A dilemma facing Hindus and scholars of Hinduism is the absence of a single religious text. Christians have their Bible. Muslims have their Koran but Hindus do not have a single text that can be termed the most important text for the religion.
This is not a weakness but an indication of Hinduism’s strength. Hinduism embraces diversity and is never prescriptive. This means that all paths that are true and sincere lead to God. Those who claim that this is not true have a very narrow sense of spirituality. This is why we have literally hundreds of texts and thousands of Rishis and Gurus, each explaining the philosophy of this great religion to different audiences.
If my hometown is any indication of national and international trends, then all is well with Hinduism. There seems to be a resurgence of interest among the youth, almost a desperate grab at an identity - and this is encouraging and heart-warming. Bhajan groups/ service groups and those attending major prayers have a large youth component.
Many of these youngsters are there, seeking a better understanding of their religion. Unfortunately, few of them are getting this.
Temple committees need to become more involved in their communities. There must be volunteers to visit the sick, the lonely, the depressed and the needy. There must be programmes in place to ensure that nobody from the Hindu fold is starving.
This is not to suggest that non-Hindus are unimportant but if we don’t look after the Hindus, we must blame only ourselves if someone else comes to prey on them by offering them free groceries, free food and a very sympathetic ear.
Sometimes, a desperate person only needs a reassuring voice that all will be better soon. As Hindus we need to start providing such voices in our communities and you don’t need to be a member of a religious organisation to do so.
Carry the flame and the flag of Hinduism. Remember the example of the lamp. It burns itself out to provide light and warmth for others. That’s our role on earth - to provide light and warmth to others - and our own well-being will automatically be taken care of.
A large number of Hindus, mainly Tamilians, observe a strict fast during the Tamil month of Purataasi. The Tamil calendar is a lunar calendar (based on the phases and cycles of the moon).
Of the Tamil months, two of them are considered inauspicious (astrologically unsuitable for weddings and new ventures). One is Purataasi (mid-September to mid-October) and the other is Maargazhi (mid-December to mid-January).
The month of Purataasi is said to be under the influence of the planet Saturn (Sani). Generally, the influence of Sani is largely negative with numerous obstacles being placed on the path of progress. Tamilians thus observe the fast to appease Sani and this is the reason that prayers are usually offered on Saturdays. Note that western mythology also believed that Saturday (note the name) is governed by Saturn.
This month of prayer, Purataasi, is also set aside for the worship of Lord Venketesvara, also known as Lord Govinda or Lord Balaji. Lord Venketesvara is a deity that belongs to the Saivites (those who believe in Lord Siva as the Supreme being) as well as to the Vaishnavites (those who believe in Lord Vishnu as the Supreme being).
In recent times it has become common practice to combine the worship of Sani and Lord Venketesvara on a Saturday. Lord Venketesvara is seen as the deity of this age (Kali Yuga) and the symbolic act of fasting is an outward gesture of cleansing the soul through discipline and prayer. Like any other fast, fasting during Purataasi is an act of discipline. Without discipline, spiritual progress is impossible.
Modern science has enabled us to understand a lot about our existence; the way the human body works, the complex universe and the intricacies of the different species on earth. Despite all these advancements, human intelligence is still very limited. Collectively, science too has been unable to explain how a soul is affected spiritually and how such spirituality can be developed.
FINDING YOURSELF
The common phrase of younger people these days is “I want to find myself”. In the process of “finding” themselves, all they do is learn more about the corrupt world around us. Giving in to senses, reflexes and impulses only take us further away from understanding ourselves. The best way to understand yourself is to take a deep look into yourself. The answers you are looking for are within you.
DISCIPLINE
Yoga enables the individual to understand the mind and body better and enables control of the mind - This is a task that is the most challenging in these times. Is it possible to control the mind? Absolutely. Control involves discipline and channeling energy in the correct way.
THE CHAKRAS
When studying Yoga, the student learns that there are 7 “chakras” or centres of control. Think of the chakras as a series of globes where each has a switch. If you turn on the energy and find the switch, the body will be filled with this divine energy. The first centre of control and the first switch is the Muladhara Chakra, situated at the base of the spine in an area called the perineum.
This chakra enables one to to make the transition from the physical world around us to the spiritual world within us. When the “switch” is turned on here, it is easier to then turn on each of the other switches, thus filling the body with Divine Energy called Sakthi (or Shakthi).
POWER OF THE MULADHARA CHAKRA
For most people studying Yoga, mastering control of the Muladhara Chakra is most difficult. Thereafter the path becomes easier. If you stare at the swimming pool, you will never learn how to swim. Get someone to teach you how to swim and you will find swimming better, faster and over longer distances. Such is the power of the Muladhara Chakra. It is your swimming lesson that will open greater opportunities for you.
