' WHO IS THIS BOY " ? !! ?

P.Natarajan.

1) " Who is this Boy " ?!!? - a virtual translation of the question into Tamil will bring to the fore the name " PILLAIYAR " !!

Being Ganesh Chathurthi fortnight, let us look into the glory of Lord Ganesa !

2) Gajanana- HE vanquishes Gajasura after His avatar to Parvathy and Parameswara on " Vinayaka Chathurthi Day'

3) Vigna Vinayaka - In His avatar to Varenyan and Pushpavathy, He removes all obstacles or ' Vigna'(s).

4) Vakra Thunda Ganapathy - HE is the first God - Married to Siddhi and Buddhi, creates 'Trimurthi' and asks them to perform ' Chathurthi Vratham' and thus empowers them.

5) Mayuresa Ganapathy - Parvathy and Parameswara observe ' Chathurthi Vratha' and beget Ganesa who marry Brahmaputhries Siddhi and Bhuddhi. HE kills an Asura ' Sindhu' who was in the form of 'Mayura' or 'peacock'. ' Mayura' becomes one of Ganapathy's vehicles subsequently.

6) Chintamani Ganapathy - HE presents ' Chintamani ' - the jewel to His father Abhijith, Gunavathi's husband in that Avatar.



7) Balchandra - Ganesa swallows an Asura by name Anala ( anala means fire ) at the requests of Devas. Ganesa wears ' Chandra' , the moon , on his forehead by way of cooling the heat generated within him after killing ' Anala '.

8) Ganesa - In the company of ' Gana(s)', He kills ' Bali ', the Asura and gets the name ' Ganesa '.

9) Ganapathy - Parvathy & Parameswara looks at the wall painting of an 'Elephant Couple' - Ganapathy avatar takes place who kills ' Gajasura'

10) Madhothkadar - His avatar to Athithi in response to the prayers of Kasyapa Rishi and vanqishes ' Devanthaka(s) - Naranthaka(s).

11) Dundu Ganapathy - Lord Viswanatha who resides in Varanasi Kshethra creates from the face of Uma Maheswari, the Lord Ganapathy with five faces for killing Dhurasadan.

12) Valabh Ganapathy - In response to the prayers of Parvathy & Parameshwara, Ganapathy takes avatar and marries Marichi's daughter ' Vallabh '

Note:- These 12 avatars of Ganesa are described in ' Parkava Purana' as told by Ganesa . Himself, to His brother ' Kumara' (Subhramanya).

Is Ganesa a Brahmachari or Married ? - We see Him with two wives, or One or as Bramhachari at some places. Here is the explanation:-

HE is with His consorts Siddhi and Buddhi in a place known as Anandabhuvanam. Gyana is personification of Brahmaswarupa. Vinayaka, as alone, is in this form. Buddhi is the goddess of desire.Siddhi is the goddess of ' Work-Force' or 'KRIYA'. " Gyana " when viewed as a force, can be effective only along with ' Siddhi and Buddhi". When "Srishti' or creation is taking place , Vinayaka is seen with two escorts 'Siddhi & Buddhi'.

When the ' Prapancha' is still, He takes to Himself Siddhi & Buddhi and appears 'Single', the popular term for singlehood is 'Bramhachari'.

Asuras are in the form of ' Angyana' or live in total ignorance. Vinayaka, in the form of Jyothi swaroopa or Gyana, kills them singularly.

Ganesa is thus worshipped in all the three forms as described above.

' Warm Greetings to all of you ' during this fortnight of 'Ganesa Chathurthi' !!!!

pn

' The Human Body '

P.Natarajan.

The physical body stands as a wonder even to the medical world as its continuing researches prove only more of its enigma. People all around the world try to keep the body look beautiful and young but not so much to keep it healthy. There are two kinds of thinking - some take pride that their physical structure has taken a good shape while others feel sorry that their physique is becoming less attractive.

Match making or selecting the bride or groom, tend to deal more with mundane characteristics like heights and weights than the values that are held dear by the respective humans. Seldom there arises thoughts that we are not just 'physical bodies' - but with life in it and when we cease to live, even one's spouse is afraid to look at the body. Alas !, the life may depart anytime from the body without one's knowledge.

' I saw him hale and healthy yesterday evening - can't even imagine that he is no more today' - such versions are common. We also say at once ' time only could heal one's grief ' without realizing that the same ' TIME ' rules our real life. also.

Dharmaputra according to Mahabharata says that the biggest wonder he considers is that when he sees many dying, he also gets amazed that he is alive or living !

A tale goes like this - a king who got a child after long years, lost the child suddenly after a lapse of five months. The king could not bear the loss and started weeping profusely. The sage Narada who happened to come that side took pity on the king and used his prolific strength owing to his penance, to bring back the child alive. He then asked the child to look at its father weeping on the demise of the child. The child replied Narada " In which birth was I born to the king - may be that it was fate that I might have been born to him sometime - otherwise there existed no connection at all between the two'. The King realized the moral and significance of life and death. To the king, the child appeared as the father of the man. As we change our clothes, the life also roles from body to body as and when it takes new births.



The human body is made of 'pancha bhoothas' - it undergoes changes perpetually though people may not digest such changes like shrinking and darkening of the skin, hair going gray, myopia of the eyes and in general the ag(e)'ing process. It is necessary that we learn quickly to realize that it is God's gift that we possess this physical body. In other words our life rests in this body just like we take a house on rent. We do house keeping whether the house is own or rented. In a similar manner we perform exercises, go on diet, try to beget good sleep every day and so on to maintain its health.

We have least doubts that we are born as human beings owing to our good 'prarabdha' or fate. We long to perform good deeds while the body is alive with life. We should at the same time realize that there is no use of pampering with the physical body lest more we look at the body, more the worries.

We are not the creator of the body. We should learn to accept it as it is. We will have less worries. The 'sastras' emphasize that the body is only a means for an orderly living and there will be no use if we develop feelings of the kind, either to like or dislike the body. Some even think of suicides under inferiority complex or likes of that. Consider that the body is like a temple and houses the divine being inside it. Sane thoughts of this kind may take an individual to attain everlasting peace.

Many cities face intensive traffic and building over bridges to lesson its impact. Likewise, treat the physical body as a road and the mind as a over-bridge. Whenever you face problems with the physical body use the over bridge (mind) to cross the hurdles.

If there is a will, there is a way !

pn