The principal qualities of the elephant are wisdom and effortlessness.

The principal qualities of the elephant are wisdom and effortlessness. Elephants don’t walk around obstacles, neither do they stop at them , they just remove them and keep walking straight on. So, when we worship Lord Ganesha, these elephant qualities within us, are kindled and we take on those qualities. The reason being that whatever you keep your attention on, you take on those qualities. So if you meditate on Ganesha, who has the head of an elephant, you will get the qualities of an elephant. You will overcome all obstacles.

The ancient rishis were so deeply intelligent that they chose to express Divinity in terms of symbols rather than words, since words change over time, but symbols remain unchanged. Similarly, Ganesha signifies ‘Shubti’ (auspiciousness) and ‘Laabha’ (prosperity). The elephant has an enormous head, which signifies Knowledge and Wisdom, it has large ears that fan, small eyes which convey that it is wiser to follow that which you hear and understand rather than to follow appearances. So what you see must be co-related with what you hear. Also the elephant used its trunk for dual functions – it smells and acts through its trunk. Likewise in wisdom we smell and then act.

Ganesha is always depicted with a big stomach. His big belly represents generosity and total acceptance. The story goes that one day Ganesha drank so much milk that his belly burst, so he grabbed a Cobra and tied it around his stomach. This signifies that the acceptance of people and situations (big belly) without deep awareness is of no great value. Ganesha’s upraised hand (in ‘Abhaya’ mudra, depicting protection) means ‘fear not – I am with you’ and his lowered hand, palm facing outwards (in ‘Varada’ mudra, symbolic of giving boons) means – unending giving as well as an invitation to bow down.

Ganesha also has a single tusk which implies single-pointedness. Ganesha is mostly seen sitting on a lotus. This signifies that he is very sensitive; also Ganesha is always riding on a mouse. The mouse who gradually nibbles through things is like mantra which can cut through sheets and sheets of ignorance and carry even an elephant. ✨🐘📿👁🐍🌀🕉🌷🐚🔔🌙🍚🐀🎨🙏🏻