ORD GANESHA HAS BEEN PRAYED TO, WORSHIPED and adored in one form or another since time began; and time itself began with His creation. He, above all others, is the God, the great Mahadeva, to be invoked before every act and especially worshiped and prayed to when changes occur in our lives as we move from the old established patterns into new ones. Lord Ganesha is always there to steady our minds and open the proper doors as we evolve and progress. He never, ever fails. He is always there for us when we need Him.

Hindus around the world pray to Ganesha for help and guidance as He leads us out of an agricultural age through the technological and information eras and on into the new age of space. Many are still on the farms; others are in the offices and in the factories; while still others land on the moon and orbit through space. With a mind more intricate than the most complicated computers in the world all hooked together, but as simple as an on-and-off switch, Ganesha knows all aspects of these transitions, in unfailing continuity, from one era to another. He is totally aware, at every point in time, of the mother in her home, the farmer in his field, the astronaut orbiting this planet, the corporate worker at his desk and the factory technician performing his tasks.

For thousands of years in the villages of Vedic India, Lord Ganesha has been, and is today in towns and cities in many countries, a powerful and immediate presence in everyone's lives. He was and is the one prayed to when starting a business or an enterprise of any kind. Today factory workers approach a small shrine dedicated to Him before commencing their daily work, so that nothing might go wrong. Businessmen beg His help in adjusting the stock market to their advantage, and farmers, of course, chant His 108 names while planting their seeds, rice, other crops, or trees. When no rain comes, images of our loving Lord are seen throughout Bharat land submerged in water up to His neck, so that His great mind may become impressed with the people's crying needs. When grandma is sick or the crops are not coming in on time, when the children are growing up wrongly by adopting alien ways, Hindus diligently pray to our loving God for help in restructuring their lives. He is the supreme Lord of Dharma, and we pray to Him for guidance in the direction of our lives.

In fact, in my early years of experience in Sri Lanka five decades ago, and in recent years as well, Saivite pandits explained that they consider Lord Ganesha with all their hearts to be the one Supreme Deity, because it is through their worship of Him that they reach the holy feet of our Supreme God Siva, thus avoiding His Rudra aspect. They explain, in their wisdom, that they begin their worship by entering Ganesha's great, benevolent Being of ever-pervasive love, and then through Him, the Son, they safely reach the Father.

However, in modern times in the Kali Yuga (which commenced about the time mothers began relinquishing their stri dharma and, Ganesha admonishes, it is the pure mothers of the world who will herald the next Sat Yuga), there are a great many liberal Hindus and/or Western-influenced Hindus who don't think of Ganesha as a real being. To them He is a symbol, a superstition, a way of explaining philosophy to children and the uneducated. But this has not been my experience of our loving Lord. I have seen Him with my own eye. He has come to me in visions several times and convinced my lower mind of His reality. The living, loving reality of our benevolent God is the premise of the book that you hold in your hand. Believe it, for it is true.

Worship of Lord Ganesha is immediate. One has but to think of His form to contact His ever-present mind. Close your eyes for a second, visualize His large elephant head and experience the direct communication that has immediately begun. This is similar to punching in a code at a personal computer terminal which gives immediate access to the entire network of computers, large and small. On this remarkable and universal Innernet, obscure and necessary information and answers to every question are now available as needed through the direct link with Lord Ganesha. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can use the computer terminal of our own brain and code in the divine image of Lord Ganesha and gain complete access to His vast computer-like mind. Ganesha's mind has been programmed by the history of experience over eons of time and naturally encompasses the intricacies of the universe and the cycles of life in all their ramifications and simplicities. Our great God Ganesha sits contentedly upon the muladhara chakra. This chakra controls the forces of memory within every creature. Worship of Him strengthens your memory, builds character and brings knowledge from the within. It also protects you from the lower forces which reside in the little-known chakras below the muladhara. These darker chakras govern fear, anger, jealousy and the confused thinking centered around self-preservation.

The first chakra below the muladhara governs the state of mind of fear and lust. The chakra below that governs raging anger, which comes from despair or from threats to one's self-will and can make people angry even with God. The third chakra below the muladhara governs retaliatory jealousy, pride and arrogance, which are associated with feelings of inadequacy, inferiority and helplessness. At this level the only safe sadhana is seva, karma yoga, service selflessly, a discipline that, when done well, results in a change of character. People who live in the consciousness of this chakra often deny the existence of God and are contentiously combative with one another. The fourth chakra down governs prolonged confusion and instinctive willfulness, the desire to get rather than to give. Those in this region of mind celebrate the primacy of materialistic advancement over everything else. Hatred arises here as unwholesome vasanas build one upon another. The fifth chakra below the muladhara is the home of the instinctive mind's cruel selfishness. People in the consciousness of this chakra are capable of actions without conscience. They see to their own well-being at all costs and think only of "I, me and mine." The sixth chakra down is the realm of absence of conscience, which brings about theft, fraud and other dishonest dealings. People in this state of mind believe the world owes them a living and they can simply take whatever they please from whomever they please. The seventh and last chakra below the muladhara governs malice, also without conscience, expressed through revenge, torture for the joy of it, murder for the sake of murder, the destruction of others' property, mind, emotion or physical body. Hatred abides here. Reason seldom reaches those who live in this state of mind.

