The Second Initiation: Yantra .

83

is of utmost importance. When we have cultivated an

indomitable will and the power of determination that accom-
panies it we will face fewer obstacles, and we will have the
ability to overcome those we do encounter. For all of these
reasons adepts first initiate their students into the Ganesha
yantra, a special sadhana that removes all obstacles.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GANESHA

The Divine Mother assumes infinite names and forms,

each of which expresses a different facet of Her being. The
deity Ganesha, Her first-born son, is a case in point. Ganesha
is a compound of the Sanskrit words gana and isha. Gana
means "individual beings, independent units, segments of
light, discrete bodies of Divinity, unique forces, emanations of
Divine Light, attendants of the main deity." Isha. means "one
who is capable of doing what he wishes, capable of refraining
from what he does not wish to do, and capable of undoing that
which has already been done" - in short, the Almighty Lord.
Ganesha dwells eternally in the womb of the Divine
Mother. He is the "firstborn one," emerging from Her before
any of the functioning forces of the universe emerge. In their
manifest form all these forces center around this primordial
force - Ganesha is the locus for all that exists. He establishes
law and brings order out of chaos, causing the universal forces
to function coherently.
The first step in bringing order out of chaos is the emer-
gence of the law of gravity, and Ganesha is the presiding deity
of that law. At his behest the force of gravity captures all the
matter and energy emitted by the primordial Divine Force and
gives direction to its outward movement. Ganesha himself
is the center of all gravitational energy, and as such he super-
vises all activities, from the microcosm to the macrocosm -
everything in the universe is held by the invisible strings of
84 • TANTRA UNVEILED

gravity, while gravity itself is held by Ganesha. The forces of

creation, maintenance, and destruction are held in harmo-
nious balance by his will, and that is why this firstborn child
of the Divine Mother is called "Ganesha," the lord of all
entities and functioning forces of the universe.
According to the chakra scheme of kundalini yoga,
Ganesha resides in the first chakra, the muladhara. Mula
means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation."
From the standpoint of manifestation, or outward expansion
of the primordial Divine Force, the muladhara chakra is the
principle on which everything rests. In his visual form at the
muladhara center, Ganesha is described as an enormous man
with the head of an elephant. He is heavy and strong, capable
of crushing obstacles into dust. Seated at the base of the spine
he holds, supports, and guides all other chakras, thus govern-
ing the forces that propel the wheel of life.
To understand the symbolic meaning of Ganesha's
personality we have to examine his personified form. Half
human and half elephant, he represents human intelligence
wedded to the strength of an elephant. The parts of his body
are disproportionate: he has big ears, small eyes, a long trunk,
a massive belly, and small feet. He is paradox embodied:
although he is enormous, his vehicle is a mouse; he consumes
huge quantities of food, yet he is an ascetic; he is fat and his
legs are short, yet he is master of the dance.
His boundless intelligence is symbolized by his big head.
The epithet given to him in both Vedic and tantric scriptures
is Brahmanaspati, "lord of knowledge and intelligence" or "lord
of pervasiveness." The scriptures also refer to him as Jyeshtha
Raja, "the eldest son," even though he was never born.
Ganesha's massive belly symbolizes his capacity to
consume and contain the universe that evolves from the
Divine Mother. As the lord of gravitational energy he has the
 The Second Initiation: Yantra • 85

