Authors: John A. Grimes
ISBN-13: 9780791424407, ISBN-10: 0791424405
Format: Paperback
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Date Published: July 1995
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Ganapati is the Hindu Lord of Beginnings, the Keeper of the Threshold, the Remover of Obstacles, Master of the Mind, Son of Siva, Elephant-headed, plump, and lovable. This book offers a wide range of information about Ganapati gathered from such diverse sources as hymns, poems, myths, shrines, practices, and theologies. It considers Ganapati's complexity: his transcendence of sectarian and territorial limits, his delayed but dramatic development into the religious pantheon, his paradoxical mythology, and his physical manifestation, an elephant's head on a human body. Ganapati: Song of the Self fosters an understanding from within a tradition. It presents a positive interpretation of the material and encourages an inner quest for spiritual truth.
Preface | ||
Acknowledgments | ||
Scheme of Transliteration | ||
1 | Introduction | 1 |
From the Formless to Form | 1 | |
Mythmaker, Oathbreaker | 5 | |
2 | In the Beginning | 13 |
Sri Girijatmaja of Lenyadri | 13 | |
Origins | 14 | |
The Search Begins | 17 | |
Sri Ganapati Atharvasirsa | 21 | |
Peace Invocation | 22 | |
The Eight-Syllabled Ganesa Mantra | 25 | |
The Ganesa Gayatri | 27 | |
Ganesa's Form | 30 | |
The Eight Names of Ganesa | 30 | |
The Results | 31 | |
Peace Chant | 32 | |
Translation of the Sri Ganapati Atharvasirsa | 33 | |
3 | Naming is a Very Serious Business | 37 |
Sri Mayuresvara of Morgaon | 37 | |
The Name Game | 38 | |
Names, Legends, Literature | 51 | |
108 Holy Names of Lord Ganesa | 55 | |
4 | Fingers Pointing at the Moon | 63 |
Sri Siddhi Vinayaka of Siddhatek | 63 | |
Map is Not Territory | 64 | |
Gajamukha (Elephant-Face) | 68 | |
Ekadanta (Single Tusk) | 75 | |
Vakratunda (Twisted Trunk) | 77 | |
Lambodara (Potbellied One) | 83 | |
Pasa (Noose) | 84 | |
Arikusa (Goad) | 85 | |
Surpakarna (Large Ears) | 85 | |
Musaka (Mouse) | 85 | |
Modaka (Sweet) | 91 | |
Sindura Rakta varna (Crimson/Red Color) | 92 | |
Svastika | 93 | |
Other Attributes | 94 | |
Introduction to Jnanesvar's Jnanesvari | 97 | |
What is Ganesa? One Possible Answer | 97 | |
5 | Songs That Ring, Songs That Roar | 99 |
Sri Mahaganapati of Ranjangaon | 99 | |
Four Yuga Avataras of Ganesa | 100 | |
Asta Vinayaka Avatara | 105 | |
Asta Vinayaka Temples | 110 | |
Sri Mayuresvara of Morgaon | 112 | |
Sri Girijatmaja of Lenyadri | 115 | |
Sri Vighnesvara of Ojhar | 116 | |
Sri Siddhi Vinayaka of Siddhatek | 117 | |
Sri Cintamani of Theur | 118 | |
Sri Ballalesvara of Pali | 119 | |
Sri Varada Vinayaka of Mahad | 122 | |
Sri Mahaganapati of Ranjangaon | 124 | |
The One Clad in White; or, What You See Is What You Get | 124 | |
This Song Is for You | 129 | |
Jyestaraja - Elder Brother (Variations on a Theme) | 130 | |
"Sri Mahaganesa Panca Ratnam" | 133 | |
6 | Who Am I? | 137 |
Sri Cintamani of Theur | 137 | |
Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art) | 139 | |
Mahavakya (Great Saying) | 140 | |
Interpretation of Mahavakya | 145 | |
7 | Worship of Ganapati (Puja) | 157 |
Sri Vighnesvara of Ojhar | 157 | |
How to Worship Ganapati | 157 | |
Minimum Requirements | 165 | |
Puja | 166 | |
Sodasopacara Puja | 167 | |
8 | Lovers of the Beloved | 173 |
Sri Ballalesvara of Pali | 173 | |
Avvaiyar | 175 | |
9 | Who Is Ganapati/Ganesa? | 189 |
Sri Varada Vinayaka of Mahad | 189 | |
Ganapati | 190 | |
Notes | 197 | |
Selected Bibliography | 219 | |
Index | 225 |