Why pray to Lord Ganesha before any task?

Why do we invoke Lord Ganesh before performing any task?

There are two reasons. One is known widely & is based on the Hindu religion. The other reason is scientific.

First, let's talk about the reason you already know. Lord Ganesh is also called विघ्नहर्ता (remover of all obstacles). If you have been celebrating Shri Ganesh Chaturthi, you know that Mother Goddess designated Him as Agrahari... That is, people pray to Lord Ganesh so that their tasks are completed without many or any obstacles.

The second reason lies in the Chakra system of meditation. You might already know that there is this Sushumna nerve (something more like a pipe) inside the human spine. Actually, there are three pipes - Ida, Sushumna, and Pingala. When you perform pranayama, you breathe in and out using Ida & Pingala alternatively. We'll talk about Pranayama in a separate post.

Coming back to the Sushumna nerve pipe, yogis say there are seven main centers in the spine that connects the tailbone to the bulb (medulla) in the brain. It is there in animals too.

In the lowest chakra, also called mooladhara (मूलाधार) chakra, lies the knowledge of the universe, God, Supreme, or anything that you may wish to call It.

The lowest chakra (मूलाधार) lies in the tail part of the spine - it's something like a small triangle holding immense power to the secrets of the universe.

But it is in a dormant (सुप्त स्तिथी) state unless Yogis practice to awaken it. One of the aims of Chakra or any yoga is to awaken the kundalini, the serpent power, and clean the Sushumna nerve pipe thereby cleaning all chakras. When you awaken the kundalini, it rises from the lowest part (in the tail) to the highest (in the brain) and provides you with all the knowledge you want.

Lord Ganesh is associated with the muladhara (मूलाधार) chakra. That is the second scientific reason given for invoking Lord Ganesh before performing any task. In effect, you are awakening the kundalini power (known as serpent power in the West). You are asking that Kundalini power to help you reach your goals when you are praying to Lord Ganesha.

~
Arun Kumar
26/09/17 - 0821 hours (IST)

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