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Photo André Knoerr, Genève. Reproduction autorisée avec mention de la source.
Utilisation commerciale soumise à autorisation spéciale préalable.
La Re 4/4" 11120 est attelée à un Dispozug formé d'A VU I, de B VU II et d'une BDt klB en gare de Bern.
Cette machine est affectée normalement à la manoeuvre en gare de Basel SBB et elle effectue exceptionnelement des services en ligne.
Les 40 autres Re 4/4" restantes de la première série 11107-11155 (avec un seul pantographe) effectuent encore des prestations kilométriques importantes à la division voyageurs CFF, malgré l'âge respectable de 45 ans pour les plus anciennes.
Les machines en service en 2012 sont les suivantes:
11108 et 11109 en livrée Swiss Express, avec climatisation
38 machines rouges climatisées: 11111, 11112, 11114-11116, 11118, 11121, 11122, 11124-11136, 11138-11141 et 11143-11155. Les unités 11133 et 11141 ont le logo CFF frontal.
Le BLS exploite les locs sans climatisation Re 420 501-506 ex 11110, 11117, 11119, 11123, 11137 et 11142.
Les unités 11107 (BLS Re 420 507) et 11113 ont été démolies avant 2012.
Enfin la Re 4/4''' 11350 ex-SOB 41 est encore en service à la division Cargo.
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Sixty three metres at 12:45pm on an overcast summer afternoon on Thursday 15th July 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Here we see an adult European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) proudly prancing around the garden with a feather that it flew off with, presumably to help line a newly crafted nest. Also known as the common starling or simply starling, these are medium sized passerines known for being loud and up for a squabble in British gardens. With a lifespan of two to three years, they are omnivores measuring up to nine inches in length and a wingspan of up to seventeen inches. They are common to Europe, India and North Africa and possess the ability mimic other bird songs, noises and even human speech. They can also have an individual repertoire of more than thirty variable song types and fourteen clicks.
Sadly, despite a UK breeding population in excess of 1.8 Million, their demise in other areas sees them currently on the red list for UK conservation status.
Nikon D850 Focal length: 550mm Shutter speed: 1/500s Aperture: f/8.0 iso500 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON (Position 1) 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4520k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.33s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.39s
ALTITUDE: 68.00m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.8MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 29.10MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
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Robert Gourlay, a well respected Scottish Reformer came to Upper Canada in 1818 and after seeing many issues with how the Province was being administered began to question the Provincial Parliament and the cadre of Colonial Elites who seemed to run everything. He hit a nerve and was run out of the Province after being illegally arrested and charged. But it was through his efforts that the reform movement got its spark and became the flame of change leading to the eventual establishment of Responsible Government. Today a bust of Gourlay sits in St. James Park in downtown Toronto.
Mamiya m645 - Mamiya-Sekor C 150mm 1:3.5 N - Ilford FP4+ @ ASA-125
Blazinal (1+25) 9:00 @ 20C
Meter: Pentax Spotmeter V
Scanner: Epson V700
Editor: Adobe Photoshop CC
If you're on to a good thing - stick to it.
Although it was clear that the days of the body-on-frame passenger car were numbered, there was still a clearly identified and loyal customer.
When playing to your strengths, in this case the separate frame construction, you can sometimes turn a perceived 'disadvantage' into an 'advantage'. In this respect, the product conceived as the Ford Crown Victoria Coupe-Utility (in about 2006), looked to its separate frame construction as a method of providing a vehicle type - the Coupe-Utility, long absent from the US market, into a viable product proposition by borrowing the 'utility' section from the similarly sized forthcoming Ford Falcon Ute (as Australians call the coupe-utility design), due for release in 2008.
The Ford Falcon in Australia has had the Coupe-Utility design from day one. In fact, the Coupe Utility was originally conceived and designed in Australia by the fledgling Product Development group in 1934 (on a Ford V8). The intent was to provide a farmer with a single vehicle that he could take the pigs to market, and also to go to church on Sunday. For history buffs, its creator was a young engineer named Lewis Bandt.
Any, an interesting divergence from the main story.
In the mid to late 2000s, both Ford Australia and GM's Holden division were proving their mettle in developing RWD vehicle architectures that could compete globally. Holden built and exported its large RWD car, the Commodore (and LWB Caprice) derivatives to the Middle East in large volumes, along with other markets. A similar plan was also conceived to send the Falcon to this same market, but internal politics resolved in favour of supplying Crown Victorias.
In 2006, the VE Commodore debuted GM's new Zeta platform, destined also for the Camaro (also engineered in Australia), along with various other derivatives. The Commodore was exported to the US to provide the Pontiac G8, and it was rumoured that the Commodore wagon and Utility would also be soon following as a Sports-Wagon and Coupe-Utility counterpart, bolstering Pontiacs sport performance image with some vehicles which could actually deliver.
Ford hastily conceived a response. Having rejected the LHD Falcon for Mid-East markets, it was similarly undesirable to remedy the issue and build volumes of LHD Falcons (which incidentally did not have a US-compliant engine program - but this is another saga-length story). However, the rear utility section of the AU-BF, and superseding FG, were unlike to traditional Coupe-Utility, a separate unit, mounted to a traditional rear rail section. As the Crown Victoria and Falcon were substantially the same size, exporting only the load box provided a majority of the new content required to make a Crown Vic Coupe-Utility, but with none of the engine or vehicle homologation issues presented by bringing over the Falcon whole. The one remaining issue, the fitment of a rear body panel took the form of surrogate Falcon panels in the prototype vehicles built, but was to be better served by the creation of a dedicated Crown Victoria panel section.
