This is a long overdue homage to my ‘ishtha devata’ (cherished divine being) without whose blessing, no Jyothish practice is possible (at least for me). I began reciting Ganapati atharvarshirsha a couple of years ago when no amount of meditation helped contain my racing mind. It was also a time when I was overwhelmed personally and professionally with responsibilities; to my family as well as to those who come to me for guidance and help.
Chanting as a routine took me some getting used to as, although having grown up around Hindu rituals and vedic chants, I never did connect with this heritage. Maybe because it seemed completely unrelated to my life, you know? I wondered: How do chants really help?
I realised over time that the chants help direct and focus mental attention to ‘sound’. It is my theory, that chanting, whether Hindu or Buddhist or Gregorian, help regulate the ‘Visshuddhi chakra‘ (throat chakra) through fine tuning the ears and throat.
Most, if not all Jyothishis (Vedic astrologers) invoke the energy of Lord Ganesha before commencing divination. The energy is invoked either through a mantra ॐ गं गणपतये नमः (Om G’ng GaNaPaTaYe NaMaHa) or through a prayer, of which there are many.
The intention is to request the deity to bless the astrologer and the client/querent with his divine presence. The reason why Ganesha is invoked before any other god or goddess in Jyothish is because he is considered the “विघ्नहर्ता” (the remover of obstacles). In astrological contexts, obstacles indicate that which impedes wisdom or truth from being understood. By invoking Lord Ganesha, we also invoke clarity, wisdom and truth because Ganesha is also:
त्वं वाङ्मयस्त्वं चिन्मयः।
त्वमानन्दमयस्त्वं ब्रह्ममयः।
त्वं सच्चिदानन्दाऽद्वितीयोऽसि।
त्वं प्रत्यक्षं ब्रह्मासि।
त्वं ज्ञानमयो विज्ञानमयोऽसि॥४॥
“You are the very nature of the words. You are the nature of consciousness. You are the nature of bliss. You are the nature of the Brahman. You are none other than the Real existence-consciousness-bliss. You are the one without the second (the only one). You are the visible Brahman. You are the nature of spiritual knowledge (and) you are science” Ganapati Atharvashirsha
As with all Hindu deities, Ganesha rides a vehicle. This vehicle is a tiny “Mooshak” or Mouse. Ganesha rides a mouse because he is the energy that can silence the restless, anxious, nervous tendencies of humans that amplify small issues into super large ones. Like the mouse, our thoughts are overrun with ‘what-ifs’, until our peace of mind is destroyed.
So, Ganesha or Ganapati is invoked or called to help develop self control- to listen more and talk less. To see clearly without judgment and prejudice. To enjoy and revere this physical existence, with its pleasures and pains (Ganesha is shown with a modak in the palm of his hand), without losing sight of the eternal truth.
And to just be.
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