In every Indian household, there is one deity which holds the most prominent place on the pedestal, without paying reverence to whom, no puja, ritual, auspicious work can even begin. It is Lord Ganesh . According to the puaranic legends, Mother Parvati found a young boy, in the absence of Lord Shiva, in the sweat of her body while bathing, and gave him the responsibility of guarding the entrance of her abode, forbidding anyone from entering the place. On returning Lord Shiva was denied entry to the place by this boy, for whom mother's word was foremost.

The story goes on to say how Lord Shiva beheads the boy with his famous trishul, pinaka for this misdemeanor but on insistence of Mother Parvati brings Him back to life for He had committed no crime but only obeyed His mother. Only an elephant head is restored in place of a human head. The story from puranas, through symbolism, allegories and depictions convey a larger message than entertainment, The uninitiated should be careful about commenting in a derogatory manner about these stories.They appear as mere stories to the limited brain functions of the uninitiated and hence he misses the essence...which is actually the purpose of these stories...to not allow all and sundry within the realm of their hidden and mystical forces, for the true seeker the essence can only be got once one does the various sadhnas and practices which are prescribed under a Guru. The initiated are fortunate to experience various aspects of higher energies/spirits we call gods and goddesses and therefore understand their existence and role in creation more than common people.

For common people these stories depict, through forms and symbols, the multitude of divine qualities in forms of gods and goddesses, a common man looks for entertainment in everything... hence they entertain him.

The divine gives us whatever we desire... if it is only entertainment then so be it, if it is the experience of the subtler worlds and hidden forces which run creation then... so be it. It is a known fact that the vedic culture is the oldest known civilisation and has discussed various scientific facts on astronomy, physics, maths etc. Most of the modern day theories have already been detailed in the ancient sanskrit texts which are lying in the oldest and first developed city of the world, that is Benaras. The essence and the power of these texts rest with the Guru.

'Gan' means guardian and 'esh' means supreme or lord. Lord Ganesh is the supreme deity, the guardian of the spiritual world and the first energy to grant access to the higher dimensions, which the allegory depicts. Elephant head symbolises supreme intelligence, the human body with large belly symbolises a reservoir of energy stored in the manipooorak chakra at the navel. Ganesh is the child of Mahadev, the supreme purush, and mother of the creation, Adi Shakti, a combination of all aspects of creation.

In tantric siddhant, the first sadhna given to a sadhak is Ganpati sadhna and Ganpati jaap, which opens the doorway to lokas beyond the bhu-loka, the physical dimension in creation. Ganpati sadhna is powerful and illuminating, it is the easiest of all tantrik sadhnas and on completion grants sidhhis to overcome hurdles and remove all obstacles and evil influences from one's life.

Shwetark Ganpati is white in colour and is said to exist in the root of madar plant, a rare variety of madar which bears white flowers instead of common purple flowers of madar. Shwetark Ganpati brings vitality, vigor, strength when kept in bedroom, intelligence, concentration when kept in study room, spiritual powers when worshipped in puja room, brings luck and prosperity and frees the house from evil influences all the time.

The Maharakta (bloody red, fierce) Ganpati is worshipped by Buddhist tantriks and is depicted with three eyes, in fierce form, with cups of blood in hands, being trampled under the foot of Mahakala as protector of Dharma. Riddhi(prosperity) and Siddhi(spiritual powers) are married to Ganpati, which indicates Ganpati is an energy which bestows spiritual as well as worldly boons, confirming the philosophy given in shastras, that attainment of worldly pleasures is essential for attainment of higher realms- moksha or liberation.

Here is a simple and basic sadhna of Lord Ganesh and I invite the practitioner to enter into this beautiful and amazing world of Tantra…

Ganpati Sadhna

The mantra to invoke the energy of Ganesh is 'gama ganpataye namah'. It is important to receive the mantra from a Guru who is siddha in the mantra and to learn the correct chant before beginning the practice. The sadhak can start the jaap on a Monday. To do the jaap, one needs a rudraksh mala, which is given by the Guru as you are initiated into the practice.

Sit in siddhasana (or any comfortable asana), pay reverence to your Guru and Lord Ganesh, and maintain internal awareness of your Guru, start the jaap, chanting the mantra once on every bead, out loud.
You can start with one, two or as many malas every day, as you are comfortable with, which becomes your basic daily count. You may increase this count gradually, but you cannot reduce it. This basic count has to be done every day without a break as a niyam… missing the jaapon any day brings the entire practice to a zero and you have to start all over again.

The practitioner needs to complete a count of one lakh twenty-five thousand jaaps in the time period stipulated by the Guru. After the completion of this count, a Ganpati Havan is performed of ten per cent of this count, that is, twelve thousand five hundred ahutis. After the havan, you can start tapering the count of daily malas gradually, reducing it to one mala every day. Finally, a tarpan of ten percent of the ahutis is performed, that is, the practitioner offers water to the Sun God, one thousand two hundred fifty times, standing in knee-deep Ganges water, to complete this sadhna.

For further details on the Ganpati Sadhna, you may contact Dhyan Foundation.