All this seemed to be going to plane. Ford's highest volume US car line was to be injected with a fresh dose of market, due to the Coupe utility, which could be sold to fleet services, notable Police and Fire to supplement to Crown Victoria Sedans that they already used.
Storm clouds were brewing on the horizon though. Ford was reluctant to invest in an unknown product, and was busy divesting itself of the various units of its Premier Automotive Group (PAG), comprising of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
Similarly, as GM head toward bankruptcy, it put forward for sale, or closure, the SAAB, Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer divisions.
Alas, a Crown Victoria Coupe-Utility (or even a Ranchero nameplate), was stillborn, but not before a number of prototype vehicles had been built and tested (though not fully tooled).
The model you see here is the result of a 'Rat-Rod' exercise, whereby the model has been 'enhanced' in the idiom of the Rat-Rod, but with a modern touch. Many of the prototypes were painted as Police service vehicles as part of a product assessment tour to various Police Vehicle assessment teams. The model here wears the residual efforts of the traditional 'Black and White', though with a heavy patina of rust and ruin.
This Lego miniland-scale LUGNuts Ford Crown Victoria Coupe-Utility Rat-Rod has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 102nd Build Challenge, titled - 'I Smell a (Modern) Rat!'. In this challenge, any post-1996 vehicle can be built as a rat-rod.
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Gallery on the homepage was renewed after a long time ･･･.
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Unchanged in every respect throughout the Streetview era www.google.com/maps/@51.3519573,-2.0138273,3a,75y,16.48h,...
Two days after the terrible events at Manchester Arena, GWR 6959 Modified Hall 4-6-0 No.6990 Witherslack Hall shows respect by having a wreath on the smoke box door. The photograph was taken on the 24th May 2017 at Bury Bolton Street Station which is just outside Manchester. The railway is part of the East Lancashire Railway.
SoulRider.222 © 2008
Salute.
My father was a police officer. I will always have nothing but the utmost respect and honor for the first responders who put their life on the line to protect those whom they are sworn to protect and serve.
Half-staff for two police officers killed in Woodburn, Oregon on December 12th 2008.
Oregon State Police Senior Trooper William Hakim and Woodburn police Captain Tom Tennant were killed when a bomb, believed to be a fake, exploded inside the lobby of the West Coast Bank in Woodburn, Oregon.
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Police on Saturday confirmed the death of a second officer in a bomb blast Friday evening at West Coast Bank in Woodburn -- one of the worst law enforcement tragedies in Oregon history. The city's police chief underwent five hours of surgery and remained in critical condition at OHSU Hospital.
The victims were identified as Senior Trooper William Hakim, who worked as a bomb squad technician for Oregon State Police, and Capt. Tom Tennant of the Woodburn Police Department, both described by colleagues as dedicated professionals and family men.
The officers died instantly, said Lt. Sheila Lorance, a spokeswoman for the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell survived the explosion and remained in OHSU's intensive care unit.
A bank employee suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities said they were not releasing her name for her safety. "She is a witness to a homicide," Lorance said.
The Woodburn bombing was at the 2500 block of Oregon 214, where the bomb's detonation at about 5:30 p.m., blew out two large windows in the front of the building.
Authorities have no suspects. Dozens of local and federal authorities, including from the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, Oregon State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), surrounded the building and began work that could spark a widespread search for the bomber or bombers aka killer or killers.
Investigators in white forensic suits and face masks could be seen entering and exiting the branch for hours Saturday, combing for clues. Federal authorities are offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings described the individual or individuals as "very dangerous."
"That person needs to be found as soon as possible," Hastings said during a somber news conference.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the ATF at 800-800-3855.
At question is exactly what happened in the moments before the blast and, more specifically, what caused the bomb technician and the officers with decades of experience to move a suspicious item from a bush outside the building to the inside. Authorities declined to comment on such details until the investigation reaches some findings.
Though protocol varies by jurisdiction, Atlanta-based explosives expert Hal Lowder said in most cases a potential bomb would not be moved indoors.
"I don't want to second-guess why they did what they did," Lowder said from his home in Atlanta. "But in some instances, you might move a device if it were to protect the public. Property damage always comes second."
A bank could absorb an explosion, he said, protecting a residential area.
The Woodburn branch of West Coast Bank is surrounded by businesses, senior housing, single-family homes and busy Oregon 214, a main drag through Woodburn, population 22,000. The bank is on the opposite side of Interstate 5 from the popular Woodburn Company Stores outlet mall.
Although details are sketchy, Friday's events began to unfold about 10:30 a.m., when someone made a threatening phone call to the Wells Fargo bank next door. The bank was evacuated, and police found a suspicious object but determined it wasn't dangerous.
West Coast asked police to check its bank, but police found nothing. Then later that afternoon, a bank employee found a mysterious item under a bush and called police again. At 5 p.m., police evacuated the building.
