It is an established custom in Indian society, to start any activity with the worship of Lord Ganapati, the elephant faced god, considered to be the elder son of Siva. He is also known by various other names such as Ganesa, Vinayaka etc. When we turn our gaze seeking references to Ganapati in the Vedas, only one verse is said to be attributed to Him.
Ganaanaam thvaa ganapatim havaamahe
Kavim kaveenaam upamasra vasthamam
Jyeshta raajam brhmanaam brhmanaspati
Aanas srunvan oodhibhis seedhasaadhanam
(Rig Veda 2-23)
WE call thee, Lord and Leader of the heavenly hosts, the wise among the wise, the most famous of all, The King supreme of prayers, O Brahmanaspati: hear us with help; sit down in place of sacrifice.
(Translated by Griffith)
These lines occur in a hymn dedicated to Brhmanaspati. In this or the other five hymns under the same heading, there is no reference to the name Vinayaka or to his appearance. In the entire Rig Veda, this is the only place where the name Ganapati occurs whereas the word Brhmanaspati keeps recurring.
There is a prayer which goes by the name of Ganesha sooktham. It has 15 verses and it begins with "Aa thoo na Indra Kshumantham
.."
Only the first nine verses are from Rig Veda 8-81, the next two are reproduction of 2-23 previously mentioned and the other four are from 10-112.
These Rig Veda hymns are devoted to Indra and the meaning of the first nine (Griffith's translation) is given below.
1. INVITE ye Indra with a song to drink your draught of Soma juice,
All-conquering Satakratu, most munificent of all who live.
2 Lauded by many, much-invoked, leader of song, renowned of old:
His name is Indra, tell it forth.
3 Indra the Dancer be to us the giver of abundant strength:
May he, the mighty, bring it near.
4 Indra whose jaws are strong hath drunk of worshipping Sudaksa's draught,
The Soma juice with barley mixt.
5 Call Indra loudly with your songs of praise to drink the Soma juice.
For this is what augments his strength.
6 When he hath drunk its gladdening drops, the God with vigour of a God
Hath far surpassed all things that are.
7 Thou speedest down to succour us this ever-conquering God of yours,
Him who is drawn to all our songs
8 The Warrior not to he restrained, the Soma-drinker ne'er o'erthrown,
The Chieftain of resistless might.
9 O Indra, send us riches, thou Omniscient, worthy of our praise:
Help us in the decisive fray.
This shows that after the practice of worship of Ganapati came into vogue, people thought of crediting him with Vedic sanction and brought in this prayer to be used during His worship.
"From the Bhagavad-Gita." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. Upper Saddle: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 182-89. Print.
prayer was pointless on the account of God will do what is right regardless of you asking. Kant
Joseph, Celucien. “The Rhetoric of Prayer: Dutty Boukman, the Discourse of “Freedom from Below,” and the Politics of God”(2011). Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion. Vol.2 Issue 9 June 2011.
World renunciation is a major theme in Indian civilization, seen by the fact that all major Indic Religions deal with it in one way or another. The ancient Vedic texts laid out a cosmic and social hierarchy – a conception of ‘the world’ – and taught people how to act in accordance with their varna in a way that kept the world in harmony and kept the gods appeased. In the 6th century BCE, world renunciation emerged as a component of religious teachings that would become the heterodox traditions, the two most long-lasting of which are Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism, which coalesced about a millennium later, included concepts of world-renunciation in the Varnashrama Dharma and other texts, but its best known treatise on world-renunciation is the Bhagavad-Gita. Within the umbrella of Hinduism, the Saiva and Vaisnava sectarian traditions provide distinct ideas of world renunciation, through modeling Siva’s asceticism or through acting in devotion to Krsna and Rama.
The second verse tells us about the many attempts the mentor has made to rejuvenate the teens life, ?Lay down a list of what is wrong/The things you've told him all along.? The last two lines in the second verse are repeated ?and pray to God he hears you/and pray to God he hears you? which is emphasizes the angst of the mentor because of the numerous times he has tried to save the teen.
Page - Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia. The Hindu Encyclopedia, 6 May 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. .
The third stanza is a second and different refrain. This refrain occurs in every other stanza. It acts as a divider between the stanzas dealing with a specific character. In the fourth stanza, Father McKenzie is introduced to the reader. He is described as a materialistic man whose life has no meaning.
Most people in the world derive their religious beliefs and traditions from their parents and peer influences. From a religious point of view, “There are many definitions for the term ‘religion’ in common usage. [Broadly defined], in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: ‘Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life’” (Robinson, 1996). However, in examining Hinduism, it is difficult to label the practices as a religion. This paper will expound upon the Hindu traditions, taking into account the characteristics of sacred elements, their meaning, and significance.
stanzas, each of three lines. It thus appears that Plath is using threes and sevens quite prolifically, as
It elaborates the story and deeds of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Sri Ramcharitmans is a testimony of the dignified state of devotion that Tulsidas attained. The story of this greatest saint of India inspires devotees that God can be attained even in this Kaliyug. Tulsidas prays to each and every one of this world as the incarnation of God himself. He
The Bhagavad Gita is a timeless example of how Hinduism can be applied and seen in Indian life. It also enforces the example of how Hinduism is the heart of India by demonstrating the qualities of ancient Indian culture. These beliefs although outdated, are also seen manifesting in many important values, such as Buddhism, which will be discussed later. It is in this document that both sets of beliefs which provide the foundation of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs are combined.
Much is at stake for each of us. An eternal weight of responsibility rests upon every single believer, for each one is responsible for reaching people and building them up.
It was during this long period of tedium that all the Devas approached Lord Indra too find good ways and means of entertainment. Lord Indra, who was also tired of the Asuras, approached Lord Brahma (believed to be the creator of the Universe) and asked him to help them. They made a request to Lord Brahma that this method of entertainment should be pleasing to both the eye as well as the ear, and that it should be enjoyed by the masses of both higher and lower classes. Lord Brahma gave a long thought to the request of Lord Indra and finally decided to help them.
"From the Bhagavad-Gita." Prentice Hall Literature. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. Upper Saddle: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. 182-89. Print.
Whatever may be the truth one wonders if it will ever be established authoritatively it seems nearly certain that the Aryans had established themselves in India by about 1500 B.C. and that their earliest the Rig Vedia had been composed somewhere between 1500-1200 B.C..