The document discusses the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, a hymn that praises the Hindu deity Ganapati. It describes how Ganapati came to be recognized as an elephant-headed deity around the 4th century AD and how the hymn was composed in the 17th century. Ganapati is regarded as the "Lord of all creation" and plays a central role in binding creation and destruction together according to Hindu scriptures. The hymn and other texts attribute various powers to Ganapati that help explain his popularity as one of the most worshipped gods in India.
3. “ Tat” is the truth or the ultimate reality. God “ Tvam” represents all the creations or the “Ganas”. “ Asi” is the synthesis that binds tat and tvam together. In the Chandogya Upanishad and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa this central position of “Asi” that participates in both creation and death has been assigned to Ganapati. “ Tat Tvam Asi”, means, “Thou Art That”. “ Thou, the living person, art the image of God
4. In the Ganesha Purana, Ganapati is also depicted as two different deities. As “sukhakarta-dukhaharta”, or as “vighnakarta-vighnaharta.” He either creates or removes obstacles or allows those already there to exist. In each case for a reason specific to the worshiper. Ganapati is probably the most worshiped and popular god in India. His popularity stems from the powers and premises that have been attributed to him. Extensive manuals were thus produced in the Puranas to guide the worshiper and much stress was put on the mechanics of ritual to fulfill his devotees hopes and desires. In addition to that 96 years ago Lokamanya Tilak used the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi as a political movement to collect an audience for his anti British cause. This propelled Ganapati to the highest position in the hierarchy of Hindu Gods making him the premier deity in all Hindu ceremonies of worship. Because of all these attributes and glorification it is easy to see why Ganapati enjoys such a high status in the ranking of all the Hindu gods put together.
5. GANAPATI Hindus believe that Ganapati unites man to god both at birth and death. We also believe that all of creation started with Ganapati’s intervention. Hence, we always bow to Ganapati first and worship him at the beginning of every enterprise. As a protector, his image is always placed at the entrance of every house and temple.
![THE GANAPATI ATHARVASHIRSHA A SYNOPSIS AND TRANSLATION ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],The basic concept in Hindu mythological symbolism is the principle: That man is the image of God or in Sanskrit: “Tat Tvam Asi”. This is often referred to as the “Mahavakya” in the Upanishads and the Puranas.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)