They scanned the item with a portable X-ray machine. At 5:24 p.m., after they had finished the scan, the item blew up.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office declined to comment on whether or when a robot was used to inspect the device or the scene.
Kevin Baker, whose family owns the 76 gas station a few businesses down the highway, said he stopped by the bank about 5:20 p.m., but a Woodburn police officer told him the branch was closed. Baker saw a few plainclothes men inside, wearing gloves and congregating around a counter, possibly where customers fill out their deposit slips.
He didn't see what the men were looking at.
He left and was about two minutes into his drive across town to another West Coast branch when he saw a flurry of police cars zoom toward the bank. When he arrived at the second branch, frantic employees told him what had happened.
"It's tough for our community," said the lifelong resident, who knew Woodburn police Capt. Tennant and knows Police Chief Russell and the injured bank employee. "This kind of thing just doesn't happen in Woodburn."
Hakim is the second Oregon State Police bomb technician to die in the line of duty, Hastings said.
Anyone with information, call the ATF at 800-800-3855.
Diver letting an Olive Sea Snake (Aipysurus laevis) go by.
Snake Pit dive site on the Great Barrier Reef.
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES
Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".
In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.
In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.
ICONOGRAPHY
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.
COMMON ATTRIBUTES
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.
Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.
VAHANAS
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.
ASSOCIATIONS
OBSTACLES
Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."
Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.
BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".
AUM
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.
FIRST CHAKRA
According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".
FAMILY AND CONSORTS
Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.
The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.
Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.
WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
GANESH CHATURTI
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
TEMPLES
In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.
There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.
T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
FIRST APEARANCE
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.
POSSIBLE INFLUENCES
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.
A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.
First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).
VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE
The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".
Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.
PURANIC PERIOD
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.
SCRIPTURES
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM
Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.
Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.
Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
WIKIPEDIA
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati and Vinayaka, is a widely worshipped deity in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya arose, who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
ETYMOLOGY AND OTHER NAMES
Ganesha has been ascribed many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vighneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana, meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha, meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva. The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati, a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vighnesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vighnesha and Vighneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu theology as the master and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pillai. A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillai means a "child" while pillaiyar means a "noble child". He adds that the words pallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk", also "elephant tooth or tusk". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root word pille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Pali word pillaka means "a young elephant".
In the Burmese language, Ganesha is known as Maha Peinne, derived from Pali Mahā Wināyaka. The widespread name of Ganesha in Thailand is Phra Phikhanet or Phra Phikhanesuan, both of which are derived from Vara Vighnesha and Vara Vighneshvara respectively, whereas the name Khanet (from Ganesha) is rather rare.
In Sri Lanka, in the North-Central and North Western areas with predominantly Buddhist population, Ganesha is known as Aiyanayaka Deviyo, while in other Singhala Buddhist areas he is known as Gana deviyo.
ICONOGRAPHY
Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art. Unlike those of some deities, representations of Ganesha show wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in a range of contemporary situations.
Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900–1200, after Ganesha had been well-established as an independent deity with his own sect. This example features some of Ganesha's common iconographic elements. A virtually identical statue has been dated between 973–1200 by Paul Martin-Dubost, and another similar statue is dated c. 12th century by Pratapaditya Pal. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a big belly. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is a particularly archaic feature. A more primitive statue in one of the Ellora Caves with this general form has been dated to the 7th century. Details of the other hands are difficult to make out on the statue shown. In the standard configuration, Ganesha typically holds an axe or a goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm.
The influence of this old constellation of iconographic elements can still be seen in contemporary representations of Ganesha. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness (abhaya mudra). The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme.
COMMON ATTRIBUTES
Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. Puranic myths provide many explanations for how he got his elephant head. One of his popular forms, Heramba-Ganapati, has five elephant heads, and other less-common variations in the number of heads are known. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, he acquires the head later in most stories. The most recurrent motif in these stories is that Ganesha was created by Parvati using clay to protect her and Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. Details of the battle and where the replacement head came from vary from source to source. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly.
Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk, the other being broken. Some of the earliest images of Ganesha show him holding his broken tusk. The importance of this distinctive feature is reflected in the Mudgala Purana, which states that the name of Ganesha's second incarnation is Ekadanta. Ganesha's protruding belly appears as a distinctive attribute in his earliest statuary, which dates to the Gupta period (4th to 6th centuries). This feature is so important that, according to the Mudgala Purana, two different incarnations of Ganesha use names based on it: Lambodara (Pot Belly, or, literally, Hanging Belly) and Mahodara (Great Belly). Both names are Sanskrit compounds describing his belly. The Brahmanda Purana says that Ganesha has the name Lambodara because all the universes (i.e., cosmic eggs) of the past, present, and future are present in him. The number of Ganesha's arms varies; his best-known forms have between two and sixteen arms. Many depictions of Ganesha feature four arms, which is mentioned in Puranic sources and codified as a standard form in some iconographic texts. His earliest images had two arms. Forms with 14 and 20 arms appeared in Central India during the 9th and the 10th centuries. The serpent is a common feature in Ganesha iconography and appears in many forms. According to the Ganesha Purana, Ganesha wrapped the serpent Vasuki around his neck. Other depictions of snakes include use as a sacred thread wrapped around the stomach as a belt, held in a hand, coiled at the ankles, or as a throne. Upon Ganesha's forehead may be a third eye or the Shaivite sectarian mark , which consists of three horizontal lines. The Ganesha Purana prescribes a tilaka mark as well as a crescent moon on the forehead. A distinct form of Ganesha called Bhalachandra includes that iconographic element. Ganesha is often described as red in color. Specific colors are associated with certain forms. Many examples of color associations with specific meditation forms are prescribed in the Sritattvanidhi, a treatise on Hindu iconography. For example, white is associated with his representations as Heramba-Ganapati and Rina-Mochana-Ganapati (Ganapati Who Releases from Bondage). Ekadanta-Ganapati is visualized as blue during meditation in that form.
