Vighna Nivaraka Chaturthi....Ganesh Festival

All our festivals have great significance each, in its own dimension and
parameter, only for the well being of the society. They constantly remind us the
glory of our great culture and inspire us to live in Peace and Harmony with the
Nature and also with the Natural Forces. On the 4th day (chathurtthi) of the
waxing moon in the month of Bhadrapadam (usually during september) Ganesa Puja
is performed in almost all the parts of Bharath. People join together and
celebrate this auspicious occasion with family members, relatives and friends.
People worship Him for success in their endeavour and for removing all the
obstacles. Basically, every day has a unique importance according to Vedic
Scriptures; as most of the westerners observe fathers day on a particular date,
mother's day on another date so on. When a seeker needs success in his efforts and
wants to get rid of the obstacles the fourth day of the Bhadrapada month paves the
way says the scriptures. So God Supreme is worshipped on that day, to have the
ability to solve the problems and get enriched in strength. That is why this day
is called Vighna Nivarana Chathurtthi. As many people worship Ganapathi on that
day, they started naming it Ganesh Chathurtthi.
Battallions are called Gana:s. Ruler of these Gana:s is called Ganesa or
Ganapathi. Gajanana means the one who has elephant face.
People worship God in different forms like that of Vishnu, Siva etc. Worshippers
of Lord Vishnu worship Sri Vishwakse:na who is the Ganesa or Gana Nayaka (or
Ganapathi ), the commander-in-chief of Lord Vishnu's battallions called Kumuda
Ganas. Gananayaka is one of the names of Vishwaksena. The name Vishnu in the
famous sloka below, is also one of the names of Vishwaksena only.

suklambaradharam vishnum sasi varnam chathurbhujam
prasanna vadanam dhyayeth sarva vighnopasanthaye: ||
It is said in our scriptures that, under the command of Vishwaksena there are
hundreds of elephant headed commanders having two tusks. The sloka
yasya dwirada vakthradyah parishadyah parassatham
vighnam nighnanthi sathatham vishwaksenam tham asraye: ||
reveals this fact. These Gajanana:s keep themselves always alert in removing the
obstacles.

Who ever worship the form of Lord Siva, they approach Him through Lord Siva's
machinery. Vina:yaka is the one who interceded with Lord Siva's devotees. So on
this day, devotees of Lord Siva worship his son Vina:yaka (one with elephant face
and one tusk) who is Ganesa (or Ganesh or Ganapathi), the leader of Lord Siva's
(Pramadha) Ganas.

Some people might argue that on this day it is only Vinayaka, the son of
Parvathi has to be worshipped and he is the only one who is the remover of all
the obstacles for every one. It is obvious from the above sloka:s that this
notion has to be corrected.
After doing Ganapathi Puja in the form of Vinayaka or Vishwaksena, the common
practice that every body does is listening to the story of Lord Krishna in
relation to Syamanthaka Mani ( a big unique jewel) which is mentioned in the 55th
chapter of 10th canto in Srimad Bhagavatham.
Thus, it is clear about whom to worship and celebrate this festival.
People say that one should not see Moon on this day and if they happen to see him
without doing Vinayaka Puja, even by accident, then, they have to face many
false allegations/accusations. Some people didn't know or didn't understand why
this Krishna's story has to be remembered here. So, they started relating that
Krishna accidentally saw Moon in his milk on this day and hence he has to face the
false allegation / accusation that he stole the Syamanthaka Mani. But, there is NO
evidence or any mention of such an event relation in any Purana:s or in our
original scriptures. This story has nothing to do with Ganesh Puja. Ganesh Puja is
celebrated to pray for the removal of obstacles to one's endeavour. Then, WHY
remembering this story is recommended as a tradition on this day, is the
question ?
The blame or accusation may be of any magnitude and may it be on any person, if it
is a false accusation then the person should not give up or weep for that and
succumb to the allegation or lose heart in noble pursuit. One should then pool up
the courage and remain with bold heart, go ahead with the solutions, which
ultimately lead that person to success. "sathyameva jayathe:" - Ultimately only
Truth Wins. This is what Lord Krishna's story of Syamanthaka Mani reveals us. To
emphasize this fact and make people face the obstacles boldly whence, the remover
of obstacles does the job, this story is to be remembered on this occasion of
praying the remover of obstacles.
This story also reveals that, obstacles may arise even to great persons, how
anyone with a bold heart and strong will can face the problems and solve them. At
the end it says no one need to run away from the problems. All that we need to do
is to pursue with perseverence, be hooked to God in the heart and go ahead with
the solutions resolving the problems.
When we worship a form, we ought to respect all its rules and subjects. Though
there are so many forms of God, You worship one that you were blessed with,
respecting all the rules and its subjects. Thus, worship Him the Supreme, through
that form with pure devotion.
Do you know, according to our scriptures there are so many Gajanana:s. Let us
know the three popular forms of Gajanana:s.

