a question for Hindus: Do you always pray to Ganesha first? Do you say a prayer, or sing a bhajan?

Question

What is the proper thing to do?

Once just at the end of the 1990's, The Times of New Delhi put at the top of the front page of the Sunday paper, just about this time of year, a picure of a little white murthi of Ganesha, saying that He was the greatest God of the 20th Century !!!!!! I am SURE this is so!!!

Whenever I start to pray to him, I suddenly fall silent ...and I start to wonder if he likes laddoo or modaka cakes better ....and wonder why he is so charming, then I wonder if all the stories about why he is Gaja Vadana are 'true' ... I just can't keep my mind still .......what ever do you think is wrong? What in all of Hinduism could save me from this frolicsome attitude?

Namaste
Lakshmi Parimala

Answer 1

There are two instances where Lord Ganesh was blessed by His father Lord Shiva that He would always be prayed and invoked first.

Goddess Parvati created Lord Ganesh from the surface of her skin and told Him to stand guard while she bathed. Soon Lord Shiva approached this young boy and was refused entrance. In rage, Lord Shiva cut off the boy’s head. Once the whole truth came to light, Lord Shiva found the first living creature sleeping with his head facing the north and joined its head to the body of the boy. That animal was the elephant. Lord Shiva then blessed Lord Ganesh that He will always be first venerated by the entire Brahman. Apart from this Lord Ganesha also represents Om or the Pranava. That is why He is invoked before beginning anything auspicious.The second instance has three different versions but they all signify the same.

-All Gods and Goddesses came to Lord Shiva asking Him to suggest someone as their leader.

-Devarshi Narad had brought a fruit and asked Lord Shiva to give it to the son that He most admired.

-There was a dispute between Lord Kartikeyan / Karthikeyan or Lord Skanda and Lord Ganesh as to who was the eldest.

All these above situations created the following incident. Lord Shiva told his sons that whoever circled around the Universe the quickest would be declared victorious.

Lord Skanda’s vahan is the peacock. He flew around the Universe and when He returned to His parents He found that Lord Ganesh had already completed the task.Lord Ganesh circled round his parents because to Him, His parents represent the entire manifested universe. This pleased the proud father and He blessed him saying that He will be prayed first by everyone before any other Gods and Goddesses.

Another version to the reason why the whole of Brahman worships Lord Ganesh first is that He inspite of knowing that He would have to lay down His life defending the palace gates on the order of His mother Parvati, He continued to stand guard.To Him, obeying His mother was His Param Dharama - (One and Only Ultimate Duty). His sacrifice is Pujaniya that is why when He was brought back to life, Lord Vishnu and Brahma made Him the Adhikari of Agraya Puja- this means that in Trilok (Three worlds) whether it was God, Goddess, Gandharava (Celestial singers), Kinnara (Celestial beings) or humans, all have to first call upon Lord Ganesh, seek His blessings and then commence their work. -

Answer 2

I am a Ganesha devotee. I strongly believe in ganapati bappa and I truly pray. Hindu belief is that first prayer to Shree Ganesha and then start your day. Or any good days or auspicious days or pooja starts with Ganesh pooja.

When ever Iam sad or my days are bad, I sincerely believed that Ganapathi bappa really helped me a lot. Core of my heart I do pray everyday. I pray to all the God/Goddess. I do strongly believe that you have to do good deed too. Good deeds are helping people in need and treat everybody equally.

It is a belief that Ganeshjee really like hibuscus(shoeflower) flower. Prayers and flowers offering give me good feeling.

What does Hinduism teach, I really dont know, but good karma and good deed indeed comes back to you. So please do good things in life, help people around and spread peace.

If you need more information about Shree Lord Ganesha, I would recommand you to go to the google and type Shree siddhivinayaka temple which is located in India/Mumbai.

Answer 3

Actually there is a reason why we all Hindus pray to Shree Ganesha first. The reason is that Lord Ganesha was blessed by Shree Krishna during one event --- do u want me to narrate that event???? --- if yes then send me a message n i will reply, cause it is a long story.

Lord Krishna blessed Him n said that whenever any human will pray to Him first and then start his day,prayer,business etc......then that person will always get success n happiness.All his troubles will be removed by Vighna-harta(trouble-remover) i.e. Lord Ganesha.

The prayer which i mostly chant is --

ek dant subh gajvadan, vighna-vinashak naam
Shree Ganesh siddhi-sadan, gan-nayak sukh dhaam
mangal-murati mahaan shree, riddhi-siddhi dataar
sab devan mai aap-ko, pratham(first) pujya(prayar) adhikar(authority)

Answer 4

Yes Hindus always pray to Lord Ganesh when starting anything new. To pray to the lord is very simple, just say a basic mantra or a stotra before starting anything. Just offering him a namaskara is also enough.

whenever u pray to Lord Ganesha, u think of what he likes n about his story and all... that in itself is a kind of 'manan' or contemplation of Ganesha, which in itself is a prayer.

