Rişhi: Ghŗtsamada (RV 2.23.1)
gaņānām tvā gaņapatim havāmahe kavim kavīnām upama shravastamam,
jyeşhţharājam brahmaņām brahmaņaspata ā naĥ shŗņvantu ūtibhiĥ sīda
sādanam.
The leader of the host of mantras we invoke
thee a superb poet among poets, who causes the hearing of divine
inspiration. The leader, the lord of chants, may he hear us and
may he manifest himself in us with his protections
In the Veda the three deities Brahma, Brhaspati
and Brahmanaspati denote one Deity. This deity is also the popular
elephant-faced God worshipped in the Puranas whose tusk is in the
form of the sacred syllable OM or AUM. He appears in the Tantra
Yoga in the form of Ganapati, presiding deity over the
paraavaak, the speech supreme with his abode in the muladhara
chakra, subtle body of every human. In the Veda Brahma stands for
the Potent Word, mantra. Brahmanaspati is thus the Lord of the
mantras. When the mantra is recited by a proper person, it enters
our subtle bodies and releases the concealed forces and leads them
upwards in manifestation. He is called in the Puranaas as
Vigneswara or the Lord of obstacles. Physical obstacles are caused
in our tasks because of our conflicting thoughts and desires. All
problems of existence are problems of harmony. Ganapati places the
appropriate mantra in the subtle body using his tusk skillfully
and the power of the mantra removes the inharmony, the cause of
the obstacle. Hence Ganapati is said to manifest in our subtle
bodies with his protections uutibhih. The same idea is
there in other mantras such as (1.40.1) "he is prayed to become
awake". The mantra is popularly used in the beginning of many
rituals even today.
Gana in this mantra means a group or host. He
is the leader of the host of the mantras. His power enables us to
hear the voice of divine inspiration in our hearts. He is called a
superb kavi because kavi is not a mere poet but the originator of
all actions, both in the macrocosm and microcosm. When he hears
us, his action for us automatically follows.
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