GANESHA AND THE MULDHARA CHAKRA
“SO WHAT HAS THIS GOT TO DO WITH GANESHA?”, you may ask. In Yoga, the Muladhara Chakra has as its associated deity, Ganesha. The animal symbol for this Chakra is the Elephant. You cannot proceed in spiritual enlightenment unless you enter through this gate (Chakra), controlled by the Elephant (Ganesha).
THE STORY THAT IS ONLY A STORY
This is what the allegory of Ganesha refers to. In the allegory (story), Ganesha was guarding the entrance to where Mother Shakthi was. To attain this Divine Energy (Shakthi), one has to first go through Ganesha (Muladhara Chakra). So, the story has been created to explain this complex spiritual concept.
This also explains why Ganesha is always worshipped first in any Hindu prayer.
INNOCENCE
When we enter the Muladhara Chakra, we are starting off at the beginning of creation (with the sound AUM or OM). We still have our child-like innocence. We are still governed by self-preservation or survival. Pick up a new born baby and you will see the instinctive reaction to hold on to something. Such is our existence in our spiritual journey. We are now beginning our spiritual education - by entering Muladhara Chakra.
THE REMOVER OF OBSTACLES
When we begin to understand ourselves, we would realise then that most of the obstacles we believed were our impediments are, in reality, creations of our minds and attitudes. Negativity begets negativity and, obviously, positivity will beget positivity. When we become spiritually aware of the power of the human mind, we would then be able to remove these obstacles. This is why Ganesha is said to be the remover of obstacles.
THE SQUARE AND CHATHURTHI
The shape associated with the Muladhara Chakra is the square. This is located in the triangular bone. The four-sided square refers to the fourth level of consciousness that one would achieve when mastering this chakra. This is the reason that Chathurthi (Ganesha Prayer) is observed each month, 4 days after the waxing moon.
CONCLUSION
To those who are beginning their spiritual journey, Ganesha may be regarded as an “elephant-headed God of Hinduism”. As one progresses on this journey, the symbolic meaning in the life of every individual becomes clearer and clearer. So enter this world and make your start to the spiritual journey where obstacles are removed and goals become clearer.
He is known by many names: Ganesha, Vinaayagar, Pillaiyaar, Ayngaran and Aanaimugan are just some of the names given to Hinduism’s first deity.
Traditionalists maintain that Ganesha should be worshipped first before any other. No Hindu prayer begins without an invocation to Ganesha. Is this not a contradiction of the statement that Hinduism believes in one God, known by different names? If this were true, why is it necessary to being a prayer with worship of Ganesha.
There is no contradiction, but in order to understand this clearly…you guessed it…It is necessary to examine the origin of Ganesha worship.
The Mayans and Aztecs prayed for an elephant-headed God to help them in times of difficulty (remover of obstacles). The Indus Valley civilizations prayed to an elephant-headed God.
JANUS
The Romans prayed to the 2-headed God called Janus. Current depictions show Janus with human heads; one looking back and one forward. Some ancient depictions of Janus showed two elephant heads; one with the trunk down and the other with the trunk up. Janus was said to be one who could synchronize the past with the future.
Janus is the only God in Roman Mythology that does not have its root in Greek mythology. Does this then mean that the concept was borrowed from the East?
Janus was worshipped as the God of new beginnings and the Lord of new enterprises. In ancient Rome, Janus has a place at all entrances. There were no buildings or structures that did not give its first place to Janus. Compare this to current Indian /Hindu structures that always provide a home to Ganesha, usually at the entrance or on the outside.
What has Janus got to do with Ganesha? Ganesha is also known as Lord of the Ganas or Ganes (Ganesh). The similarity in names is striking.
Janus was so important to the Romans that they even named the first month (January) after him. More about Janus when we look at the origins of Muruga as a Hindu deity.
Why the head of an elephant?
Many modern writers have given numerous symbolic explanations of the elephant head - but what should now be made ASOLUTELY CLEAR is that the story of how Lord Siva chopped off his own son’s head in a rage SHOULD NOT be interpreted literally. That is only an allegory, an illustration by means of a story…More about that in episode 2.
So, if that is the not the reason for the use of the elephant’s head, what is?
According to Hinduism, Creation started witha celestial sound, a hum….what we now call “Om” (also spelt as “aum”). If one looks at the symbols used for the sound “Om” in various Indian scripts, there is a close resemblance to an elephant. In common with most of the letters is the clear indication of a body and trunk. From this symbolic depiction came the link between Ganesha and elephants.
The word “om” thus depicts the beginning of the Universe - and thus came the concept that Ganesha should be worshipped at the beginning of any enterprise.
This concept is also firmly embedded in Hindu Philosophy which talks about the path to God- or self-realization.
