Ganesh is one of the widely known Hindu deities. This joyously happy and extremely benevolent elephant-faced God is revered and cherished not just by Hindus but also by many people of other spiritual faiths.

All Hindu deities represent cosmic energies that are part of the Divine Universal Energy or the Supreme God-head. 

In this regard, Ganesh represents the energy that is capable of removing obstacles and obstructions. Due to this, he is revered and paid obeisance before starting any auspicious or important work. His blessings are sought before starting travel to ensure safe, smooth journey and successful completion of work.

​According to mythology, Ganesh is the second son of the deities- Shiva and Parvati. Here the concept of ‘son’ is used to indicate the product or an effective outcome. 

Shiva represents the Male Cosmic energy principle of our form-created world and Parvati (who is another representation of Shakti), is the Female Cosmic energy principle.  Both these primal Male and Female cosmic energy principles are responsible for creating our form world.

The energy of this action of creation (kinetic or action energy) is their first son- Karthikeya.  Thus Shiva and Shakti together create this form-world as we know.

​Their second son is Ganesh. Thus his energy is of prime importance in this created (manifested) world and he is considered as a ruling-leader of the masses. It is due to this leadership position that Ganesh is revered before starting any important task. He is considered as the prime energy of importance in our material world for special occasions as well as day to day existence.

This Ganesh energy is called by many names to address his various abilities and qualities- as a Leader of the Masses, he is called Ganaraj or Ganapati) and as a Remover of Obstacles; he is called Vighnaharta .

Ganesh’s two consorts are Buddhi (Intellect) and Siddhi (Accomplishment). Typically his consort Buddhi is also addressed as Riddhi which is Abundance or Affluence.  This is to indicate that the energy of Ganesh is the governing energy behind intelligence, abundance, affluence and accomplishment.

​Joyous benevolent Ganesh is revered by millions worldwide across many cultures and countries. He comes to the aid of anyone who requests through prayers for help and guidance. It could be in the form of daily prayers or to ask for obstructions & obstacles to be cleared before starting a special venture or before starting on a journey for its successful completion. 

As the ruling energy- i.e. the Leader of the Masses- Ganapati is always willing to help and benefit anyone who seeks his guidance.

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Gods And Deities

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A little bit ago, I wrote about how visiting the crystal caves in Slovenia, gave me some deep insights and understanding into life’s creative processes. If you have not read that article, then you can read it here. 

Kali- the fierce Goddess is usually associated with primal female energy. Though the word Kali indicates time, which Ma Kali represents as the very first of the ten wisdom goddesses (Dasha Mahavidyas), what needs to be understood is that Kali also means “that which is carefully measured out”. 

Any work of creation is accomplished by the conglomeration of carefully measured out smaller bits (of work, of efforts, of actions and so on) and this is what Ma Kali represents. 

It can be our inner self or our outer self. If we want to create a successful life, we need to work with and harness the power of this very first, very powerful and the primal female energy of space and time- Ma Kali. She can help us on our soul journey…

As the Festival of Nine Nights- Navratri begins, let us make a firm resolve (Sankalp) and renew our commitment to walking this path of conscious and aware living.

To learn more about Ma Kali:

• Kali Energy (who is Kali?)
• ​Mantras of Kali: How and Why to pray to Ma Kali
• Significance of Ma Kali's Arms
• ​Why is Kali Dancing?
• Kali Bija Mantra

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Also, mull over Ma Kali’s qualities and blessings and see how you can bring her presence, grace and blessings into your life.

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Festival Celebrations  and   Gods And Deities
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#mothergoddessfestival #hindufestival #navaratri #Shakti #WisdomofShakti #Navratri #KaliSadhana #PrayingtoKali #festivalofninenights #Kali #DurgaPuja #Durga  

Happy Hartalika and a wonderful joyous Ganesh Chaturthi everyone!  :-)
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As we walk our path on this spiritual journey, it is even more important to understand the lessons and wisdom of Ganesh. He is supposed to be honored before venturing on any new endeavor and probably the most important endeavor we ever take in our life, is our decision to find the Divine-  to find our  "real self".

​You may want to watch Who is Ganesh? to learn more about this wonderful and kind deity who is always willing to hear our woes and help in removing our sorrows and obstructions! 

