Reader’s Contribution – Grace of Lord Ganesh, Mr. Kamath

Mr Narayandas Kamath,  a Ganesha devotee has be kind enough to share this article with us which gives various accounts of his experiences  he encountered with Lord Ganesh and His Murti’s ( Idols) during his spiritual journey.   I hope you enjoy the article as much as we enjoyed sharing it.  Please don’t forget to leave a comment.  Thank you.

It started with an image that appeared in my dream some forty years ago – an image of a very different and remarkably unique Ganapati. One with a small face, long trunk, long body and limbs. The vision was so vivid and memorable because immediately after it happened I mysteriously received HIS location, HIS history and directions to HIS temple. That was the Great Titwala Ganapati who has become my main God since that day. Jai Ganesh!  Image : SHRI TITWALA GANAPATI

About a year later I received a small Ganapati murti — brought forth into my hands seemingly from thin air — from a spiritual man named Baba from the town of Kalyan in Maharastra State. He told me to carry the statue with me to Atlanta, GA where I was headed for post-graduate studies. I called this powerful Ganapati, who was like a guardian angel to me during my four year tenure in the US, Baba Ganapati. Jai Ganesh!  Image: MAHA MANTAP GANAPATI

One of the greatest blessings in my life is my collection of over one hundred beautiful Ganapati murtis. I have dedicated an entire room on the second floor of my home to Hindu deities –for daily prayers and meditation. It is truly my shrine – a place where I spend a few hours each daily. Some of the murtis I have collected were gifts from friends, some my wife and I purchased from various temple gift shops across Canada, USA and Hawaii, while others were purchased in some of India’s holiest cities. There are, however, a few murtis that arrived in my shrine in a very unique way which I would like to share with you. Image : SHRI ASTA VINAYAKAS

 

In the mid-1990s, my wife returned from a trip to India with a large, stunningly beautiful and intricately carved rosewood maha mantap for our shrine. She also brought single murtis of Lord Ganapati, Laxmi and Saraswati Matas made of pancha loha (5 metals). Although they looked grand, they were much too small for the size of the mantap. Nonetheless, they were kept as the main murtis in the mantap at that time.  One weekend, a few months later, my wife wanted me to buy some Indian groceries. Even though there are a number of stores within a few kilometers of our home, I just felt like driving north where we used to reside over five years ago and one with just one Indian grocery store. Leisurely I drove up north, almost 30 kilometers away, and parked in front of the Indian Store. I immediately noticed large signs stating: “Last day, Final Closing Sale.” As soon as I walked inside the door I was met by the store owner who questioned where I had been for the past 5 years. Even before we could explain she breathlessly added: “Look that is your Ganapati….waiting for you all this time….. Take him with you!” I looked at the Ganapati, sitting alone on top of an empty shelf. I was stunned by His beauty, size and colour. Even though many customers had come and gone, she offered the Ganesh murti only to me. The murti was approximately 18” by15” in height and width, intricately carved and of rosewood colour that made it a perfect match for our rosewood maha mantap. I asked the store owner how much I should pay. Again and again she repeated, “He is your Ganapati, pay whatever you want.” I immediately held that Ganapati in both myhands, paid the owner with whatever cash I had in my wallet, and seated Him in the front seat of the car and drove home.  I then installed him with due reverence and formalities.  He looked so majestic in our maha mantap and has been the centerpiece of our shrine, we call him Maha MantapGanapati.  We beautifully decorate him with silk and fresh flowers; coral, semi-precious stones and rudraksha garlands; offer daily dhoop, diya; lots of Ganesh mantras, shlokas, Arthavasheershas; durva grass and copious amount of tears of devotion – Bhakti. One look at Him melts my heart with devotion and brings so much peace and tranquility. Thank you for coming into my house Oh! Lord, I am so much more blessed because of HIM.  Jai Ganesh!

