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gaṇesha: The elephant-headed god, son of Shiva and Parvati, who is the lord/leader ("Isha") of Shiva's army ("gaṇa"). Shiva's army is made up of all sorts of strange creatures, huligans of heaven ("gaṇa"), as he will use any means, devious or not, to remove ignorance in the devotee.

sharaṇam: To take refuge. In this case, to take refuge in Ganesha.

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"Lord Ganesh of curved elephant trunk and huge body,
Whose brilliance is equal to billions of suns in intensity,
Always removes all obstacles from my endeavours truly,
I respectfully pray to him with all my revered sincerity."  ~ Munindra Misra


"Though Ganesha is worshiped as the elephant-headed God, the form is just to bring out the formless. Ganesha is unborn, attribute-less, formless, and he symbolizes the consciousness which is omnipresent. Ganesha is the same energy which is the reason for this universe – the energy from which everything manifests, and into which everything will dissolve."  ~ The Art of Living


"When you're blessed by Ganesh, then you can travel,
On a sacred journey to an inner temple.
He paves the path that leads to the soul
And he's known for removing all obstacles.
Now some may think it's illogical,
a myth, or it's just philosophical,
But Ganesha makes everything possible
because elephant power's unstoppable!"  ~ MC Yogi

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