VAHANAS
The earliest Ganesha images are without a vahana (mount/vehicle). Of the eight incarnations of Ganesha described in the Mudgala Purana, Ganesha uses a mouse (shrew) in five of them, a lion in his incarnation as Vakratunda, a peacock in his incarnation as Vikata, and Shesha, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja. Mohotkata uses a lion, Mayūreśvara uses a peacock, Dhumraketu uses a horse, and Gajanana uses a mouse, in the four incarnations of Ganesha listed in the Ganesha Purana. Jain depictions of Ganesha show his vahana variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock.
Ganesha is often shown riding on or attended by a mouse, shrew or rat. Martin-Dubost says that the rat began to appear as the principal vehicle in sculptures of Ganesha in central and western India during the 7th century; the rat was always placed close to his feet. The mouse as a mount first appears in written sources in the Matsya Purana and later in the Brahmananda Purana and Ganesha Purana, where Ganesha uses it as his vehicle in his last incarnation. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa includes a meditation verse on Ganesha that describes the mouse appearing on his flag. The names Mūṣakavāhana (mouse-mount) and Ākhuketana (rat-banner) appear in the Ganesha Sahasranama.
The mouse is interpreted in several ways. According to Grimes, "Many, if not most of those who interpret Gaṇapati's mouse, do so negatively; it symbolizes tamoguṇa as well as desire". Along these lines, Michael Wilcockson says it symbolizes those who wish to overcome desires and be less selfish. Krishan notes that the rat is destructive and a menace to crops. The Sanskrit word mūṣaka (mouse) is derived from the root mūṣ (stealing, robbing). It was essential to subdue the rat as a destructive pest, a type of vighna (impediment) that needed to be overcome. According to this theory, showing Ganesha as master of the rat demonstrates his function as Vigneshvara (Lord of Obstacles) and gives evidence of his possible role as a folk grāma-devatā (village deity) who later rose to greater prominence. Martin-Dubost notes a view that the rat is a symbol suggesting that Ganesha, like the rat, penetrates even the most secret places.
ASSOCIATIONS
OBSTACLES
Ganesha is Vighneshvara or Vighnaraja or Vighnaharta (Marathi), the Lord of Obstacles, both of a material and spiritual order. He is popularly worshipped as a remover of obstacles, though traditionally he also places obstacles in the path of those who need to be checked. Paul Courtright says that "his task in the divine scheme of things, his dharma, is to place and remove obstacles. It is his particular territory, the reason for his creation."
Krishan notes that some of Ganesha's names reflect shadings of multiple roles that have evolved over time. Dhavalikar ascribes the quick ascension of Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon, and the emergence of the Ganapatyas, to this shift in emphasis from vighnakartā (obstacle-creator) to vighnahartā (obstacle-averter). However, both functions continue to be vital to his character.
BUDDHI (KNOWLEDGE)
Ganesha is considered to be the Lord of letters and learning. In Sanskrit, the word buddhi is a feminine noun that is variously translated as intelligence, wisdom, or intellect. The concept of buddhi is closely associated with the personality of Ganesha, especially in the Puranic period, when many stories stress his cleverness and love of intelligence. One of Ganesha's names in the Ganesha Purana and the Ganesha Sahasranama is Buddhipriya. This name also appears in a list of 21 names at the end of the Ganesha Sahasranama that Ganesha says are especially important. The word priya can mean "fond of", and in a marital context it can mean "lover" or "husband", so the name may mean either "Fond of Intelligence" or "Buddhi's Husband".
AUM
Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum, also spelled Om. The term oṃkārasvarūpa (Aum is his form), when identified with Ganesha, refers to the notion that he personifies the primal sound. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa attests to this association. Chinmayananda translates the relevant passage as follows:
(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Some devotees see similarities between the shape of Ganesha's body in iconography and the shape of Aum in the Devanāgarī and Tamil scripts.
FIRST CHAKRA
According to Kundalini yoga, Ganesha resides in the first chakra, called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The muladhara chakra is the principle on which the manifestation or outward expansion of primordial Divine Force rests. This association is also attested to in the Ganapati Atharvashirsa. Courtright translates this passage as follows: "[O Ganesha,] You continually dwell in the sacral plexus at the base of the spine [mūlādhāra cakra]." Thus, Ganesha has a permanent abode in every being at the Muladhara. Ganesha holds, supports and guides all other chakras, thereby "governing the forces that propel the wheel of life".
