Shri Ganesh: An Ideal Leader, by Ramesh Chitnis
Last month, on September 15th, we celebrated the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Ganesh Utsav. Every Hindu home prepared to give Him a hearty welcome. Beautiful murtis of Shri Gajanana were put on display, privately and publicly, throughout the period of festivity. While we enjoy celebrating the festival, let us take the time to reflect on Shri Ganesh and see what we can learn from him.
Because he has the head of an elephant, Ganesh is often called “The Elephant God” in the Western world. To Hindus, it is not an unnatural form. We do not see anything strange in it, but to the rest of the world it is a strange image: an elephant head on a human body! What is the significance of this form?Hinduism is based on symbolism. Many things are presented symbolically. Shri Ganesh is one of them. Shri Ganesh is also called, Gana Nayak and Gana Pati.
In the ancient times, we used to have many Gana Rajyas—Gandhar, Kosambi, Lichhavi, Magadh, Panchal, Patliputra, Vaishali, etc. On their own they were small Rashtras (nations), in different periods of time. Each Gana Rajya had its own Pramukh or President. The Sanskrit word is Gana Pati, Gananam Patih, iti Gana Patih (like Senapati, Laxmipati, etc.). Even today, one word for our system of governance is “Gana Rajya” and we celebrate India’s Republic Day, January 26, as Gana Tantra Din.”In this light, our Rashtra Pati (president) can aptly be called Gana Pati. Just as how in recent times we have Mother’s day, Father’s day, Teacher’s day, etc., our ancestors used to have a special day to show their gratitude to their Gana Pati and to honor him. Clearly, they attached highest attributes to the Gana Patis. As a representation of their leaders they picked the wisest from amongst the animal kingdom—the elephant!
There are many who do not understand this symbolism and derisively mock Hindus for worshiping this idol, with a human body and elephant head. To them a question may be posed, “If you think we are fools enough to really believe that an elephant head can be attached to a human body, then you will have to admit that, while, only as recently as the twentieth century, the Western world has been successful in transplanting kidneys, hearts, livers, etc., thousands of years ago, our ancestors were successful in transplanting heads on torsos. Are you ready to accept this argument?”
Moreover, as said earlier, it is symbolic. It is human tendency to attribute qualities from the animal kingdom to human societies. The sayings, “Meek as a cow” and “Wily as a fox” are some examples. Don’t the British call one of their kings, “Richard, the lion” for his bravery? Did he literally have mane like a lion or did he roar like a lion? Similarly, the symbol of America is the bald eagle, and of Russia, a bear. Are all Americans eagles and all Russians bears? Even in sports there are teams with the names of animals— Bulls, Bears, Wolves, Cubs, etc.
In all of these cases, the analogy to the animal was not mean to be taken literally, but rather symbolically. In a similar way, our ancestors chose the “gentle giant,” the elephant, from amongst the animals to represent their Gana Patis. All the supreme qualities of an elephant are attributed to the Rashtra Pati/Gana Pati. And he being our benefactor, at every auspicious occasion our respects are offered to Him first, his puja is done first. We owe our prosperity to him! In his praise, we sing, “Sukha karta, dukha Harta!” (One who gives happiness and takes away sorrow.)
The symbolic attributes of Ganesh are as follows:
¨ Huge head suggesting vast wisdom
¨ Broad back suggesting ability to carry the burden of the nation on the back
¨ Pillar-like legs suggesting the steadfast, firm support to the edifice of the nation
¨ Four hands carrying various instruments: one carrying books depicting knowledge and wisdom; another equipped with all sorts of weapons, conventional as well as non-conventional (Shastra/Astra); the third with Modak (Prasad) distributing happiness (Mod means pleasure) and prosperity; and the fourth raised as a way of blessings to the Praja– citizenry
¨ Small eyes symbolizing a critical eye for observing smallest details
¨ Small mouth suggesting very conservative with words
¨ Big ears suggesting listening to everyone
¨ Tusks to bear heavy loads of responsabilities
¨ Trunk that can lift even a minute object as a small needle in a hay stack, suggesting attention to the minutest distress of the society
¨ A Pot belly suggesting swallowing any wrongdoings of the subjects and forgiving them
¨ Controlling a mouse under his toes, which has a habit of nibbling and destroying things, representing anti-social elements- that destroy the fabric of the society So the form of Shri Ganesh really has great symbolic meaning behind it. With all these qualities, Shri Ganesh can be called an ideal Gana Pati, or an ideal leader. We can all try to imbibe these same qualities within ourselves to improve our own leadership and contributions to our society. The form of Shri Ganesh serves as a constant symbolic reminder to emulate his great qualities in our personal lives.Hearty greetings to all of you on the happy occasion of Shri Ganesh Utsav!
The author of this article, Ramesh Chitnis, is a swayamsevak (volunteer) of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh. He is a retired electrical and mechanical enginner. You can contact him at rvchitnis@hotmail.com.
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