.
Sai Baba, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, etc.

Then, we may ask: what directions

Ganesha, the guru, is giving to all of
us?
Ganesha’s image symbolises
meditation, the best of all forms of
spiritual practice. It is an invitation
to meditation.
Meditation, implying a change of
mentality/of head, leads us to self-
fulfilment and supreme happiness
(SVANANDA). Who does not want
these blessings in their lives?
What is the meaning Ganesha?
Gathering-All-Natural-Energies-
Sitting-Herenow-Attentively.
This is the meaning of Ganesha or
meditation.
Whenever you do just that ,
Ganesha is with you and your mind
starts to change miraculously.
Now how to do that gathering of
energies, which is the very
foundation of all true religions?
The murthi or photo of Ganesha
gives us important clues. It says:
Be still and silent like the murthi,
just being here and now.
Let us learn more from Ganesha.
First: eyes of ganesha – teach us: to
observe keenly and attentively. Turn
our gaze inwards towards the inner
space of our own being and just look.
Second: large ears of ganesha -learn
to listen attentively, ears wide open
and mouth shut; just listen relaxingly,
silently to the outer sounds and to our
inner noises, without any form of
reaction.
Third: flexible trunk - be flexible,
not rigid; be curious, be forgiving,
be playful; learn to expand through
smiling, working and serving others.
Fourth: axe - gradually cut off all
links to past sufferings and hurts;
enjoy this moment of being alive, of
breathing, and of experiencing.
Fifth: rope - bind the world lovingly
with the strings of love. Do not hate or
hurt anyone deliberately.
Ganesha has cut off his attacking tusk
and has kept only the defense one. It is
white, meaning: we need to defend
ourselves without using violence. Say
sorry, please; say it's OK, never mind;
& understand that no one is perfect;
forgive, forget, and move ahead.
Sixth: blessing hand - bless everyone in
your meditation; never curse anyone
in life. Help those who are weak,
ignorant, needy. Do not exploit others.

Seventh: sweet modaka - share sweet

words with others, do not utter harsh,
untrue words. Enjoy the sweetness of
being alive, of breathing, of accepting
life as it comes.
Eighth: big belly - learn to breathe
deeply, this will help you to digest
more knowledge and to stay
healthy, physically and mentally.
The big belly stands for Intelligence.
Be aware of your breath moving
from nose to belly and feel the joy
of being alive.
Ninth: riding the rat - only a higher
level of consciousness can control,
manage, & lead our lower (rat)
energies such as anger, greed,
jealousy, lust, false belief, egoism,
hypocrisy, etc.
The higher energy is joyful,
attentive awareness, the elephant
head, developed by meditation.
Tenth: two wives - meditation attracts
two main powers in us: intelligence
(buddhi) and self-fulfilment (siddhi).
Meditate, change your mentality, in
order to develop these two shaktis in
you.
In due time, you will reap: shubham
(auspiciousness or happiness) and
lâbham (success in life).
Jesus is said to have sacrificed himself
to show his devotees how to be free
from their sins.
Ganesha sacrificed his old head to
show us the way to free ourselves
from our lower, negative energies.
Ganesha’s image or murthi is dissolved
in the sea to teach us to move away
from shallow rituals into the deeper
ocean of true spirituality.
May all of us be enlightened by the
directions of Ganesha. Let’s not
just worship the image with words
and sounds, but follow the rules
and direction offered by god
Ganesha, through the murthi.
This alone will lead to the good life
and to everlasting joy.
OM SHANTI.