The elephant-headed God Ganesha is nicely carved out of wood with some elegant designs. Lord Ganesha is one of the most benevolent deities in Hinduism. Lord Ganesha at every point in time in our life plays a significant role. He is most present in the consecrated temple or roadside shrine, from which His grace radiates out from the world of the Gods. Ganesha is the Lord of beginnings, guiding the practical aspects of our lives that we may best fulfill dharma. For the Hindu, Ganesha is easily contacted, and He is thought of as lenient of our errors and shortcomings, most understanding of our humanness. So vast is Ganesha's Being that He cannot be contained by any single concept, and therefore He is portrayed in many forms. He is each of them, and He is all of them. Ganesha is a word compounded from the Sanskrit word gana, meaning "the hosts," "multitudes" or "troops" of demigods, especially the retinue of Lord Siva under the rule of Ganesha, and Isha, "ruler," "lord" or "sovereign." This is virtually synonymous with the name Ganapati, "master of the hosts." As Ganapati, Lord Ganesha is the leader of the ganas, ruling over the celestial hosts, over the benign as well as the malevolent inner-plane beings. He controls them not as Lord Murugan does, through bravery and forcefulness, but by strategy and intelligence. We follow the path of Lord Ganesha when we resort to discrimination and sagacity to resolve our difficulties, when we proceed past obstacles in a slow, prudent and well-planned manner. Lord Ganesha is not in a hurry. He is cautious. He is patient, willing to await the right time for events to take place. As Vighneshvara, Lord Ganesha is Lord of Obstacles, creating difficulties and obstructions if the time is wrong for us to proceed and removing those same obstacles when our success is assured. As Siddhidata, Lord Ganesha is the Giver of Success associated with bountiful harvests and general abundance in life. The Mudgala Purana, an ancient text on Lord Ganesha, cites eight forms of Ganesha, prevailing over eight human weaknesses or demons. Ekadanta is the Conquerer of Moda, arrogance. Dhumravarna (smoke colored) overcomes Abhimana, pride; Vakratunda (curved trunk) is the Vanquisher of Matsarya, jealousy; Mahodara (big belly) is Lord of Moha, infatuation; Gajanana (elephant face) conquers Lobha, greed; Lambodara (corpulent belly) overcomes Krodha, anger; Vikata (deformed) conquers Kama, lust; Vighnaraja (King of Obstacles) prevails over Mamata (egotism). So now we can see that our Loving Ganesha is "there" for even the lowest of the low, that there is hope for everyone, and that there really is "no intrinsic evil," only a seeming variation of the past containing all that has to be learned to live and grow from a young soul to an older one and then mature into rishi consciousness. He is "there for us." Yes, there is hope for all, and none are damned forever. It is our loving Ganesha who eventually introduces us to His brother, our Loving Murugan, the God Who sits upon the manipura chakra, center of willpower.