FAMILY AND CONSORTS
Though Ganesha is popularly held to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, the Puranic myths give different versions about his birth. In some he was created by Parvati, in another he was created by Shiva and Parvati, in another he appeared mysteriously and was discovered by Shiva and Parvati or he was born from the elephant headed goddess Malini after she drank Parvati's bath water that had been thrown in the river.
The family includes his brother the war god Kartikeya, who is also called Subramanya, Skanda, Murugan and other names. Regional differences dictate the order of their births. In northern India, Skanda is generally said to be the elder, while in the south, Ganesha is considered the first born. In northern India, Skanda was an important martial deity from about 500 BCE to about 600 CE, when worship of him declined significantly in northern India. As Skanda fell, Ganesha rose. Several stories tell of sibling rivalry between the brothers and may reflect sectarian tensions.
Ganesha's marital status, the subject of considerable scholarly review, varies widely in mythological stories. One pattern of myths identifies Ganesha as an unmarried brahmacari. This view is common in southern India and parts of northern India. Another pattern associates him with the concepts of Buddhi (intellect), Siddhi (spiritual power), and Riddhi (prosperity); these qualities are sometimes personified as goddesses, said to be Ganesha's wives. He also may be shown with a single consort or a nameless servant (Sanskrit: daşi). Another pattern connects Ganesha with the goddess of culture and the arts, Sarasvati or Śarda (particularly in Maharashtra). He is also associated with the goddess of luck and prosperity, Lakshmi. Another pattern, mainly prevalent in the Bengal region, links Ganesha with the banana tree, Kala Bo.
The Shiva Purana says that Ganesha had begotten two sons: Kşema (prosperity) and Lābha (profit). In northern Indian variants of this story, the sons are often said to be Śubha (auspiciouness) and Lābha. The 1975 Hindi film Jai Santoshi Maa shows Ganesha married to Riddhi and Siddhi and having a daughter named Santoshi Ma, the goddess of satisfaction. This story has no Puranic basis, but Anita Raina Thapan and Lawrence Cohen cite Santoshi Ma's cult as evidence of Ganesha's continuing evolution as a popular deity.
WOSHIP AND FESTIVALS
Ganesha is worshipped on many religious and secular occasions; especially at the beginning of ventures such as buying a vehicle or starting a business. K.N. Somayaji says, "there can hardly be a [Hindu] home [in India] which does not house an idol of Ganapati. [..] Ganapati, being the most popular deity in India, is worshipped by almost all castes and in all parts of the country". Devotees believe that if Ganesha is propitiated, he grants success, prosperity and protection against adversity.
Ganesha is a non-sectarian deity, and Hindus of all denominations invoke him at the beginning of prayers, important undertakings, and religious ceremonies. Dancers and musicians, particularly in southern India, begin performances of arts such as the Bharatnatyam dance with a prayer to Ganesha. Mantras such as Om Shri Gaṇeshāya Namah (Om, salutation to the Illustrious Ganesha) are often used. One of the most famous mantras associated with Ganesha is Om Gaṃ Ganapataye Namah (Om, Gaṃ, Salutation to the Lord of Hosts).
Devotees offer Ganesha sweets such as modaka and small sweet balls (laddus). He is often shown carrying a bowl of sweets, called a modakapātra. Because of his identification with the color red, he is often worshipped with red sandalwood paste (raktacandana) or red flowers. Dūrvā grass (Cynodon dactylon) and other materials are also used in his worship.
Festivals associated with Ganesh are Ganesh Chaturthi or Vināyaka chaturthī in the śuklapakṣa (the fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of bhādrapada (August/September) and the Gaṇeśa jayanti (Gaṇeśa's birthday) celebrated on the cathurthī of the śuklapakṣa (fourth day of the waxing moon) in the month of māgha (January/February)."
GANESH CHATURTI
An annual festival honours Ganesha for ten days, starting on Ganesha Chaturthi, which typically falls in late August or early September. The festival begins with people bringing in clay idols of Ganesha, symbolising Ganesha's visit. The festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi, when idols (murtis) of Ganesha are immersed in the most convenient body of water. Some families have a tradition of immersion on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, or 7th day. In 1893, Lokmanya Tilak transformed this annual Ganesha festival from private family celebrations into a grand public event. He did so "to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them" in his nationalistic strivings against the British in Maharashtra. Because of Ganesha's wide appeal as "the god for Everyman", Tilak chose him as a rallying point for Indian protest against British rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesha in pavilions, and he established the practice of submerging all the public images on the tenth day. Today, Hindus across India celebrate the Ganapati festival with great fervour, though it is most popular in the state of Maharashtra. The festival also assumes huge proportions in Mumbai, Pune, and in the surrounding belt of Ashtavinayaka temples.
TEMPLES
In Hindu temples, Ganesha is depicted in various ways: as an acolyte or subordinate deity (pãrśva-devatã); as a deity related to the principal deity (parivāra-devatã); or as the principal deity of the temple (pradhāna), treated similarly as the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon. As the god of transitions, he is placed at the doorway of many Hindu temples to keep out the unworthy, which is analogous to his role as Parvati’s doorkeeper. In addition, several shrines are dedicated to Ganesha himself, of which the Ashtavinayak (lit. "eight Ganesha (shrines)") in Maharashtra are particularly well known. Located within a 100-kilometer radius of the city of Pune, each of these eight shrines celebrates a particular form of Ganapati, complete with its own lore and legend. The eight shrines are: Morgaon, Siddhatek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar and Ranjangaon.