Ganesh Symbolism and Meaning is a nice short video explaining the Vedic symbolism in why Ganesh has been attributed the form that he has- which is with an elephant face and a human body.

Categories:
Festival Celebrations,   Gods And Deities

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​#GaneshChaturthi2020  #GaneshChaturthi  #HappyGaneshChaturthi  #GaneshFestival #HinduFestivalsofGanesh #MaitreyiParadigm  #WisdomofGanesh

Uchchhishta Ganapati, which is the tantric form of Lord Ganesh, is typically worshipped by those following vamachara, which is the left-handed tantric traditions. 
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Uchchhishta Ganapati is usually shown darker in complexion. Sometimes he is shown with a reddish hue or having a blue color. One of the key features that is observed in his form- is that Uchchhishta Ganapati is mostly shown with his consort sitting on his lap.

This is where there are some contradictory symbolisms!! There is certain school of thought which indicates that this tantric form of Lord Ganesh, i.e. Uchchhishta Ganapati is one of those rare instances where Shakti is depicted as his consort. 

Note: For those of you who may not be very familiar, Lord Ganesh is considered as the second child of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti.

Irrespective of this viewpoint, Uchchhishta Ganapati is always shown with a naked consort, who is seated on his left lap. The god is generally depicted with four arms and holds a pasha, an ankusha and a laddoo or a modak (a sweet confection), while the fourth arm hugs the nude goddess around her hip. His consort typically holds a lotus or another flower with her left hand while touching the lingam (phallus of Lord Ganapati) with her right hand.  Similarly, the tip of Ganapati’s trunk touches the yoni (vagina) of the goddess.

It needs to be mentioned that as with many of the left-handed tantric rituals, there are not many authoritative scriptural references. And there are also many contradictions in the accepted imagery and iconic symbolism of Uchchhishta Ganapati.
 
You can read about the symbolism that is involved in this erotic imagery:
How Ascension is depicted in the Tantric traditions- The Divine Union (yoga) of the Male & Female Energy Principles

​#Ganesh #Hindu #God #Ganesha #Hindu #Vedic #VedicWisdom #GaneshSymbolism #Vighnaharta #Vinayaka #SiddhiVinayak #tantricformofGanesh #TantricGanesha #TantricGanesh #Uchchhishta #lefthandedtantra #vamachara #tantra #Ganapati #ascension #consciousness

Lord Ganesh is probably the most known and widely loved of all the Hindu deities… and rightly so, as he is the form, who removes any and all obstacles from our path and blesses us with wisdom and success, among other amazing blessings.
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But like all other deities, there is a tantric form of Lord Ganesh. He is called as the Uchchhishta Ganapati. Uchchhishta Ganapati is the primary deity of the Uchchhishta Ganapatya sect, one of six major schools of the Ganapatyas.

This tantric form of Lord Ganesh, i.e. Uchchhishta Ganapati is typically worshipped by those following vamachara, which is the left-handed tantric traditions. Uchchhishta Ganapati is one of the thirty-two forms of Lord Ganesh.

The word- Uchchhishta, refers to the food left over at the end of a ritual. In the tantric connotation, Uchchhishta is the food kept in the mouth and so is now mixed and ‘contaminated' with saliva. Typically, in the traditional viewpoint, such food would be considered impure and so would not be allowed. 

But this is accepted in the left-handed tantric rituals, which utilizes forbidden ways to seek The Divine.
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Uchchhishta Ganapati is usually shown to be of a darker complexion- sometimes with a reddish hue. True to typical tantric color symbolism, Uchchhishta Ganapati is also depicted in blue color.  

You read in detail about the tantric form of Uchchhishta Ganapati:

​Form and representation of Uchchhishta Ganapati- the Tantric form of Lord Ganesh

​#Ganesh #Hindu #God #Ganesha #Hindu #Vedic #VedicWisdom #GaneshSymbolism #Vighnaharta #Vinayaka #SiddhiVinayak #tantricformofGanesh #TantricGanesha #TantricGanesh #Uchchhishta #lefthandedtantra #vamachara #tantra #Ganapati #ascension #consciousness