Many of us are familiar with the popular Hindu deity known as Gaṇeśa, Gaṇapati, Vighneśvara, and many other names. This last listed indicates his popularity as the remover of obstacles, as vigna means obstacle. I learned this initially one day long ago in India when I saw a bunch of kids mobbing a Gaṇeśa shrine at which I’d seen little prior activity. I asked what was going on and someone said “Oh, it is exam time and the children are asking for Gaṇeśa’s blessings.”
There are many stories around Gaṇeśa, and like so many teachings there are more internal and external ways to consider and apply the them. Gaṇeśa is more externally summoned as one who removes obstacles, and aids in transitions and beginnings. For example, he often stands at the threshold of temples and homes, and is invoked at the beginning of dance and music performances.
But internally you can think of Gaṇeśa as that quality of consciousness that allows you to negotiate all the obstacles, beginnings, and transitions in your life. Life is always about transitions, and obstacles are common, so we need the wherewithal to address them gracefully. Gaṇeśa represents that quality of consciousness we can call upon for support in doing so.
Yoga is a lot of different things to different people. I teach and practice yoga intended for householders, not renunciates. It is for those of us who live in the world fully, rather than being sequestered in a monastery or ashram. And Gaṇeśa is particularly important for householders, because quite frankly we are much more likely to encounter challenges and transitions out in the world than if sequestered.
To access our inner Gaṇeśa, we have to connect to our very own Self, our essence, however you name it. Our practices of yoga, especially meditation, are the means to move our awareness inward to our deepest heart, where the seeds of all our capacities reside. As we nurture our ground of being through practice, we create the conditions internally from which all the aspects of Consciousness sprout, including Vighneśvara, the Lord of Obstacles.
He is the Lord OF Obstacles, not just the remover, because there are often aspects of our selves and of our lives that we just have to deal with, move through rather than avoid. So in many senses we need to experience these obstacles, and do what we need to remove them, in order to move forward in our lives and practice.
Gaṇeśa is part of you, this capacity to meet every challenge is already within you. We need only to connect and unleash it to gain access. Creating that connection is what yoga and meditation is all about.
REFLECT AND EXPLORE
How do you approach challenging situations in your life?
Do you wish challenges would just go away? Can you think of occasions when a challenge seemed necessary for your growth?
What obstacles, challenges, thresholds, beginnings, or transitions are you currently facing?
How do you most gracefully negotiate obstacles in your life, both internally and externally?
Practice: Repeat or chant aloud Oṃ gaṃ gaṇapataye namaḥ. (Various versions of this chant can be found on the internet, which will help with the pronunciation.)