1) Vinayaka, Son of Parvathi, the consort of Lord Siva is a Gajanana(elephant
faced one). He was created by Parvathi with the bathing paste. That Vinayaka was
later appointed as the commander of all the battallions of Lord Siva. He is having
only one tusk, holding the second one in the hand. So he is also called " Eka
dantha ".
2) There are so many elephant headed and horse headed commanders under the command
of Vishwaksena who is the supreme controller of Paramapadam, the divine abode of
Lord Vishnu. They all have Urdhwa Pundram(vertical mark). All these elephant
headed commanders, it is said are having two tusks. There are several hundreds of
such Gajanana:s always alert in removing the hurdles.
3) According to Mandukyopanishad, the worship of Lakshmi: Ganapathi is
recommended daily, where this Gajanana is none else than Lord Vishnu Himself. In
this form there will be 19 faces of which the main face is that of an elephant.
Many details were given in the Upanishad. We human beings be in any one of the
three stages viz., awakened, dreaming and deep sleep. A particular form of Lord
Vishnu controls each stage. Realised souls worship that particular form for Siddhi
during those stages. For the awakened state it is said that Lord Vishnu has to be
worshipped in the form of Gajanana ie., with elephant head, along with goddess
Lakshmi and that form is Lakshmi Ganapathi as recommended by the Upanishad. In
this form, Lord Vishnu will have Urdhwa Pundram (vertical mark on his head)
Sankham (divine conch), Chakram (divine discus) and other ornaments decorated in
his hands.
On this Bhadrapad Sukla Chathurtthi day people worship Gajanana with fresh
lotuses, honeyed fragrant flowers, greeny shoots and leafy stems of various
medicinal plants and trees brought from pure forest shrubs. They use Maize
candles, sugarcane, banyans, unhybrid & natural sweet juicy fruits etc., to
worship God.
The function in a nut shell enlightens us that we shouldn't disrespect or ill
treat animals, plants and trees. We should also worship them with an attitude
realising that they are also different forms put in His service.

We offer our Mangalasasanams to you all on this auspicious occasion for
worshipping Gajanana with heartful devotion and thus always be in His wonderful
service without obstacles of any sort..
Speaking on the significance of Viswaksena's worship on BhAdrapada sukla Ekadasi, HH Sri Tridandi Jeear Swamy discussed the importand of the Commander in Chief of Periya Perumal in our sampradAyam, and how he is one of four dEvathas
who have the power of removing obstacles. While popular Hinduism sees these obstacles as those obstructing good education and material success,
Sri Jeear Swamy pointed out that for a SriVaishnava the obstacles that must be dispelled are those that stand in the way of doing nityakainkaryam to SrimanNarayana.

The most popular and well known of the Ganapatis is Vinayaka, recognized by his gaja mukham (elephant head), which is adorned with Vibhuti(sacred ash), and Ekadantham (one tusk).This is the popular god of Hinduism that was brought to life in a clay doll by Parvathi, and then was beheaded and restored to life as the
lovable elephant headed Deity by Siva. This Ganesha is the Deity that is worshipped by Saivas on the Vinayaka Chaturthi Day. The Remover of Obstacles worshipped by
SriVaishnavas is Viswaksenar (sEnai mudiliyAr),the Commander in Chief of Perumal's Military Forces who is also recognized as an AchAryan in our paramparai. He is the one whom we should directly beseech to remove all obstacles that stand in the way of our kainkaryam to the Lord.It is said that while the Lord is enjoying the
company of ThayAr in the lovely gardens surrounding paramapadam, Sri Viswaksenar is
guarding the Divine Couple and is also taking care of all of the matters of state for them, in a mood akin to Lakshmana. Sri Viswaksenar's nature is such that He survives solely on the sEsham of emperumAn Alone. His form is similar to the Lord's, but he has been seen taking on a elephant headed form, as well. In this form, however, Sri Viswaksenar, contrary to his saiva counterpart, has two tusks (dviradAs) and dons Thiruman on his forehead.
Before describing the third "Ganesha," HH touched on a rather mysterious fourth, Sri Prasna, who is described in pAncharAthra Agamam. He is said to have emerged out of a great yAgam to Perumal that was being performed by Indran.

The Third Remover of Obstacles is the Most Powerful of All - and really is the only One that we need - having 19 heads, each adorned with Urdhvapundram, and 4 arms. MAndukya Upanishad goes into great detail on describing this 4th and only
true Remover of Obstacles as being Sriman Narayana Himself. Perumal Himself as the Protector and Benefactor of each and every soul, removes the obstacles that stand between Him and His Devotees. This avathAran of the Lord is always seen standing with ThAyAr as Sri LakshmiGanapathi. Sri HH touched upon how the ignorance of the masses has led to a severe misrepresenation of this Avatharan, and how we
should not let this sway us from our recognition that Sri LakshmiGanapathi is Sriman Narayana Himself.

Sri HH went on to analogize how the three Ganeshas (other than Sri Prasna) are each a controller of one of three states of an individual's consciousness, jAgrath dasa, swapna dasa, and shusupthi dasa. In the first state, the waking
state, we are responsibile for the performance of karmas, the adherence to proper conduct, and the fulfilment of both material and spiritual pursuits. Consequently, it is this stage that is most important to the path of the spiritual
aspirant. While the other two Ganapathis protect us in the other two stages under the direction of the Lord, the Lord Himself as Sri LakshmiGanapathi
protects and helps us in each and every aspect of our waking state, whether or not a jivan knows His presence or not.
And Finally
"Conclusion Is a Place Where We are Tired Of Thinking".......!!!
As Usual
Sanlovesu