Like any other deity in Hinduism or Saivism, the form of Nadaraja is a symbolic representation, not a biological reality. This means that nowhere in the world is there a “God” or being dancing on a demon in a bid to save mankind. Of course, that is what many of us are taught at basic religious education classes held at Temples, school classrooms and other places where religious services are held.
The dance of Nadaraja represents Life in two ways.
NADARAJA AS A HEARTBEAT
Firstly, it represents the heartbeat of man and other living creatures. The beating of the heart keeps the body functioning. If the heartbeat stops, this is usually followed by death. The form of Nadaraja thus represents that which gives us life and sustains it. It is a firm reminder of our mortality ; that life on earth is temporary. Just as the heart pumps life-giving blood and oxygen to all parts of the body, our lives must consist of positive energies that benefit us as well as mankind in general.
It is therefor a “sin” (for want of a better word) for believers in Nadaraja to willingly stop the heartbeat of any creature. Thus, the killing of an animal with a heartbeat is akin to the murder of a human being. Equally “sinful” is being a party to such killing. It is for this reason, among the many health reasons, that human beings are expected to follow a vegetarian diet.
NADARAJA AS AN ELECTRON IN AN ATOM
Secondly, the dance of Nadaraja represents the spinning of the electron around the nucleus of an atom. The structure of an atom consists of a nucleus that has a proton (positive) and a neutron (neutral). The electron (negative) is in constant orbit around the nucleus. Theoretically, if an electron stops its orbit around the nucleus, that atom will cease to exist.
In nature, there are three forces that maintain Nature’s cycles. There has to be creation, preservation and destruction for the cycle to be effective. Creation is a positive action (proton) while preservation is a neutral action (neutron). Life is only sustainable if there is also destruction.
There has to be death in order to maintain the cycle. On a practical level, what would happen to the world if there was no such thing as death??? That would be ten times more frightening than death! It can also be argued that death is a far more critical part of the cycle than creation and preservation. Lord Nadaraja represents that part of the cycle of nature. This is the negative force (electron) that has to exist for nature to maintain its cyclic quality.
The dance of Nadaraja is thus the movement of the electron around the nucleus. Hindu mythology teaches us that if Nadaraja stops his dance, the world will cease to exist. If an electron stops its “dance” around the nucleus, the atom will cease to exist.
THE HOLY TRINITY IN HINDUISM
Later on, names were given to these different aspects of nature. There was a Creator called Brahma (creation) and a Preserver called Vishnu (preservation) with a Destructor called Sivan (destruction). Together these three forces maintain the cycle of nature. Brahma, being the creator (positive) is the proton; Vishnu, being the preserver (neutral) is the neutron and Sivan, being the destroyer (negative) is the electron.
This is the Holy Trinity of Hinduism - a trinity that is present in every atom. In the light of this discussion, of what use are arguments about who is greater: Brahma, Vishnu or Sivan; Of what use are arguments about whether Vaishnavism or Saivism is the greater? Believing in one and excluding the other is like saying: “I am not interested in the atom, I am only interested in one part of the atom.”
BASED IN SCIENCE
It would also be clear by now that Hinduism corresponds 100% with science and is the only world religion that can claim to do so. Very often, the scientific base becomes clouded by folklore, allegories, myths and symbolism but the scientific base is nevertheless still there, waiting to be uncovered.
This blog aims to lead you on these voyages of discovery.
When one reads an explanation of the significance of all the symbolism and imagery in the form of Nadaraja, it is enough to fill an entire chapter of a book, if not more.
“Nada” means to dance and “Raja” means King. The name thus means “King of Dance” or “God of Dance“. A lot of the symbolism has some rich mythology associated with it but those who have read my introduction to this blog would know that mythological references have nothing but entertainment value. There is nothing that the stories teach about the philosophy of religion. At best, the stories are allegories (illustrative examples) of one facet of philosophy.
ORIGIN OF THE FORM OF NADARAJA
To understand why Nadaraja is worshipped, it is necessary to understand when and where the deity originated. There is strong evidence to suggest that Hindu deities (and, by implication, Hinduism) existed in many parts of the earth and not - as some writers would like to believe - only in India.
Amazingly, the first physical evidence of the existence of Saivism (worship of Lord Sivan) dates back to 6000 BC in Turkey. History also shows that in approximately the same period, symbols, rites and myths very similar to modern versions of Saivism were dominant in large parts of Europe, Africa (including South Africa) and Asia.
Sir John Marshall’s excavations at the Mohenjaro Daro site revealed many references to Saivite thought and philosophy and also unearthed inscriptions in old Tamil. Some of these inscriptions - like the Tamil system of writing numbers - were spread to other regions. For this reason, for many decades, mathematicians and historians wrongly assumed that the numerals we now use were Arabic numerals. Evidence to the contrary now exists and even a cursory study of the Tamil numbers will reveal how they were modified to create the numbers we now use.