Ganesha
86 • TANTRA UNVEILED

capacity to pull anything toward himself and process it as he

wishes. He also sets the wheel of karma in motion. That is
why the scriptures describe him as Karma Adhyaksha, "the
one who presides over karmic law."
Ganesha is immortal. In him lies the seed of omniscience,
and the most subtle mysteries of the universe are known to
him, including the mysteries related to our mind, karma, and
the cycle of birth and death. The rays of light emanating from
him enable us to comprehend our deeply rooted karmic
impressions and discover how to attain freedom from the
binding forces of our mind. Only t h e n are the obstacles
emerging from its unlit corners fully destroyed. Hence he is
called Vighnesha, "the lord who removes obstacles."
Like fire, Ganesha consumes anything in his path with his
enormous appetite. He is pleased with any offering we make
to him with love - he gladly accepts our problems and con-
cerns and swallows them, granting us freedom once and for
all. No force other than Ganesha is capable of consuming our
ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death.
T h a t is also why he is called Vighnesha, "the lord who
removes obstacles."
His big ears symbolize his limitless capacity for hearing.
He hears our prayers regardless of how we recite them - he
does not care whether or not we sing hymns in his praise, he
considers our heartbeat and brainwaves to be forms of prayer.
Any irregularity, whatever the cause, catches his attention.
Being Ganesha, the head of the family, he rushes to our res-
cue. For these reasons, too, he is known as Vighnesha, "the
lord who removes obstacles."
The fluid that sometimes flows from the temporal gland of
male elephants flows constantly from Ganesha, and drawn by
its sweet aroma insects drink the nectar. Intoxicated, they buzz
around his ears, which he flaps gently in order to ward them
 The Second Initiation: Yantra . 87

off. This tells us metaphorically that Ganesha's head, the

treasure-house of wisdom, is so filled with the sweetness of
love and compassion that it flows from him effortlessly and
incessantly and is granted even to those who come to him
with a noisy mind.
Set in his enormous head, Ganesha's eyes are small because
he has little use for them. However his third eye, the eye of
intuition, is wide open, and he sees past, present, and future
simultaneously. Seated as he is deep within every living and
non-living entity, he sees everything. That is why he is called
Adi Rishi, "the primordial seer." He is the eternal source of
knowledge - revelation flows through him. The scriptures refer
to him as Parama Guru, "the master of all previous masters."
The scriptures identify Ganesha with the sacred sound
Om, and the shape of his trunk resembles the word written in
Sanskrit. Because Om is the source of all mantras, repeating
any mantra is tantamount to meditating on Ganesha. All
sounds, words, and mantras in their dormant form rest in the
muladhara chakra, where Ganesha resides.
The most subtle, vibrationless state of sound in the
muladhara chakra is called "para." At the behest of Ganesha,
who presides over gravitational energy, a stirring arises in the
muladhara chakra that can be detected only intuitively. This
vibrationless vibration can be felt when it reaches the navel
center; when it reaches the heart center, it assimilates the
power of thinking; and it becomes audible when it reaches the
throat center. Ganesha oversees this entire process. Without
his assistance and guidance we can neither gain access to the
muladhara center nor receive the ensuing revelation. That is
why Ganesha is said to be the gatekeeper at the palace of the
Divine Mother.
Though Ganesha's feet are quite small, he outruns all the
forces of the universe - because he pervades everything, he is
88 . TANTRA UNVEILED

already everywhere. Without moving, the lord of gravita-

tional energy makes everything move. With his enormous
body and tiny feet Ganesha dances to the song of the Divine
Mother, and exhilarated by his movements, She joins in.
Then, as mother and son perform their cosmic dance, all the
arts and sciences spring forth. Unable to contain the divine
ecstasy, the sages emerge from their absorption in Ganesha
and assume their roles as our guides. This cosmic dance sym-
bolizes the process of kundalini awakening. The forces of
darkness can cast their spell of slumber on us only as long as
we are outside the pale of this dance. Thus Ganesha, the
remover of obstacles, is the one who awakens the divine
force in the form of kundalini shakti. He blesses us with
shaktipata (the bestowing of divine energy). It is he who
sends a sat guru (a true master) into our lives, and through
his grace the forces of love, compassion, self-motivation,
self-confidence, and determination unfold. Thus the scrip-
tures assert that the door to the Divine Mother's palace
opens when Ganesha is pleased.
There are hundreds of ways to propitiate Ganesha and
meditate on him. The tantric method, in conjunction with
yantra sadhana, is precise and methodical. Those whose pro-
longed practice has gained them access to the muladhara
center meditate on Ganesha by practicing the tantric
method of kundalini yoga. To them, the human body is a
yantra. Others draw the yantra of Ganesha on a gold, silver,
or copper plate, on a silk cloth, on a wooden board, or on a
piece of birch bark, and meditate on that.

T H E GANESHA YANTRA

Except for the circle in the center, the Ganesha yantra

consists of three circuits. The following description is found in
the Prapancha Sara, a scripture attributed to Shankaracharya.