32. Stoop to Serve
VINAAYAKA Chathurthi is the name of the festival celebrated today, all over the country, from the Himaalayas to the Cape, and also wherever people of this country owning allegiance to its culture live. Vinaayaka or Ganesha or Ganapathi or Vighneshwara---all indicate the elephantGod, who is popular among young and old, and who is worshipped as the very first deity, before regularly beginning any ceremony or samskaar, any yaaga or yajna, any vow or fast or pilgrimage. He is the Lord of the Ganas or Divine Forces, inside and outside the human body; He is the Lord, who masters and overwhelms vighna (obstacle), however imminent or eminent. This is the natural effect of the fact that Ganapathi is the God of Intelligence, Vidhya or Buddhi (learning or intellect).