There are many other important Ganesha temples at the following locations: Wai in Maharashtra; Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh; Jodhpur, Nagaur and Raipur (Pali) in Rajasthan; Baidyanath in Bihar; Baroda, Dholaka, and Valsad in Gujarat and Dhundiraj Temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prominent Ganesha temples in southern India include the following: Kanipakam in Chittoor; the Jambukeśvara Temple at Tiruchirapalli; at Rameshvaram and Suchindram in Tamil Nadu; at Malliyur, Kottarakara, Pazhavangadi, Kasargod in Kerala, Hampi, and Idagunji in Karnataka; and Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh.
T. A. Gopinatha notes, "Every village however small has its own image of Vighneśvara (Vigneshvara) with or without a temple to house it in. At entrances of villages and forts, below pīpaḹa (Sacred fig) trees [...], in a niche [...] in temples of Viṣṇu (Vishnu) as well as Śiva (Shiva) and also in separate shrines specially constructed in Śiva temples [...]; the figure of Vighneśvara is invariably seen." Ganesha temples have also been built outside of India, including southeast Asia, Nepal (including the four Vinayaka shrines in the Kathmandu valley), and in several western countries.
RISE TO PROMINENCE
FIRST APEARANCE
Ganesha appeared in his classic form as a clearly recognizable deity with well-defined iconographic attributes in the early 4th to 5th centuries. Shanti Lal Nagar says that the earliest known iconic image of Ganesha is in the niche of the Shiva temple at Bhumra, which has been dated to the Gupta period. His independent cult appeared by about the 10th century. Narain summarizes the controversy between devotees and academics regarding the development of Ganesha as follows:
What is inscrutable is the somewhat dramatic appearance of Gaņeśa on the historical scene. His antecedents are not clear. His wide acceptance and popularity, which transcend sectarian and territorial limits, are indeed amazing. On the one hand there is the pious belief of the orthodox devotees in Gaņeśa's Vedic origins and in the Purāṇic explanations contained in the confusing, but nonetheless interesting, mythology. On the other hand there are doubts about the existence of the idea and the icon of this deity" before the fourth to fifth century A.D. ... [I]n my opinion, indeed there is no convincing evidence of the existence of this divinity prior to the fifth century.
POSSIBLE INFLUENCES
Courtright reviews various speculative theories about the early history of Ganesha, including supposed tribal traditions and animal cults, and dismisses all of them in this way:
In the post 600 BC period there is evidence of people and places named after the animal. The motif appears on coins and sculptures.
Thapan's book on the development of Ganesha devotes a chapter to speculations about the role elephants had in early India but concludes that, "although by the second century CE the elephant-headed yakṣa form exists it cannot be presumed to represent Gaṇapati-Vināyaka. There is no evidence of a deity by this name having an elephant or elephant-headed form at this early stage. Gaṇapati-Vināyaka had yet to make his debut."
One theory of the origin of Ganesha is that he gradually came to prominence in connection with the four Vinayakas (Vināyakas). In Hindu mythology, the Vināyakas were a group of four troublesome demons who created obstacles and difficulties but who were easily propitiated. The name Vināyaka is a common name for Ganesha both in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. Krishan is one of the academics who accepts this view, stating flatly of Ganesha, "He is a non-vedic god. His origin is to be traced to the four Vināyakas, evil spirits, of the Mānavagŗhyasūtra (7th–4th century BCE) who cause various types of evil and suffering". Depictions of elephant-headed human figures, which some identify with Ganesha, appear in Indian art and coinage as early as the 2nd century. According to Ellawala, the elephant-headed Ganesha as lord of the Ganas was known to the people of Sri Lanka in the early pre-Christian era.
A metal plate depiction of Ganesha had been discovered in 1993, in Iran, it dated back to 1,200 BCE. Another one was discovered much before, in Lorestan Province of Iran.
First Ganesha's terracotta images are from 1st century CE found in Ter, Pal, Verrapuram and Chandraketugarh. These figures are small, with elephant head, two arms, and chubby physique. The earliest Ganesha icons in stone were carved in Mathura during Kushan times (2nd-3rd centuries CE).
VEDIC AND EPIC LITERATURE
The title "Leader of the group" (Sanskrit: gaṇapati) occurs twice in the Rig Veda, but in neither case does it refer to the modern Ganesha. The term appears in RV 2.23.1 as a title for Brahmanaspati, according to commentators. While this verse doubtless refers to Brahmanaspati, it was later adopted for worship of Ganesha and is still used today. In rejecting any claim that this passage is evidence of Ganesha in the Rig Veda, Ludo Rocher says that it "clearly refers to Bṛhaspati—who is the deity of the hymn—and Bṛhaspati only". Equally clearly, the second passage (RV 10.112.9) refers to Indra, who is given the epithet 'gaṇapati', translated "Lord of the companies (of the Maruts)." However, Rocher notes that the more recent Ganapatya literature often quotes the Rigvedic verses to give Vedic respectability to Ganesha .