Men and women of wisdom will work diligently to close off these lower chakras and the negative karmas they can unleash. By worship of Lord Ganesha, seated upon the muladhara chakra, you can slowly seal off these lower states of mind and keep awareness lifted above the animal instincts.

Wherever His devotees are -- in the home, the factories, the offices, the hospitals, the marketplace, orbiting in space or tilling the soil on the farm -- Lord Ganesha is ever there. Intimate access is acquired by simply loving Ganesha and holding His robust image in your mind. Carefully visualize the large head and ears, His long trunk, massive body, big belly and the objects He holds in His many hands. Look into Ganesha's eyes. Train yourself to see Him within your own mind with your eyes closed. This is the key. Hold His form steady in your mind through the power of visualization. Now you can talk to Him. Pronounce the words mentally into His ear. He is listening, though He will never speak back but take into His vast mind your prayer and slowly work it out. You must simply speak all of your questions and your problems into His right ear. When you are finished, open your eyes. Go on with your day and go on with your life. Wherever you are, remember this simple way of making contact with Lord Ganesha and as a good seeker exercise this psychic power, this siddhi.

Starting today and in the days to come, you will notice how He answers questions and solves problems for you through the course of your daily life. You will notice how He influences events and decisions slowly and subtly, in unseen ways. Situations will change for you, unexpected doors will open, and accustomed ones will close as you are propelled through His grace toward your inevitable glorious future. Read and reread the above formula for immediate access to Lord Ganesha until it is firmly implanted in your subconscious memory patterns, and then begin to make contact with Him often through each day wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Yes! Lord Ganesha is immediate, and you have immediate access to Him. Wherever you are, remember this and as a seeker on the path through life's experiences exercise this siddhi. It is your right to do so.

All the major religions of the world, including Hinduism, have established institutions and societies to research, remodel and remold their spiritual community to be of service to their people in the fast-moving technological age. In almost every country, the various sects of Hinduism have now created temples and institutions to bring their members closer to their religion, to make it applicable to their daily modern life. Hindus have realized that those who left the farms and village guilds, the paddy fields and orchards are moving into the factories and the offices as their countries industrialize. Therefore, every effort is being made by hundreds of thousands of Hindu religious leaders to remodel and remold the presentation of our great faith to compensate during this renaissance, to establish a new era, to circumference, master and reform the ailing people of the world. Every effort is being made to make Hinduism as vital and practical in this era as it has been in more rustic times, to bring back the truant members to our religion and to vivify the Gods, for so many have put them into exile.

There is an unfortunate and totally erroneous assumption that the Gods are needed less as man pioneers new fields of science and technology and the ever-expanding field of knowledge, which is nothing other than other people's opinions and is constantly changing. Every true Hindu knows that our Gods are the essence of knowledge. They are helping us to bring through more sophisticated insights, blending scientific inquiry with spiritual intuition. They are constantly assisting us in the wise use of that knowledge for the benefit of mankind. We must teach the world's youth of the greatness of Hinduism, the ancient Sanatana Dharma. We must put forth our message to all who are ready to listen. Let them accept or reject and turn us away. It is our duty to pass on our knowledge to the generation that follows us, even if there is only a thirty-day difference in our ages. It is our varnashrama dharma to speak to those who are younger than we, to pass on all we know to those who don't know, for no one knows the exact moment of his or her great departure. So, let us dispatch our duty while we have the opportunity.

Education of the youth has been a major concern of Hindu communities around the world. In August, 1994, I was invited to preside over the opening consecration, kumbabhishekam, of the Sri Subramaniya Swami Temple in Nandi Town on the island nation of Fiji. During those auspicious days, the stewards of the famous South India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam (who administer 27 schools and colleges, and now also this outstanding temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha's brother, Murugan) requested us to create for them a multi-lingual course of lessons for children in English, Tamil, Hindi, Malay, French and Creole. The sangam's request inspired me and my fifteen Saiva sannyasins in Hawaii to create the Saivite Hindu Religion children's course of seven grades. Validated with great joy by swamis, pandits, women saints and scholars worldwide, it teaches culture, moral values, temple worship, the Vedic outlook on life and more.

Yes, we must teach the world's Hindu youth the greatness of their Hinduism. We must teach them that they need not leave their ancestral faith to enter into science, politics or any kind of intellectual pursuit. We must teach them to seek the able assistance of Lord Ganesha in all things. He is the first Ishta Devata, the chosen God, of all Hindus, regardless of their sectarian position. Worship of Lord Ganesha leads the devotee most naturally to the other great Gods.

Love and blessings to you from this and inner worlds,

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

162nd Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha

Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara

Guru Mahasannidhanam

Kauai Aadheenam, Hawaii, USA

Ganesha Chaturthi, September 13, 1999

Hindu year 5101, national commemoration day
for the Panchamukha Ganapati Pavilion at the
Spiritual Park in Mauritius, Indian Ocean