Ganesha Chaturthi

Who is Ganesha?

Ganesha, also known as Ganapati or Vinayaka, is one of the most widely revered deities in Hinduism. He is instantly recognisable with his elephant head, large ears and pot-bellied human form. He is called Vighneshwara (remover of obstacles) and Mangala-Karta (bringer of auspiciousness).

Lord Ganesha is revered as the Adi-Deva (Primal Deity) and Prathama-Pujya (प्रथम-पूज्य), the very first God invoked before all others, and the one who must be worshipped first according to the Vedas. Philosophically, he represents the principle that the Divine is both form and formless. His elephant head signifies wisdom and strength, broken tusk signifies sacrifice and imperfection transformed into perfection, while His mount, the mouse, reminds us that humility carries the greatest power.

The birth of Ganesha is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha Chaturthi Tithi of Bhadrapada month (Āvani in solar calendar). It is a huge festival in India and in some parts of the world, where people celebrate by buying the idol of Ganesha on His birthday and do regular pujas, offer sweets from 3 to 10 days at homes or at temples.

He’s the Adhipati (leader) of the devas, also called Gana Adhipati (Ganadhipati or Ganapati), the overlord of all the planets in Vedic astrology.

Ganesha is the Balance

In the Pranav mantra “AUM”, Ganesha represents the letter “U” (pronounced as vu). “U” represents the preservation among Tri-Shakti (creation, preservation and dissolution). That’s why he’s been given the primary importance among all Gods and Goddesses. Worshipping Ganesha gives you the power of preservation as in "lasting longer" through Siddhi and Buddhi. Siddhi is the supernatural powers while Buddhi is the intelligence.

There is a story in the Ganapati purana that Lord Brahma started creating universe without worshipping Ganesha, but he couldn’t create it properly, his creations were going haywire. He then realised from God Vishnu that one has to worship Ganesha before doing any activity. So he went to worship Ganesha, who was in meditation, suddenly he opened his eyes and gulped Brahma. Brahma was shocked as he thought he was under the wrath of Ganesha, but he saw the entire universe already manifested inside Ganesha’s stomach. Ganesha then took him out and advised him to make it accordingly. This story tells us the importance of Ganesha worship. In other words, worshipping Ganesha should be the first act in any activity.

Ganesh resides in the Mooladhara Chakra (Root Chakra) and Ajna Chakra (3rd eye). Since Chakra principle is believed across the world for ages, we see Ganesha idols everywhere from East to West (from Buddhists to Mayans).

Coccyx (tail bone) in the shape Ganesha's head, and represents Muladhara Chakra

Ganesha Chaturthi: an enthusiastic festival

People find energy from God knows where to dance with joy before Ganesha. He brings that spirit out of them I suppose, uniting people beyond societal, cultural, religious and ethnic boundaries. In India and South-East Asia, even those from other faiths join Ganesha celebrations with equal enthusiasm.

Lord Ganesha is the child among the Gods, making worship of Him simple, approachable, and filled with innocence. In fact, it is the easiest way to reach the divine realm of Gods and Goddesses. Just as befriending a child helps you win the hearts of their parents, befriending (worshipping) Ganesha opens the way to all blessings. Puranas affirm that even Tri-murtis (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) worship Ganesha first.

Ganesha is the Moola Tattva (the primordial energy)

Worshipping Ganesha and chanting the mantra “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha” before you pursue your daily routines is super beneficial. Ganesha is an extremely simplistic God. To understand the simplicity, the puranas say that you can worship him by making his idol even from Cow dung and Bermuda grass (Arugampul). Dung is considered as the simplest of all non-living things and grass is considered as the simplest of all living things. But Ganesha can reside even in the simplest of forms. That's why it is still practiced till date in Tamilnadu, India.

Ganesha made in Cow dung

You can also perform the Ganesha Mudra with your hands for six times daily while sitting in a lotus posture for a better metabolism (6th house rules the digestive system).

Ganesha Mudra

Moola nakshatra is also associated with Mooladhara chakra and Chaturthi tithi. Thus, its super beneficial for Moola natives to worship Lord Ganesha as Moola is also a Gandanta nakshatra. Apart from this, nakshatras like Ashwini, Bharani, Magha, Purva & Uttara Phalguni, Purva & Uttara Ashadha and Revati are also strongly associated with Lord Ganesha.