Two verses in texts belonging to Black Yajurveda, Maitrāyaṇīya Saṃhitā (2.9.1) and Taittirīya Āraṇyaka (10.1), appeal to a deity as "the tusked one" (Dantiḥ), "elephant-faced" (Hastimukha), and "with a curved trunk" (Vakratuņḍa). These names are suggestive of Ganesha, and the 14th century commentator Sayana explicitly establishes this identification. The description of Dantin, possessing a twisted trunk (vakratuṇḍa) and holding a corn-sheaf, a sugar cane, and a club, is so characteristic of the Puranic Ganapati that Heras says "we cannot resist to accept his full identification with this Vedic Dantin". However, Krishan considers these hymns to be post-Vedic additions. Thapan reports that these passages are "generally considered to have been interpolated". Dhavalikar says, "the references to the elephant-headed deity in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā have been proven to be very late interpolations, and thus are not very helpful for determining the early formation of the deity".
Ganesha does not appear in Indian epic literature that is dated to the Vedic period. A late interpolation to the epic poem Mahabharata says that the sage Vyasa (Vyāsa) asked Ganesha to serve as his scribe to transcribe the poem as he dictated it to him. Ganesha agreed but only on condition that Vyasa recite the poem uninterrupted, that is, without pausing. The sage agreed, but found that to get any rest he needed to recite very complex passages so Ganesha would have to ask for clarifications. The story is not accepted as part of the original text by the editors of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, in which the twenty-line story is relegated to a footnote in an appendix. The story of Ganesha acting as the scribe occurs in 37 of the 59 manuscripts consulted during preparation of the critical edition. Ganesha's association with mental agility and learning is one reason he is shown as scribe for Vyāsa's dictation of the Mahabharata in this interpolation. Richard L. Brown dates the story to the 8th century, and Moriz Winternitz concludes that it was known as early as c. 900, but it was not added to the Mahabharata some 150 years later. Winternitz also notes that a distinctive feature in South Indian manuscripts of the Mahabharata is their omission of this Ganesha legend. The term vināyaka is found in some recensions of the Śāntiparva and Anuśāsanaparva that are regarded as interpolations. A reference to Vighnakartṛīṇām ("Creator of Obstacles") in Vanaparva is also believed to be an interpolation and does not appear in the critical edition.
PURANIC PERIOD
Stories about Ganesha often occur in the Puranic corpus. Brown notes while the Puranas "defy precise chronological ordering", the more detailed narratives of Ganesha's life are in the late texts, c. 600–1300. Yuvraj Krishan says that the Puranic myths about the birth of Ganesha and how he acquired an elephant's head are in the later Puranas, which were composed from c. 600 onwards. He elaborates on the matter to say that references to Ganesha in the earlier Puranas, such as the Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas, are later interpolations made during the 7th to 10th centuries.
In his survey of Ganesha's rise to prominence in Sanskrit literature, Ludo Rocher notes that:
Above all, one cannot help being struck by the fact that the numerous stories surrounding Gaṇeśa concentrate on an unexpectedly limited number of incidents. These incidents are mainly three: his birth and parenthood, his elephant head, and his single tusk. Other incidents are touched on in the texts, but to a far lesser extent.
Ganesha's rise to prominence was codified in the 9th century, when he was formally included as one of the five primary deities of Smartism. The 9th-century philosopher Adi Shankara popularized the "worship of the five forms" (Panchayatana puja) system among orthodox Brahmins of the Smarta tradition. This worship practice invokes the five deities Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, and Surya. Adi Shankara instituted the tradition primarily to unite the principal deities of these five major sects on an equal status. This formalized the role of Ganesha as a complementary deity.
SCRIPTURES
Once Ganesha was accepted as one of the five principal deities of Brahmanism, some Brahmins (brāhmaṇas) chose to worship Ganesha as their principal deity. They developed the Ganapatya tradition, as seen in the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana.
The date of composition for the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana - and their dating relative to one another - has sparked academic debate. Both works were developed over time and contain age-layered strata. Anita Thapan reviews comments about dating and provides her own judgement. "It seems likely that the core of the Ganesha Purana appeared around the twelfth and thirteenth centuries", she says, "but was later interpolated." Lawrence W. Preston considers the most reasonable date for the Ganesha Purana to be between 1100 and 1400, which coincides with the apparent age of the sacred sites mentioned by the text.
R.C. Hazra suggests that the Mudgala Purana is older than the Ganesha Purana, which he dates between 1100 and 1400. However, Phyllis Granoff finds problems with this relative dating and concludes that the Mudgala Purana was the last of the philosophical texts concerned with Ganesha. She bases her reasoning on the fact that, among other internal evidence, the Mudgala Purana specifically mentions the Ganesha Purana as one of the four Puranas (the Brahma, the Brahmanda, the Ganesha, and the Mudgala Puranas) which deal at length with Ganesha. While the kernel of the text must be old, it was interpolated until the 17th and 18th centuries as the worship of Ganapati became more important in certain regions. Another highly regarded scripture, the Ganapati Atharvashirsa, was probably composed during the 16th or 17th centuries.
BEYOND INDIA AND HINDUISM
Commercial and cultural contacts extended India's influence in western and southeast Asia. Ganesha is one of a number of Hindu deities who reached foreign lands as a result.