It has been over ten years since I visited mother India. Every November I used to plan to go there but something always happened that prevented me from making the trip. In 2004, I was so determined to go – mainly to visit the Asta Vinayak temples located between Pune and Mumbai. That is all I wanted to do. However, that winter I fell down and dislocated my patella – I was in pain for several months. Again, the next year during the winter months I kept falling sick and was not fit to undertake a trip to visit the Asta Vinayakas. I was feeling sad and dejected at the thought that I could not pay a pilgrimage to Lord Ganapati. However, soon after Diwali, one of my old neighbours stopped by unexpectedly.

I was surprised to see them after many years. They had left our neighbourhood, moved to Ottawa and now returned back. As we were catching up on things, they said that they had brought a small gift for me and presented me with a package approximately 2” by18” in dimensions.  They insisted that I open the gift right away. As I started unpacking the gift… low and behold…  My Asta Vinayaka Devas came tome in one single package – there were small statues of eight Vinayakas all on one strip of a cardboard box. I cried out of pure joy. I could not believe this was real and that this was really happening to ME!

It was very mystifying because as I later learned; the murtis were brought from India by their son and were left in a drawer for a couple of years… unopened. They felt like giving it to me despite the fact that they did not have that murti in their own house. These Asta Vinayakas are now located on the top of the maha mantap, very appropriately to remind me daily of the immense and unconditional love that God has for His Bhaktas.  I painted the background with pictures of Doorva grass between each Vinayakas. Eight Atharvasheershas are recited daily in their honour.  Incidentally, when my wife and son went to India a few months later, they visited over 100 shrines all over India, including the Asta Vinayaka temples, but could not find a complete set of Asta Vinayakas anywhere. They could only get individual murtis from each Vinayaka temples. The Asta  (eight) Vinayakas are located in 1) Ballaleshwar – Pali, 2)  Chintamani- Theur, 3) Girijatmaj – Lenyadri, 4) MahaGanapati – Ranjangaon, 5) Moreshwar- Moregaon, 6) Sidhi Vinayak- Sidhitek, 7) Varad Vinayak – Mahad and 8  Vighnahar, Ozar.This was another example of how mysteriously God comes to those who truly yearn for him. Jai Ganesh!   Image : MAHAMAYA GANAPATI & SIDHI VINAYAKA

Every year I love to go to the CNE Exhibition which comes to Toronto in late August to early September. I especially loved to visit the International Pavilion where handicrafts from all over the world are exhibited for sale.  While walking leisurely with my wife through various pavilions and making a number of purchases – including 2 laser carved crystal Ganapatis – we came across an Afghani store. They carried a variety of semi-precious stone wares, vases, flower pots, ash trays and toys made of aventurines, citrines and other semi-precious stones. Surprisingly, in between them was a small group of brass Ganapati murtis. I was especially drawn to one with Lord Shiva and Parvati‘s face on either side of a Shiv Linga with Ganga falling from the Jatha of Shiva on to Shiva Linga on which a little Bala (baby) Ganapati was seated.  This was a unique combined Shiv- Parvati-Bala Ganapati murti all around a Shiv Lingam – something I had never seen before. There were also other Ganapati statues.  I held this Ganapati in both my hands to see the price. There was no price tag. When I asked the store keeper about the price of these statues he casually said one hundred dollars. As I had already spent money on other articles, I opened my wallet to see how much I was left with. I had four bank notes of $20 each for a total $80. I offered all of it to the Afghani vendor. He simply refused to accept it and ignored me. It was an instant love at first sight, and I was determined that I will not leave this Maha Ganapati in such a condition with this vendor. I told my wife that we will go around the store and come back again and hoped that he would change his mind. Before leaving the store I took one last look at the Ganapati and I mentally cried that instead of being in a shrine He is exhibited with tens of collectibles and consumer goods. I wanted this unique murti to be given its due honour. But this vendor did not take any credit card payments and I only had $80 with me.  Within seconds of our leaving the store, we heard a very loud noise that shocked hundreds of people sitting in the food court in front of that store. When we turned around we were shocked also to see that articles and objects worth hundreds or perhaps even thousands of dollars had been smashed and broken into pieces. My wife never believes in my “interpretations” of these types of “coincidences” but at that moment she was so shocked that she held my hand and even without my uttering a word said: “Now I really believe in you.” She knew my inner feelings. It was the little Bala Ganapati throwing a tantrum! He wanted to come with me right then and there but the shop owner would not let HIM go. The vendor was trying to exhibit a heavy hand-woven carpet on the top of the table where he had kept hundreds of items for sale. The string that was supposed to hold the carpet snapped and destroyed many of his wares. Immediately his old mother and wife came running from behind the curtain to clean up the broken glass pieces and other fallen objects. The vendor sadly uttered “I break, I pay.” Too bad.  More determined than before, we circled and  came back again to the store. With tears in my eyes, I bluntly told the vendor, “Sir, He is our most powerful God. He does not want to stay here. He wants to go with me right NOW. Let HIM go, take this money.” Without uttering a single word and with his head bowed, the shop owner simply grabbed the money and let me have the Ganapati. I immediately told my wife that our CNE trip was over and that we were now going straight back to the car and heading home. We bathed the murti in milk, applied kumkum and chandan and performed arti. Since that day, a diya is lit up every evening in front of the Lord; he is offered beautiful flowers, doorva grass and daily morning and evening prayers and is installed on a beautiful mahogany and marble pedestal near the entrance of the shrine. Jai Ganesh! Image : BABA GANAPATI in front of GOLD & CORAL GANAPATI

