Auckland Sri Ganesh TempleTrust
4 Dent Place, Papakura, Auckland
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| While adoring thee idol of Ganesha, a devotee observes that his head is that of an elephant, and the body of a human being. In his upper right hand he carries an axe(Ankusa); in his upper left hand he grasps a noose(Pasha). He is always smiling (Prasanna Vadhana). He may also be shown conveying blessings, dancing, or holding a lotus and mace. Seated below him, there dwells a mouse(Mooshika), which is his vahana, or vehicle. He ties a serpent around his stomach. His round figure signifies prosperity. | ||||
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| An ancient tale explains why Lord Ganesha is worshipped before any other deity prior to any other important event. One day Lord Shiva asked his sons Ganesha and Karthikeya to circle the world and return. Karthikeya hurried away on his peacock vahana. Instead, Ganesha walked around Shiva and Parvati three times. Ganesha explained that, to him, his parents constituted the world. Delighted and satisfied, Shiva granted him a blessing, affirming that no matter what the occasion or ceremony may be, Lord Ganesha should be worshipped before all other Gods. Another ancient story tells that Ganesha wrote the Mahabharata according to Veda Vyasa's dictation. When the sage asked Ganesha to write down the epic poem, the learned God agreed on condition that his pen should not stop moving until the story was completed. | ||||
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| Ganesh Chaturthi, the most sacred festival of Lord Ganesha, occurs in August or September. It is an important event in India and celebrated with fervor, particularly in the state of Maharashtra. | ||||
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| The Supreme Being who is birthless assumes different forms for the benefit of humanity. The Pranava (Om) is the origin of the entire creation of insentient and sentient beings. Lord Vinayaka also endearingly called as Pillaiyar, Ganesa and Vigneswara is the embodiment of Pranava. Being the first-born of the Divine couple Parvati and Parameswara, He is indeed the first child adored by all humanity. His unique form with the face of an elephant with trunk and one tusk, and a human body is a personification of the mystic syllable `Om'. Vinayaka Caturthi is the celebration of His jayanthi. | ||||
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| Tamil Nadu abounds in temples for Pillaiyar which dot the countryside along the banks of rivers, under the trees and in every street. What is remarkable is that this deity is worshipped by one and all, since He is to be invoked first during the worship of other gods also as He is believed to remove all obstacles. And there is indeed an incident to the origination of offering worship to Vigneswara first which was initiated by Lord Siva Himself. Once three Asuras (Tripurasuras) were becoming powerful usurping everyone's wealth. The gods complained to Indra that they would pose a threat to their kingdom soon, but the king of the gods, Devendra expressed his inability to tackle them. The gods then went and beseeched Lord Vishnu to intercede, but He pointed out that though the Asuras caused trouble to others, they were great devotees of Siva and never failed to worship Him everyday and so He would not trouble them. | ||||
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| Finally the Devas took refuge in Lord Siva who also expressed His inability to punish them since they were His devotees but pointed out a way by telling them to inform Him if they failed to worship Him any day. Since all efforts to distract them from their daily worship failed, Siva Himself had to come down to Tiruvadikai where they lived. When He neared the place which is known as Achiripakkam the axle of His chariot broke. The Lord intuited that this obstacle was created by His own son Ganapati. | ||||
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| In his discourse Sri Sadhu Ram Swami said, since Ganapati was the Lord of the Ganas who were Siva's retinue and He had set out to destroy the Asuras with His retinue without invoking the grace of Ganapati, Siva was unable to proceed on His journey. When He asked Ganesa to pardon His lapse, His son was unforgiving and demanded His head because Ganesa pointed out that the Lord Himself could not afford to commit a mistake. Siva appeased His son by breaking a coconut instead and proceeded to humble the Tripurasuras instead of destroying them since they were His devotees. Ever since this incident Lord Vigneswara's grace is invoked while undertaking any venture | ||||
