Pancha Ganapati

The murti (form of God) that was chosen for this video is known as Ganesha Panchamukha (Lord Ganesha of the Five Faces). This is a very auspicious form of God. Ganesha is the son of God in his form as Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. He is the Owner of Obstacles (Vigneswara, or Vighnaraya) and is the first to be invoked in every Vedic ritual, as he is the one who opens the way for spiritual aspirants so that they can make advancements. He personifies Opportunity.

He is also the God of the intellect, culture and the arts, the divine scribe who compiled the Vedas and the Lord of all knowledge. He is the word of God, and is known as Omkaram or the very Form of Om, which is the original creative vibration of this universe.

In the scripture of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says "Out of all the sacred syllables, I am OM". Therefore, Ganesha is understood to be non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

He likes offerings of sweets, coconut, sandal incense, fruits and sweet balls of rice known as modakas. Ganesha is strictly vegetarian! He practices non-violence.

The reason why his five-faced form is worshiped in December has to do with the Hindu diaspora in the Western world and how every religion and culture has its own version of a winter solstice or Yuletide celebration: Christians have Christmas, Jews have Hannukah, African Americans have Kwanzaa, and often Hindu children feel left out and so diasporic Hindus decided to create a new tradition so that children could enjoy gifts, have a good time, eat sweets and learn about their heritage during the winter solstice.

The tradition of Pancha Ganapati (meaning, "The worship of the Five-faced Lord of the Hosts") was born. Since Yule is a time to prepare for the coming of a new year, it would be an auspicious time to worship the Lord of all beginnings. Pancha Ganapati is a five day festival which is celebrated in the home from December 21 through December 25 in worship of the five qualities that Ganesha embodies in this form. The details on how to celebrate the festival can be found here:

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2004/10-12/13_panchaganapati.shtml

Through this festival we strengthen and promote happiness and success in the five areas of family, neighbors, business relations, arts and culture, and finally in the whole world.

Ganesha is also a meditational deity. His one tusk symbolizes concentration. His bija or root mantra is GAM. Some of the mantras used to salute him are:

Om Sri Ganeshaya Namaha
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha

The song that was chosen for this video is by Bhagavan Das. It is from his CD 'Now' and the salutation used is 'Gam Ganapataye Namoh Namaha'.