Numerous similar coincidences have occurred more recently in my life and anything I consider lacking is somehow fulfilled by Him without efforts. For example, many years ago, I did not have the picture of Sidhi Vinayak of Mumbai and the very next week a friend of mine visited me, bringing with him a picture of Sidhi Vinayak in a silver frame  without my even asking.  It is now on permanent display in my shrine. Another murti that I did not have for a long time and which I wanted very much was that of my Kuladevata Shirali Mahamaya Ganapati. I had helped a few new immigrants to Canada by introducing them to some of my customers foremployment. The parents-in law of one such person somehow found out about my Kuladevata and when they visited their son-in-law in Toronto, decided to carry in their hand baggage a small beautifully carved woodenmantap with Mahamaya Ganapati  - all the way from near Mangalore. This Ganapati is also prominently kept in our shrine. Jai Ganesh!

I have murtis of Lord Ganesh made of clay, Panch Loha, Asta dravya (8 types of grain), 22 karat gold, pure silver, iron, aventurine, jade, citrine, tiger-eyed, plastic, stone, granite, marble, cardboard,  madar- white dry tree root, gold and silver plated, paper, wax, straw and many others. Somehow, one that I did not have and wanted badly was that of coral Ganapati.Recently a friend of ours visited us and after seeing my shrine commented that I have a large collection of different types of Ganeshas to which I mentioned that I am missing a coral Ganapati. She immediately noted that her parents had given her two coral Ganapati two years ago — which she said she had never opened from the box and was probably still lying in one of the suite cases in her home and assured us that she won’t have much difficulty finding it and that once she did she would bring it for us. The very next day she foundthe tiny coral Ganapati — still unopened in a small cardboard box. Within a couple of days she brought that Ganapati to our home and He was duly bathed in milk and received with the honour and reverence He deserved.  He is now kept next to the 22 karat gold Ganapati in the centre of Maha Mantap. Jai Ganesh

