Remove Obstacles and Call on Ganesha

Jennifer Spiroff
Feb 21, 2019
3 min read

Ganesha has turned into one of my favorite deities to call on. Something about the cute little pot belly, all the arms, and the elephant head made me curious about the little guy and ever since his frequency within me when I call on him has grown stronger and stronger and it's a frequency I can easily pass on to others when I do Reiki.

Ganesha is a Hindu deity, one of the first to be called on when in prayer. His parents are Parvati (goddess of love and devotion) and Shiva (god of destruction), so you can see how the two of them would make some well-balanced children. There are many stories about how Ganesha got his elephant head and his big round belly, none of which are very happy and joyful, so for me it comes down to that's just the way he looks.

Ganesha's appearance is symbolic in many ways. We start with the trunk. An elephant's trunk has the strength to uproot trees as well as the delicacy to pick up a needle, showing us that the wise person has both immense strength and fine discrimination. He has large ears, as a wise person hears all. In one of Ganesha's four hands he holds a lotus flower, the symbol of enlightenment. In another he holds a hatchet, symbolizing the accumulated good and bad of past deeds that get cut when enlightenment comes. A third hand holds laddus, the round sweet-meats. These are the rewards of a wise life. Ganesha is never shown eating the laddus for the wise man never partakes of the rewards of his deeds. He is not attached to them. The fourth hand is shown blessing the people because a wise man wishes the best for everyone. He has one full tusk and one that is broken. In the book I read to my 4-year-old he broke his tusk on a piece of hard candy, but I digress. The broken tusk symbolizes the truth that outward imperfections have nothing to do with inner perfection. Ganesha is normally shown sitting with one foot on the ground and the other resting on his knee, above the ground. This is a reminder that one is of this earth, yet not entirely of this earth.

Many pictures depict Ganesha riding or sitting beside a rat (some say a mouse, but it's a rat). This is an extension of Ganesha’s powers. For a rat can gnaw through all barriers and can slide into crevices too tiny for Ganesha to enter. The rat is also a symbol of our senses, which are never satisfied. Our senses crave new experiences, new tastes and when left uncontrolled like the teeth of a rat will keep growing forever. A wise person rides on his senses and keeps them under control.

When I call on Ganesha for myself and for others in their Reiki treatment I do so because of his supreme power to remove obstacles (though he may lay down an obstacle if you are in need to slow down). He is a wonderful source of inspiration as you work to achieve a goal. New job, new home, new life. Ganesha is revered for his cleverness and wisdom and is also known as the patron of letters and learning. Ganesha is the scribe who wrote down the legendary Indian epic the Mahabharata (an ancient Indian epic where the main story revolves around two branches of a family - the Kauravas and the Pandavas - who in the Kurukshetra War, won the battle for the throne of Hastinapura), dictated to him by the ancient sage Vyasa. With this, he is known as the god of education, knowledge, literature and fine arts.

In my truck, on my dash, sits Ganesha. Before I start the engine and begin my trek I am reminded that