Ganesha numbers and astrological significance

Lord Ganesha is cool, funny and sarcastic (based on the stories). He took numbers 4, 6 and 9 to teach us about the universe. Thus, numbers 4, 6 and 9 are nothing but Ganesha himself.

Number 4: It resembles the first stage of creation 

• the Chaturthi (4th tithi), connected to Moola nakshatra, the black hole

• the Chatur Mukha (Brahma, creator God with four heads),

• the Chatur Veda (rig, yajur, sama and atharva)

• the Chatur Disha (4 main directions),

• the Chatur Yuga (satya, treta, dwapar and kali yuga)

• the Chatur Upayasa (art of diplomacy likely sama, dana, bheda, dhanda)

• the Chatur Guna (sattva, rajas, tamas and sandhi)

• the Chatur Ashrama (4 stages of life namely brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa)

• the 4th house in jyotish shastra (heart, home and the mother's womb)

Number 6: It resembles the next stage of creation (preservation) 

Number 6 denotes everything (materials) that helps running the universe. In other words, it is what is preserving you, keeping you up and running. For instance, you're born on this earthly plane due to your prarabdha karma (PK). Your PK defines your nature. You can understand your PK based on your 6th house of your horoscope (the zodiac sign and its rulership will define it). It'll show your cognitive skills, critical thinking and problem solving abilities (its where you sit and contemplate). These abilities are what separating us from animals.

• Shashti (6th tithi) ruled by Venus (the planet of love, beauty and rejuvenation)

• the 6 senses (to be a human)

• the 6 tastes (sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent)

• the 6 krittika foster mothers of Lord Kartikeya (representation of 6 types of dualities of the universe)

• the 6 Disha (4 main directions denoting this world with upside and downside denoting the upper and lower worlds)

• the 6th chakra, 3rd eye (pineal gland),

• 6th house in jyotish shastra (cognitive skills, critical thinking and problem solving abilities)

Learn more about number six 

Number 9: It resembles the third stage of creation (dissolution/destruction) 

Number 9 denotes dissolution aka transformation. It dissolves and transforms everything to create and preserve once again (the cycle continues).

• 9 represents dharma (natural law)

• 9 is ruled by Mars (the establisher of dharma)

• the 9 Grahas (9 planets to teach us about time and the cycle of life)

• the 9 dwaras (there are a total of 9 openings in the human body that are responsible for our existence)

• the 9 Avatars of Narayana, who reincarnated 9 times to teach us the way of life

• the 9 rasas (Navarasa or the 9 emotions (love, laughter, compassion, anger, courage, terror, disgust, surprise and peace/tranquility)

• the Navaratri (9 nights of Goddess Durga who destroyed the asura to re-establish dharma)

• the 9th house in jyotish shastra represents the Guru who teach you how to live and let go

According to jyotish, the connection between 4, 6 and 9 is that, the 9th house is 4 houses away from 6th house. 6th house represents your ability to pursue materials (wealth) and your daily routines, while 9th house represents dharma and bhagya (fortune). Number 6 is the inversion of number 9 and vice versa. It means your materials and daily lifestyle is what is deciding what type of dharma you follow and what type of fortunes you're aiming for. From 6 you can easily jump to 9 which cannot be done by any other number. They both are the children of the same mother (which is number 4).

The following images show the attachment of 6 and 9 and its significance in the universe. 6 and 9 are also the figures of Ganesha.

Spiral galaxy (most common in the universe)

numbers 6 and 9 (resembling Ganesha's head)

Based on the above image, the number 6 denotes the inward spiral that goes deep and deep inside with multiple circles (denoting the material life aka preservation), while the 9th house is the outward spiral which brings you out of the preservation and transforms you, its where you thrive from and strive your way out of chaos. If you start from Cancer zodiac, the natural 4th zodiac ( its symbol is 69), then Sagittarius becomes the 6th house and Pisces becomes the 9th house. All are infact Jupiter's domain ( Jupiter exalted in Cancer and ruling both Sagittarius and Pisces). Jupiter is the guru, who's teaching us the mysteries of the universe.

Everything you enjoy today, the comfort of watching a web series while sitting on your couch, having a view of the sunset from your beach house, driving a Maserati on Riviera everything comes from here. Its indeed the 6th house that makes you reach your highest potential (and not just in material pursuit).

Wish you all a Very Happy Ganesha Chaturthi