Who is Ganpati ?

While talking to an expat about Ganpati, I had to describe him as a God with elephant head but is it the right description of Ganpati or Ganesh ?? (I am purposely not using the word “Lord” because British use it to describe looters like Lord Clive).

Saint Tukaram in one of his abhang beautifully describes Ganesh as

“ ओमकार स्वरुप गणेशाचे, हे तिन्ही देवांचे जन्मस्थान”.”.

While Saint Dnyaneshwar in his great treatise on Geeta i.e Dnyaneshwari says

देवा तूंचि गणेशु । सकळमति प्रकाशु ॥

म्हणे निवृत्ति दासु । अवधारिजो जी ॥२॥

अकार चरण युगुल । उकार उदर विशाल ॥

मकार महामंडल । मस्तकाकारें ॥३॥

हे तिन्ही एकवटले । तेथें शब्दब्रम्ह कवळलें ॥

ते मियां श्रीगुरुकृपें नमिलें । आदिबीज ॥४॥

Meaning goes as follows: The word Om is composed of three characters i.e अ , उ and म. अ is represented by his feet, उ is represented by his huge stomach while म is represented by his large head. So Ganpati is manifestation of Om. But then the question arises about what is Om ?

Human body is composed of five tatva i.e Prithvi, Aap, Tejas, Vayu and Akash. A Yogi has to transcend all the five elements to achieve Mukti. While moving from Aap to Tejas, a yogi sees Lotus in his meditation and hears sound of Om. Thus Om is the manifestation of Lotus , tail is stem and remaining is flower, hence both are considered sacred in Vedic / Hindu Dharma.

Tejas is also linked to Light i.e knowledge hence Ganpati is God of knowledge and is manifestation of Tejas tatva. A yogi who believes in साकार will get darshan of Ganpati in Tejas tatva, whereas one who does nirakar sadhana will see Omkar. Shiva is manifestation of Aap, which comes before Tejas, hence Ganesh is the son of Shiva.

Now where does elephant comes from ? As an animal, elepant removes all obstacles which comes in it’s path, same way Ganesh removes all ignorance and hence is God of knowledge. We need to undestand our Vedic dharma to counter false propoganda of Zakir Naik/ Wendy Doniger or Missionaries This science is in Vedic dharma which will enlighten the world.

(Borrowed from “Sadhana and Divyanubhuti” by Yogiraj Manohar Harkare)

Who was Adi Shankar ?

A boy was taking bath in the river as per his daily routine. Suddenly a crocodile grabbed his leg and started pulling his prey. Sensing that his end was near he called out for his widowed mother. Seeing the commotion, his mother rushed to the spot. Boy demanded that he be allowed to be initiated into “SANYAS” as it was the end of his life. Seeing no other option, mother granted permission and miraculously crocodile also left the boy alone. The boy in the river was Shankar born in Kaladi, Kerala.

He was a child prodigy, displaying command over Sanskrit at the age of 4. After his upnayan he demanded to be a sanyasi, but his mother refused and he stayed along. But after the above incident he left his hometown and wandered north in search of his GURU. On the banks of Narmada, he met Govindgiri in a cave in deep meditation. Govindgiri is supposed to have said that he was waiting for him. Under his Guru, he developed command over Shastras and also did tapasya to attain self-realisation. Adi Shankaracharya was not a mere philosopher but a man who had experienced “Ultimate Truth” and used his superb intellect to preach among people.

Bharat during those times was in the grip of blind beliefs or superstitions and people had forgotten Dharm. Shankaracharya travelled around the country participating in discussions and defeated many proponents of old way of thought. To ensure a structured way of propagation of Sanatan dharm he established Peeths in four corners i.e Dwarka, Badrinath, Puri and Sringeri. He composed Brahma Sutras, commentary on Geeta and Upanishads, Vivekachudamani and many other texts to simplify and make people understand real Sanatan Dharm.

Realizing that his mission was over, he took Samadhi at the age of 32. Yesterday was Adi Shankaracharya’s jayanti.

PS: Shankaracharya preached a dharm which taught fearlessness, we should inculcate this quality in all out acts especially when our neighbor is getting crazy !!!

First Day of New Year

Today is the first day of Hindu New Year,but yesterday was the day of martyrdom of Sambhaji Maharaj, a worthy son of Shivaji.

Death of Shivaji Maharaj in 1680 fuelled ambitions in Aurangzeb of finishing off his freedom struggle. Person occupying his throne was his 24 year old elder son who had to overcome internal opposition. Sensing an opportunity Aurangzeb landed in Deccan in 1681 with 7 lac infantry and 3 lac cavalry. Asia's largest empire was trying to gobble up a kingdom which spanned in few districts of today'a Maharashtra and 40-50k army.

To encircle Swarajya he allied with Portuguese of Goa, Siddis of Janjira, Adilshahi and Qutubshahi and asked them to attack from all sides. To give a booster the first fort he attacked was Ramshej which was not fortified much and could be easily won.

For the next 8 years under able leadership of Sambhaji Maharaj, Marathas defeated every Mughal general and inflicted heavy losses. A simple fort like Ramshej was fighting for 8 years and did not budge. Aurangzeb wanted to go back to Delhi but his generals feared that they will be slaughtered once he goes back. Aurangzeb in a fit of rage threw his crown and vowed to not wear it till he catches Kafir's son.

In 1689, due to treachery of Sambhaji's brother in law he was captured by Mughals. On the last day of Hindu new year he was butchered by Aurangzeb at the young age of 32. Aurangzeb felt this was the end of freedom struggle, but every drop of his blood served as nectar for the freedom movement.

Dharamveer Sambhaji Maharaj ki Jai !!

Who is Shiva?

It is said that best way to worship Shiva is to become Shiva himself. So the question arises is who is Shiva?

Our body is said to be made of five tatvas (elements) namely Prithvi, Aap, Tejas,Vayu and Akash. Crossing these 5 elements is Moksha. Shiva is the embodiment of Aap tatva. A yogi can only enter Aap tatva once his kundalini energy is freed. A yogi sees snake in his meditation when his kundalini is awakened. Hence Snake is the symbol of kundalini and Shiva has snakes all over his body.

A yogi entering Aap tatva sees white light, hence Shiva’s abode is Kailasa which is white, his carrier bull is white, his wife Parvati is said to be fair. Shiva is also white (karpur gauram karunavataram). A yogi with awakened kundalini gets mastery over different art forms be it music, dance, painting etc. Hence Shiva is the proponent of all art forms. A glimpse of this white is also seen in Islam and Christianity as their maulvis and pastor wear white clothes.

Such is the science behind Vedic Dharma which will enlighten the world once again.

“borrowed from Yogi Manohar’s book: Sadhana & Divyanubhuti”