Wondering about the stories of His being elephant headed is valid too... Ganesha being elephant headed is actually symbolic. the story where in an elephant who slept with his head in north direction is beheaded and his head brought to put on the beheaded trunk of Parvati's son tells us that we shouldnt sleep with our heads in the north as it harms the body (our body itself is a magnet with its north being the head and south being the feet, sleeping with head in the north speeds up the process of aligning the bodily magnet with that of the earth's thereby speeding up decomposition of the body and hence is bad for us. this is the same reason why a dead body is kept and buried with its head to the north, to speed up decomposition)

Elephant head is a symbol of many virtues such as large head symbolysing bigger brains and buddhi, large ears symbolising the ability to listen more and to all. smal eyes symbolize the ability to notice the minutest of the details, trunk symbolises the ability to do more work than with out hands alone, and the trunk covering the mouth tells us to do rather than just to speak about it, ek dant or one unbroken tusk symbolises unwavering faith in the one above. so on n so forth there are many explanations....

Contemplating on all these virtues in itself is a prayer to the Lord.

Imagine someone with a human body and an elephants head, dont go well together do they? but in Ganesha they actually do and make Ganesha the most cute and cuddly and lovely God in the entire panthenon of Hindu Gods.

Just love Him n you shall always be happy.

Answer 5

We do Pray to Lord Ganesha first.

But dont worry . Your charecter shows ur utmost devotion to the Lord. If not u might be thinking of something else like movies, cricket and your household.

your devotion is true and great.

Answer 6

Hindus always pray to Ganesa before commencing anything as he is known to enable you to accomplish your task without any let or hinderance .He is threfore known as Vigneswara- the lord of all vignams ,( the hurdles ). He is also known as Gana natha, the lord of all ganams, the evil spritis.so all eveil spirit keep away from where he is .He is Omkaa swaroopa , the shape of the cosmic sound Om. So it is auspicious to have him in mind while doing anything as he is the shape of creation .Some people pray and some people do bhajan according to thier own personal prefernce .People evn use his mark before writng accounts and epistles .

Answer 7

yes ganesha has the boon that he will be the god who will be worshiped by every one before all the gods.When shankarji cut his head in anger and when he came to know that he was his son and all devtas also requested lord shiva to make him alive then the head of elephant was given to ganesha as per suggestiosn to put the head of any body whom u will get first while on search and they found the elephant.And when ganesha was surved all gods gave him the ashirwad that insprite of his new look he will be worshiped first by the human beings,and hence he is pratham poojya dev of indians.

Answer 8

Lord Ganesha is the first God a Hindu comes to know. As the Lord of Categories, His first objective is to bring order into the devotee's life, to settle him into the correct and proper flow of his dharma--the pattern of duties, responsibilities and expectations suited to the maturity of his soul. As the Lord of Obstacles, He deftly wields His noose and mace, dislodging impediments and holding avenues open until the individual is set in a good pattern, one that will fulfill his spiritual needs rather than frustrate them."
Always remember that Ganesha does not move swiftly. He is the elephant God, and His gait is slow and graceful. As the God of the instinctive-intellectual mind, His darshans are carried on the slower currents of mind, and so His response to our prayers is usually not overnight or sudden and electric, but more deliberate and gradual. Yet, our patience is rewarded, for His work is thorough and powerful, of matchless force persisting until our lives and minds adjust and our prayer has become reality."
Lord Ganesha is also known as the Gatekeeper. Access to all the other Gods comes through Him. It is not that He would want to keep anyone from another God, but He prepares you to meet them and makes the meeting an auspicious one. This preparation can mean lifetimes. There is no hurry. It is not a race. Ganesha will faithfully bar access to those who do not merit a divine audience and an ensuing relationship with the other Deities whose darshans are faster. Should a devotee gain unearned access and invoke the powers of other Deities before all preparations were concluded, karma would accelerate beyond the individual's control. Worship of Lord Ganesha, however, may begin at any time." Ganesha is the ubiquitous God. There are more shrines, altars and temples for Lord Ganesha than for any other God. Ganesha bhakti is the most spontaneous worship and the simplest to perform. It requires little ritual. Just the ringing of a small bell at the outset of a project before His picture or the burning of camphor or the offering of a flower is enough to invoke His presence and protection. Throughout India and Sri Lanka, there are small, unadorned shrines to Ganapati under shaded trees, along country roads, at bus terminals, along footpaths and in the city streets. His blessings are indeed everywhere. Helping Ganesha, whose powers of mind outreach the most advanced computers we can conceive, are His ganas, or devonic helpers. These ministering spirits collect the prayers of those in need, ferret out and procure the necessary information and bring it before Lord Ganesha's wisdom."
If you want to get acquainted with the Gods, first get to know Lord Ganesha. Take a picture and look at it. Put a picture of Lord Ganesha in your car or in your kitchen. Get acquainted through sight. Then come to know Him through sound by chanting His names and hymns. This is how you get acquainted with your personal Deity. You will get to know Him just as you know your best friend, but in a more intimate way, for Ganesha is within you and there ahead of you to guide your soul's evolution. As you get acquainted with Him, Ganesha then knows that you're coming up on the spinal climb of the kundalini. He will work with you and work out your karma. Your whole life will begin to smooth out."
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Answer 9

Namaste! Ya,generally hindus worship Ganesh first,so do I.

Answer 10

Presuming you are sincere in your inquiry:

Remember that Ganesh is simply a manifestation of Brahman in its aspect of wisdom. As one requests guidance and help, one should remember to present one's requests to the appropriate manifestation of the universal spirit.

That the Times would print such an article is ridiculous and uninformed. If one understands the teachings of the Vedas they will find that this is so.