Soon after we relocated to Toronto almost 15 years ago, we visited the magnificent Ganesh temple, a couple of kilometers from our home. They were having ten days of a special Maha Pooja celebration during Vinayak Chaturthi, consisting of different families sponsoring morning and evening Maha Poojas with Ganesh homa, abhisheka and circling within the temple with Ganesh on the palanquin and a grand procession with Ganesh on a chariot around the temple. The minute I saw this beautiful ceremony I wanted to perform it during one of those important days on behalf of our family. I asked the President of the temple to give me an opportunity to sponsor the pooja. He replied that both the annual morning and evening events had already been booked solid a long time ago by the long standing trustees of the temple. He went on to say that getting the opportunity to perform this maha pooja – especially for a newcomer like me – was next to impossible. Dejected and disappointed I accepted his verdict and went home. This was a Friday evening. Early Saturday morning that temple Ganapati  appeared to me in my dream and wanted me to offer my maha pooja. Shocked but not surprised, I woke up and told my wife about it. She said that it was just my wish being restated in the dream.  Around 8:30 a.m, while we were having our breakfast I got a telephone call from the President of the temple stating that one of the trustee’s father had died and thus he would not be able to perform the pooja. He said that since I wanted to perform the maha pooja I can take over his responsibility and I immediately accepted it. Jai Ganesh! Image : Partial view of  my Home Shrine

Over the last many years and with great difficulty, I had carefully nurtured and maintained 3 earthen pots with doorva grass for daily offerings to Lord Ganapati. Recently I used all of the doorva grass on the Ganesh Chaturti day when I recited 1008 atharvasheershas from my home shrine at which time I offered one doorva each, with each recital to Lord Ganesh. It is very hard to grow doorva grass through out the year in the arctic Canada. We only get some in the summer months. Thereafter it has to be grown indoor with much difficulty.
A week later I went out for lunch with an elderly friend and after lunch drove to his residence to drop him where I found a large earthen pot overgrown with packed doorva grass enjoying the last few days of summer in their front yard. I looked at it but did not ask for anything, because they had only one pot with doorvas and they do take most of it to the nearby Ganesh Temple.
A couple of days later the same gentleman phoned me and asked me to come to his house to pick up something. Not knowing what it is, I casually drove to their home a few hours later and found that out that he was not there but instead his son-in-law, whom I have not seen for many years came at the door and indicated that while splitting up the packed doorva grass in 3 separate pots, something felt in him to call me to take one of the pots. When I asked his father-in-law later as to how did his son-in-law whom I have not met in many years think of me and know about my need for the doorva grass, the only thing he could say with some gestures was the big lord in the sky did what is called Ganesh Lila. The lord knew that I was struggling to find even a single decent doorva for my daily poojas. So even without my asking He brings a pot full of doorvas! Jai Ganesh!

I have no words to express my joy and gratitude to Lord Ganapati for all his timely help, kindness and lavish blessings throughout my life. Sometimes I wonder what I have done to deserve these blessings. He is a permanent and invaluable force in my life and without him I have nothing and am nothing. All the joys and sorrows are shared with him. I talk to him daily like a little boy talking to his mother. I put all my burdens on him and he decides how I am to react. This gives me a joy and sense of security that I have never known before. I can hardly express in words the feelings and certainty that I am never alone because He is always with me. When I close my eyes I can always visualize Him clearly and when I open my eyes there is no joy greater than to see his image in the form of a murti.  His majestic form, beautiful face, piercing and kind eyes and ever present Varada Mudra (blessing hand) gives me immense joy, hope and life.To me, the Murtis are the most powerful objects that represent the almighty God. Some of them have a mind of their own and have distinct likes and preferences. Some of the murtis choose to come into our homes in mysterious ways and at the most appropriate of times – often when our bhakti reaches a certain level of maturity. It is the natural reaction from the almighty – God always responds promptly and decisively to His Bhakta’s call. Often, God wants our humble and simple services, just to bring us closer to Him. It is HIS simple response to our unconditional and selfless love through our ardent devotion – Bhakti.  One develops Bhakti through years and perhaps many births of prayers, japas, good karmas and meditation.When I do something wrong, He presents the dire consequences in my dream. He is my guide, Guru and God and through the murtis I am able to be closer to Him. Like some of our spiritual masters or Gurus, murtis also appear in our dreams to convey God’s blessings.  They represent the God we worship.  So where did my love affair with Lord Ganapati begin? Well, that’s another story.  Jai Ganesh!  Jai Maha Deva Titwala Ganapati! Jai Vinayaka!

Narayandas Kamath