शुक्लाम्बरधरं देवं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् ।
प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ॥
There are many puranic stories in which we have been told to pray to first, before you start anything new. and performing any auspicious work we all must start from god ganesha and this is the only god of whole world which removes of obstacles. Lord Ganesha is just not only god to pray n does not imply to perform the rituals only but his idol has lot of meaning in it and by looking at with a closer feel we will find a deeper meaning behind the Gods symbol and his symbol says lot of messages to our society.
Elephant Head - Big head which have brain and memory like elephant so it means think big and this elephant-head represents the highest form of animal
Big Ears - Listen all and more so we should listen exhaustively to all before reaching to any conclusion
and more
Small Eyes - His eyes are not so expressive and can concentrate so it mean one should not be so expressive so that no one could understand whats going in their mind and concentrate in his work and be practical in life
Trunk - Ganesha's trunk symbolizes the ability to use discrimination - viveka in every action of life. The elephant uses its trunk to push down a big tree,carry heavy weights and also can pick up a small grass and pick up small needle and can break a small coconut and can remove the hard nut and eat the soft kernel inside. so elephant’s trunk is only in the nature that can perform both gross and subtle actions . So its the message to us that to develop our intellect, our powers of discrimination, in both the gross or material world and also in the subtle or spiritual world.
Large Stomach - To digest all kind of food so it gives the message that we must listen to all and same time we digest it, means all the good and bad part of life we have to digest or accept it and we should not react aggressively or in bad way. So we all must be able to accept and digest whatever experiences we go through – be they good or bad. Throughout our trials and tribulations we must be equal-minded and realise that all experiences are learning experiences and will bring us closer to God.
Small Mouth - Elephant is calm animal in his own and he can shout loud only when required. so one should speak his message which should be clear and loud when needed
Axe- Axe in his hand means to cut off all bond of the attachment when needed and live spiritually.
Rope- Rope in his hand means to pull us nearer highest to god and pull us to deeper in that work we are doing for the nature and our duty and never let us run away from our duties of good living life
Modakam (Sweets) - Sweet or Laddo or Modakam is the the reward of the sweetness of knowledge which give us joy, satisfaction and contentment after traveling on the path of enlightenment. It is also the indication of eating the correct Sathwic food so that we only speak sweet words.The importance of the elephant is also that it is a herbivore, eating Sathwic food – a calm and gentle animal that also has immense strength, which it uses only when needed.
Lord Ganesha sits with one leg folded up and the other leg resting on the ground. The leg on the ground tells us that we can live in the world like anyone else. But the leg pointing upwards tells us that our concentration and meditation should be ever focussed on the god.
Holly Flower The Lotus - He holds in his hand and lotus grows in stagnant water, but the flower on the top above the water line so that their purity will not be blemished by the polluted waters underneath . So it means we should live in this world but remain unpolluted by the materialism and negative qualities of our surroundings
At the feet of Lord Ganesha spreads a huge array of different kinds of food thats the Prasadam (the Holy food from god) The food represents material wealth, power and prosperity and indicates that if you do live a life of high ideals & principals, these material benefits will always be available for you, although you will not be attached to them and they will therefore not hinder your spiritual progress. Thats why prasadam is distributed to all in small quantity.
The Vehicle is little rat or mooshikham- Rat represents desire. Rats by nature are very greedy creatures who will run here and there nibbling and hoarding far more than they need. If a man has desires, he can waste his whole life running here and there, fulfilling one desire, only to replace it with another.So the message of this to the society is that one should be like Lord Ganesha and keep our desires undercontrol, never allowing them to overwhelm us. So we must ride on our desire and never let the desire ride on us