Did Science create Gods? – 4 (Lord Ganesha)
For the next topic in this series, let’s explore on the elephant headed God. To start off, let’s target on the common questions all of us have.
1. Who is this? What does his name mean?
2. Who are his parents?
3. Is it really true that the mighty Lord Siva chopped off his head?
4. Is this elephant headed boy (an alien) or a living form of the past generations who has now eradicated?
5. Did our ancestors create this individual using Science? And if so, why is he God?
The age old artifacts and the supplementing literature provides answers to these questions. Let’s start this from the very old and famous Tamil devotional song Pilayar Vanakkam.
Let’s look at the translation of this piece:
1. Om Pilayar Vanakkam = Greetings to Pilayar
Everywhere, we hear this elephant headed God as Ganesha. However in Tamilnadu, he is addressed as Pilayar (Pillai + yaar = Boy + Who = Who’s this boy?) The good old language Tamil always gives a reasoned name for every activity and hence the name. The people of that time were apparently quizzed on seeing a boy who walked with an elephant head and kept asking who’s the boy? Hence, the name Pilayar is set for him.
2. Characteristics of Pilayar:
Ainthu karathanai; yaanai mugathanai (You have five arms and you are elephant faced)
Inthin ilam pirai; polum yeyitranai (You have tusks that look like the crescent of a moon)
Nandhi magan thanai; gyana kolunthinai (You are the son of Nandi; You are the start of wisdom)
punthiyil Vaithadi potru gindreney! (I’ve placed you in my mind and I praise you for your greatness!
Every body who is Tamil would know this song. The 3rd line of this song very clearly states that Pilayar is indeed the son of Nandi. But why do we really think that he is the son of Lord Siva? Was he truly the son of Nandi? Could this Tamil sloka be right? Let’s jump on to Architecture.
Nandi (a bull headed female) is breast feeding her young son Pilayar.
With both literature and Architecture as proof of the past, can we truly say that Pilayar is indeed the son of Nandi?? If so, who created that confusion that Pilayar is indeed the son of Siva?
1. We say that Lord Ganesha is the primary God of Induism. If that’s the case, why are we not even bothered to analyze and look up on the facts on who’s is the father of him?
2. As we have already seen in the past posts, there are male and female elephant headed Gods, if so, why do we still believe that creation of Ganesha was just by accident?
3. If Nandi (male) and Nandi (female) were in fact born as super-humans (or aliens) and not created by surgical means, how could they possibly have a son with an elephant head?
4. The daily ritual of every God in every Indu temple is to put them back with their wives in their bedroom. And here, we have a God feeding her son. Why do we still want to believe that the Gods should be created only by super-natural means?
Why exactly are we still fighting on the type of vrata to take and/or enforcing the age old practices and beliefs and why are we not focused on understanding the scientific and rational thoughts of our ancestors? How is having a blind belief on everything called as true worship???
The so called rationalistic thoughts are bound and designed by one’s power to imagine, one’s ability to view things differently, one’s ability to empty the cup of his/her mind to know that there’s lot more which we might not be aware of…
The beauty of human mind is to be different and think different.
Deep down we still classify something as good or bad… Who has said that something is good or bad. It is based on one’s belief and the society they have been in to.
So in essence it is best to stick to one’s belief…
Thoughts are only bound by one mental boundaries and is very deceptive, while “belief” stems from the inner conscience which is far more pure and truthful.
Do what you feel is good, and don’t do what you feel is bad…
Ashwini, you remember the scene in Lucy?, Where Scarlet talks about “Time”, and she says only time can tell you the truth whether it existed or not.
Good questions and understanding sister.lord Ganesha was an adopted son of lord Siva and was created by head transplantation or genetic transplantation.
I heard another explanation that the word should NANDHANTHI instead of nandhi in the third line. It was said that NANDHANTHI (in Sanskrit) means person who gives happiness – referring to lord Shiva as that person.
In swamimalai the word used is NANDHIN maganthanai.
Not able to find meaning for NANDHIN till now.