After the Aryan invasion of India in approximately 1400 BC, many Vedic texts were created in different forms. In the earliest of these texts, mention is made of the Storm God or the God who makes others cry by destroying things. The Vedic text refers to this deity as Rudra. In Vedic texts, he was the destructive being in the holy trinity formed by Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Sivan (Destroyer).
As early as 1000 BC, Vedic scriptures recorded the holiest of Saivism’s mantra’s NA MA SI VA YA. In the Vedic thought, Gods were to be feared and hence the reason to offer sacrifices through fire. At the same time, offerings in the south consisted mainly of offerings of fruit, leaves, vegetable and grains.
The Aryans, who were fast establishing their supremacy by declaring that only their leaders - the Brahmins - were allowed to conduct prayer, combined the aspects of Rudra and Sivan to form one deity in order to convince the Dravidians (the original inhabitants of India) that they (The Dravidians) only knew a part of religion if they only knew Saivism and that they (The Aryans) knew a lot more.
Thus was born the system of Brahmins being given special privileges and honour in society. This soon dveloped into a structured caste system. Since the Aryans automatically declared themselves of a higher caste, the effect of this system was seen only in the south where the Dravidians were pushed into the lower classes.
To this day, it is evident that the Brahmin caste is generally lighter-skinned than others. This highlights the fact that they are not of Dravidian origin.
I have digressed a lot in the last few paragraphs but as this blog is still in its infancy, it is necessary to provide these historical facts which exist in mainstream libraries, but are conveniently ignored by most people because their contents are far too controversial.
The name “SIVAN” probably originated from the Tamil word “Sevvan” (The Red One) - as red always was and still is regarded as the colour associated with Divinity. This does not refer to his physical quality but his spiritual property. His physical quality is quite clear. In the normal form as Lord Sivan, he is shown as a dark-skinned being (the skin is usually coloured blue). The Dravidians first deity was formed in their likeness.
Vedic literature often talks about how Man, who resides in a physical body, finds it difficult to understand how a force can exist outside the human body. Devotees from the Sai family would know that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has said on numerous occasions that people know, understand and worship Him because people prefer to believe in a God with form in a physical body, rather than believe in God who exists beyond the physical world. This is true of most of us. For this reason, deities were necessary to depict different powers, attributes and philosophies in a tangible form. One of these deities is Lord Nadaraja.
More about Lord Nadaraja, his form, symbolism and philosophy in a subsequent post.
The word HINDUISM is being used for want of a better word. It is the ancient wisdom that was practiced by the original inhabitants of India long before the Aryan invasion.
HINDUISM has no founder.
HINDUISM does not have a single text that espouses its philosophy.
HINDUISM is a way of life, not a religion.
When I was a teenager, I had many questions about Hinduism and some of answers I got from “learned” priests greatly disturbed me in its lack of credibility and logic. There seemed to be far too many contradictions and too much of mysticism in Hinduism.
When I first read the comic version of how Ganesha (or Vinayagar, Pillaiyaar, Ayngaran) got his elephant head, I did not know how to react. The story seemed too ludicrous to be true and it was then that the first doubts about Hinduism crept into my head.
Then came discussions about the Holy Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Sivan) and which of those was greater. If the Viashnavites and Saivites (through history) have been for the most part adversaries, why did Rama pray to Sivan before going to Lanka? If the Trinity was one and the same God, how could Brahma and Vishnu have arguments about who was greater?
Why were women not allowed in the inner sanctum of the Temple if Hinduism talks about reverance to women?
How can Muruga have two wives?
Why were priests - usually from the Brahmin caste - regarded as holier than others and why were only they permitted to perform rituals.
How can a religion claim to accept all religions as true and still espouse something different in its doctrine?
Christiantity has its Bible, the Muslims have the Koran but not all Hindus accept the Gita as the supreme text. Why doesn’t Hinduism have one book of religious direction and authority?
How can Temples show such lewd poses in their sculpture?
If the Lingam was not a phallic symbol, why was it shaped in that way?
These were the millions of questions I asked, with no satisfactory response. I have since gone on a spiritual quest, which even included doing a Bible study course by correspondence. There was a time I shunned prayer and simply refused to believe in anything that did not have tangible proof of its existence.
I do not claim to have all the answers now. It might take me a dozen lifetimes to uncover the truth but I do have many practical answers to all the questions posed above.
I do not represent any Hindu organisation. Many might even call for my head after the publishing of this blog. I am an individual who has gone on a long and eventful spiritual journey and I want to now share those experiences with you.
