The Weapons: Introduction to Ganesha's weapons

Ganesha's Magickal Weapons

Introduction to Puja

A central part of Tantric Sadhana (magickal practice) is Puja, sometimes misleadingly translated as worship. The word "worship" brings to mind images of grovelling and servitude, concepts which are anathema to those seeking mastery over themselves. Puja is the process of meditating on the nature of the deity, in order to form an imaginative link between oneself and the deity. Because the process is imaginary, this doean't mean that it is not real. Most of our capacity to act in new ways begins with acts of imagination. A new job, having sex with someone, moving house, standing up to a bully - our ability to make all these transitions begins with imagining what they might be like. By imagining something, one creates the possibility within one's mind. This is necessary before the reality can be born.

To give birth to a god requires a considerable act of imagination. It's too big a job for most of us to pull off on a first attempt. Knowing this, the ancient sages have passed down to us the technique of Puja, whereby one can build up the image of the deity bit by bit. Each bit is a symbol or set of symbols which describe the deity in a particular way. Every symbol begins at a different point within the mind, and grows larger the more you meditate on it. Eventually the symbols start to link up with each other, describing the same aspect of the deity in different ways. When this begins to happen, the process unconsciously continues 24 hours a day (perhaps more) until the image of the deity becomes coherent (although it may still be impossible to call that deity into consciousness). Once such an image has been formed, it becomes inhabited by the god or goddess in question, and one can work magick with the her or him. Puja is therefore a very useful mystical and magickal practice which opens the door to a multitude of fascinating new experiences.

The Three Representations of a Deity

There are three main symbolic representations of a deity in tantric Puja; the mantra, the mandala and the rupa.

The mantra is a series of syllables which represent the deity. Sound has a special significance in all branches of the Hindu tradition because the first holy "books" preceeded writing. Complex patterns of rhyme and meter were used to allow the hymns and magick spells to be memorised exactly and checked for internal consistancy, which allowed magickal knowledge to be passed down from one generation to another before writing was discovered. This meant that a highly evolved magickal system became possible many thousands of years earlier than in those cultures dependant on writing. Sound was therefore a central (if not the central) motif of this magickal culture, and magickal and linguistic words and concepts are often synonymous. The grammatical form (Sanskrit or "balanced form") and character set (the Devanagri or "godsnake") were developed later on (check Manthra reference with Mog's medical texts). As each word and therefore the whole of language is composed of a finite number of syllables in different combinations, so the whole world is comprised of a finite number of root powers. In Tantrism, the sacred syllables are identified with these root powers. Each deity has a bija mantra (or seed) specifically associated with her or him. This is a single syllable thought to contain the essence of that deity. Ganesha's seed mantra is Gam, and verses 7 - 9 of the Ganesha Upanishad comprise a simple meditation upon it. A basic meditation on a bija mantra can be performed by intoning it whilst meditationg on the Devanagri character which denotes it. A surprisingly large amount may be learned just from noticing the other shapes evoked by the letter and the sensations in the breath and body caused by the process of intonation (especially if one has a basic grounding in hatha yoga or pranayama) . However, an intimate knowledge is difficult unless one has a basic knowledge of of the Sanskrit language. This much can be gauged from the fact that even a high adept and skilled Sanskritist such as Lokanath (who translated the version of the Ganapati Upanishad given here) was unable to render the verses on the mantra more obviously into English.

Mandalas and yantras are geometric symbols. What the difference between the two is depends on the different branch of initiation (or Sampradaya) one belongs to. Again, a large amount may be gained from merely meditating in the symbol, and seeing what pops into your mind. All ideas are valid. Success can be gauged by the coherence of the different ideas with each other and whatever else is known about the deity. All lines of thought are useful, even those which lead to a dead end. Again, though, a certain amount of specialist knowledge is useful, particularly that which can be gained from a Guru (or qualified person). Whereas the information gained from texts (particularly those translated into English) is often partial, over-complex and internally inconsistant, a Guru will have worked the material her or himself, and inwardly digested it. A good analogy is with a vehicle maintenance manual translated by a mechanic rather than a linguist. The latter may have a greater skill with word, but the former will actually have performed the procedures.

The final symbol is the rupa, or form of the deity. Most people think primarily in terms of the sense of vision (e.g. "I see what you mean"), and the first thing most people will do when someone is describing something to them is imagine a visual picture of it. Thinking of a deity as a syllable or geometric pattern is difficult, especially if one is not acquanited with the idea of symbolic representation. A painting or statue, on the other hand, can be immediately grasped even by the most uneducated mind. Scholars and adepts disagree amongst themselves and with each other on the origins of tantra. The word "tantric" has only recently gained its current usage as a generic term for initiates who practice the variety of magick laid out in the tantras (magickal texts). In fact, there are very many different Sampradayas (lines of initiation, or cults) all of which have their own individual history, and base different Sadhanas (magickal practices) on different interpretations of the tantras. This helps to account for the fact that some authorities claim that tantrism had its roots in the peasantry, whilst some of the tantras themselves show a very high degree of academic learning and knowledge which would have been unattainable by the lower classes of Indian society. If the mandala and mantra have their origins amongst these scholarly sects, then the image of the deity is the counterpart amongst the householders, nomads and peasants. It is useful to remember that tantrism was not peculiar to Hindu culture or even the Indian sub-continent, and spread accross China as far as Japan, Korea and Indonesia/Malaysia. I myself have a Vietnamese antique statue of Ganesha with very similar iconography to that current in India. The imagery used is deliberately intended to transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries, and succeeds very well in doing so.

Meditating on the rupa is essentially no different to meditating on the mantra or mandala. One allows thoughts to spontaneously enter the mind, without censoring, and follows each imaginative wandering to its conclusion. Even superficially stupid associations can unveil a previously hidden aspect to the deity if they are not stamped out too soon. As with mantra and mandala, there are also more complex yogic practices which can be peformed, but these are beyond the scope of this essay, article or whatever you computer-literate types call it. Verses 10-14 of the Ganesha Upanishad give a rupa or form of Ganesh which is widely used by members of the Natha Ganas (or independent tribes of tantric adepts). This form is commonly found in paintings and statues which may be placed on an altar if one wishes to perform puja outwardly. However, having an external image is not necessary, and mental puja can be carried out anywhere at any time.

Like the yantra and Devanagri characters, the rupa has specific visual components which have specific meanings. The yantra has its squares, circles, triangles and Bindu (or point), the Devanagri characters have shapes with particular mystical and phonemic (sound) associations, and the rupa has magickal weapons and a vehicle or banner (a mouse in the case of Ganesha). These are not meant to be complete lists of the symbolic components - every part of the mantra, mandala or rupa has meaning. Scholars often argue about which are the most ancient, genuine or meaningful interpretations of these components, and a brief survey of the literature will usually provide a sufficient number to keep one busy (or confused!) for a lifetime. A tantric adept, on the other hand, is unlikely to offer any one interpretation, realizing the importance of the symbolism rising from the experience of the individual performing the puja. Without this individual link, there is no union between the self and the deity, and the experience remains purely intellectual. The following description of Ganesh's magickal weaponary is therefore deliberately partial. It's purpose is to allow the practitioner to gain a foothold in the imaginative territory to be explored, not to report back the results of my own exploration. The reason for the disparity between interpretations offered in the literature is the same difference between the different sects or schools of initiation I mentioned above. My own tradition is the Adinatha Sampradaya, and my interpretation of the symbolism reflects this. Impartiality is not my objective, nor objectivity my partiality.

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