Series on Ganesha the Great!
This mini ‘one_act_play’ in english, is based on ‘11 chapters of Ganesha Geetā’ and is designed to convey the theoretical philosophical essence of ‘Ganesha Purāṇa’ aid to popularize ‘Global_awareness’ about ‘Lord Ganesha’, compiled by sage Vyāsa in the form of a dialogue between ‘Lord Gajānana’ an incarnation of Lord Ganesha and his father (in this incarnation) King Vareṇya (as his disciple).
बुद्धि_योग (Linking using Intellect)
King Vareṇya: Due to aging, deceases, etc. people often lose capabilities of performing physical activities. How should they get and stay linked with God supreme?
Lord Gajānana: Retirement from or ‘renunciation’ and minimization of, physical activities are also described as formats of ‘Yoga’ or ways of bonding with supreme god. They are all different formats of ‘Sanyāsa Yoga’ (संन्यास_योग). No one can live without activities like breathing even for a few minutes. Therefore, with aging or under difficult circumstances, one should stop or retire from all ‘currently unnecessary, out of date, or useless, unhealthy or harmful’ activities. A number of such possibilities (संन्यास, वैध_संन्यास, कर्म_संन्यास, ज्ञान_कर्म_संन्यास etc.) have been listed by Vedic sages in geetopaniśadic literature. Even in physically fit and active conditions, people may prefer to use their intellectual capabilities to ‘understand’ my real universal nature and then get (and stay) intellectually linked with me.
भ्वानलौ खम् अहंकार: कं चित्तम् धी समीरणौ | रवीन्दू यागकृत् चैकादशधा प्रकृति: मम (६.४)
Every living species possesses –
a) A physical body (भू) which provides the basic support like the Earth.
b) The healthy living body needs to get maintained within a certain temperature range, by the ‘Agni’ devatā or the special divine. Thermal Energy (residing within the body and controlling the body temperature, within a certain range for each living species), throughout its lifespan, e.g., for human species this temperature range is 960 to 98.60 F.
c) Each body possesses a certain ‘volume’ occupying a certain amount of space.
d) Further, each living species possesses a consciousness of self-realization and of self-existence (अहंकार).
e) A certain level of ‘intellect’ (बुद्धि) uniquely permitted for that species by the mother nature,
f) A ‘mind’ (मानस),
g) Five sense organs (पञ्च_ज्ञानेन्द्रिया:) for sensing (e.g., touch, smell, taste, vision, hearing sound etc.) and
h) Five activity organs (पञ्च_कर्मेन्द्रिया:) like hands, legs, mouth, excretory and sex organs, etc. for carrying out numerous desired activities.
The living species also possess several systems e.g., for breathing, blood circulation, food digestion, etc. Finally, each living species possesses the crucial ‘soul’ (जीवात्मा) whose existence or otherwise is the major difference between a living or a dead body. In all, such eleven varieties of ‘information’ type of knowledge is about the ‘प्रकृति’ or common nature of supreme god’s existence, within the form of any desired living species. There have been millions of varieties of living species currently existing on earth, at any given time period, during the last million years or so. Many forms of living species have become extinct by now and all of them are destined to become extinct at certain time (of their own) in future.
क्षितौ सुगन्ध रूपेण तेजो रूपेण चाग्निषु | प्रभा रूपेण पूष्ण्यब्जे रस रूपेण चाप्सु च (६.९)
It is not possible for a common man (possessing an average intelligence) or a child to realize my invisible omnipresence in each object in this universe. However, even such personalities can understand my invisible presence with examples such as a) smell in a solid or liquid, b) light coming out of a flame, Sun or Moon, c) taste in the juices, etc.
यथा यथा मतिम् कृत्वा भजते माम् जनोऽखिल: | तथा तथास्य तम् भावम् पूरयाम्यहमेव च (६.१३-१४)
In this way, each individual possesses his (or her) own special way of perception of realization of my divine existence. Therefore, I myself, representing the Supreme God, become perceptibly recognized by each individual, in their own unique fashion.
उपासना_योग (Link via nearness and respectful interactions)
Theoretically, every human personality is residing within my infinite and shapeless special omnipresence. However, a vast majority of persons imagine and emotionally perceive my presence, inside some shapes of idols, pictures, or statues etc. They therefore offer worship to such idols and enjoy nearness with me, via their nearness to such idols. They build temples and install such idols for offering their worships and prayers. Vedopaniśadic sages have designed several steps and procedures for such worships and prayers, mainly in purānetihāsic literature, for the benefit of such devotees.
ये माम् सम्यग् उपासन्ते परम् ब्रह्म प्रयान्ति ते | ध्यानाद्यै: उपचारै: माम् तथा पञ्चामृतादिभि: (७.६)
Those devotees who learn and properly follow such procedures of worshiping me (via an idol, picture etc. of their own choice), also do get mentally and emotionally lifted to the plane of supreme God. There are three major variations of performances of such worships. In the first, an idol is actually physically worshiped by the devotee. Alternatively, an idol is mentally imagined and virtually worshiped following all steps in one’s own mental space. In the third alternative, the eight steps of ‘Ashṭāngyoga_Rāja_Yoga’ (यम, नियम, आसन, प्राणायाम, प्रत्याहार, धारणा, ध्यान & समाधी) are followed for reaching and enjoying nearness of one’s soul with the universal soul or myself.
पूजयेत् माम् प्रयत्नेन तत्तद् इष्टम् फलम् भवेत् | त्रिविधासु अपि पूजासु श्रेयसी मानसी मता (७.१०)
Every devotee can choose his own method of worshiping me and spend time and efforts to carry it out in a satisfactory fashion. However, among these three alternatives, the third mental performance is considered as the best format. On the other hand, if a person carries out all such steps with a lot of physical efforts, but his mind is being engaged in other activities or events, then such a performance does not get any spiritual credit (पुण्य) added to his divine account.
जपम् निवेद्य देवाय स्तुत्वा स्तोत्रै: अनेकधा | एवम् माम् य: उपासीत स लभेत् मोक्षम् अव्ययम् (७.१७)
If one chooses to worship God via the ‘Ashṭāngyoga_Rāja_Yoga’ type procedures, then he can start to feel my nearness, when he starts recitation of my divine names or divine prayers and phrases (स्तोत्र_मन्त्र_जप). Then he should keep on offering me these recitations forever, in a repeated fashion, throughout his life span. If his mind and soul are fully and devotedly engaged in such performances, then he keeps on getting relieved from all his (/her) worries and troubles (which could have spoiled his intellectual perception, emotional satisfaction and mental balance & happiness).
विश्वरूप_दर्शन_योग (Link via Universal visualization)
King Vareṇya: My Dear son, please show me your huge universally omnipresent form.
विश्वरूपम् इदानीम् मे व्यापकम् चारु दर्शय (८.२)
Lord Gajānana: My Dear father, my universal omnipresence cannot be seen by anybody with his mortal eyes. It has to be intellectually understood and then mentally visualized during every visual perception, in one’s awakened state. When you realize and keep constant mental awareness that this entire universe (including all stars and galaxies etc.) has got born out of a single source, conceivable as an almost infinite amount of divine energy, then you can start to sense and perceive my presence (as a form of energy) in each and every object visible to your eyes. On the surface of this Earth, every living species or vegetation or any non-living object like a stone, is a temporary form of my universal divine energy, which exists in that shape or form for a certain time period of its lifespan, e.g., a small seed of a banyan tree gets germinated in the contact of some absorbed water, and can grow and become a huge tree by collecting gaseous molecules from air and photonic energy from the Sun etc. All these items are my own different temporary forms of energy, and they then get converted or transformed in the grown-up form of that tree. That tree form of the energy may then get uprooted by a cyclonic wind or get burned by the strike of a lightening, and all molecules forming that tree can get further transformed in some other forms of energy (e.g., gaseous molecules, charcoal etc.). In this fashion, please use your divine intellectual conception power (ज्ञान_चक्षु) and see my omnipresence everywhere, in every visible and invisible but perceptible form of presence.
King Vareṇya: My Dear son, I am now implementing your advice and have started seeing your presence everywhere. With some regular practice, and will-power, I shall realize the goal of getting always linked with you, using this viewing your universal omnipresence (विश्वरूप_दर्शन_योग) technique.
Dr. Dhananjay B. Ghare, Former Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Vedic WAVES 