Ganesha was particularly worshipped by traders and merchants, who went out of India for commercial ventures. From approximately the 10th century onwards, new networks of exchange developed including the formation of trade guilds and a resurgence of money circulation. During this time, Ganesha became the principal deity associated with traders. The earliest inscription invoking Ganesha before any other deity is associated with the merchant community.
Hindus migrated to Maritime Southeast Asia and took their culture, including Ganesha, with them. Statues of Ganesha are found throughout the region, often beside Shiva sanctuaries. The forms of Ganesha found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, and Borneo show specific regional influences. The spread of Hindu culture to southeast Asia established Ganesha in modified forms in Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Indochina, Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced side by side, and mutual influences can be seen in the iconography of Ganesha in the region. In Thailand, Cambodia, and among the Hindu classes of the Chams in Vietnam, Ganesha was mainly thought of as a remover of obstacles. Today in Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
Before the arrival of Islam, Afghanistan had close cultural ties with India, and the adoration of both Hindu and Buddhist deities was practiced. Examples of sculptures from the 5th to the 7th centuries have survived, suggesting that the worship of Ganesha was then in vogue in the region.
Ganesha appears in Mahayana Buddhism, not only in the form of the Buddhist god Vināyaka, but also as a Hindu demon form with the same name. His image appears in Buddhist sculptures during the late Gupta period. As the Buddhist god Vināyaka, he is often shown dancing. This form, called Nṛtta Ganapati, was popular in northern India, later adopted in Nepal, and then in Tibet. In Nepal, the Hindu form of Ganesha, known as Heramba, is popular; he has five heads and rides a lion. Tibetan representations of Ganesha show ambivalent views of him. A Tibetan rendering of Ganapati is tshogs bdag. In one Tibetan form, he is shown being trodden under foot by Mahākāla, (Shiva) a popular Tibetan deity. Other depictions show him as the Destroyer of Obstacles, and sometimes dancing. Ganesha appears in China and Japan in forms that show distinct regional character. In northern China, the earliest known stone statue of Ganesha carries an inscription dated to 531. In Japan, where Ganesha is known as Kangiten, the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806.
The canonical literature of Jainism does not mention the worship of Ganesha. However, Ganesha is worshipped by most Jains, for whom he appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. Jain connections with the trading community support the idea that Jainism took up Ganesha worship as a result of commercial connections. The earliest known Jain Ganesha statue dates to about the 9th century. A 15th-century Jain text lists procedures for the installation of Ganapati images. Images of Ganesha appear in the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
WIKIPEDIA
We were both Rest Day on Christmas Eve so decided to pop up to Settle for a nice lunch in The Naked Man café in the towns market place and then a bracing wander round before heading to the in laws to exchange gifts
Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire have recently taken to attach highly respected by us enthusiasts of a certain names of classic bus builders of the past to their fleet of Optare Solos...... FBZ2033 is seen here adorned with "Leyland" on the grill panel..... Nice ! She is about to depart for Kirkby Lonsdale on service 581
Promenade des Artistes, Arrondissement de la Ville-Marie, Montréal.
Présentation de l'œuvre :
La proposition de McEwen et Hilton-Moore est composée de deux colonnes et d’une silhouette canine. Au sommet de la colonne de bronze et de celle d’acier se trouvent respectivement un masque tendant l’oreille vers le sol et une silhouette animale. Les trois éléments se font face dans un carrefour achalandé du Quartier des spectacles.
After Babel, a Civic Square a pour but d’affranchir le lieu des limites de la communication verbale. Entre l’homme et l’animal, la parole est nécessairement obsolète; elle doit laisser place au geste ou à d’autres modes d’expression. Le « square » prend alors tout son sens. Dans cet espace défini comme un lieu régi par un principe d’égalité, l’homme est libéré de la tyrannie du mot. Pour McEwen, l’ensemble sculptural « crée une forme de libération entre les langues en insistant sur ces vocabulaires du silence qui permettent de communiquer sans la parole ».
L’œuvre se situe à la rencontre du langage plastique des deux auteurs. Alors que McEwen privilégie le rassemblement d’éléments antithétiques autour de thèmes comme la communication, la liberté et le regard, Hilton Moore s’interroge sur les rapports entre le corps et l’espace.
Événements associés
La sculpture-installation de McEwen et de Hilton-Moore a été offerte par la ville de Toronto, à l’occasion du 350e anniversaire de Montréal et de l'événement « Toronto fête Montréal ». L’œuvre After Babel, a Civic Square a été choisie à la suite d’un concours sur invitation et installée en 1993 à l’endroit où se trouve actuellement le Quartier des spectacles.
Marlene HILTON-MOORE
Marlene Hilton-Moore est une artiste autodidacte résidant en Ontario, mais originaire du Nouveau-Brunswick. Son travail est représenté dans de nombreuses collections, dont celles de la Banque d’œuvres d’art du Conseil des Arts du Canada et celle de la Wilfrid Laurier University. Elle a également réalisé plusieurs œuvres d’art public, comme Monument aux Valeureux à Ottawa et Column of Valour, monument dédié aux pompiers volontaires de Barrie en Ontario.
John MCEWEN
John McEwen est un artiste ontarien ayant reçu sa formation à la McMaster University (1965) et au Ontario College of Art (1966-1970). Reconnu pour ses interventions dans l’espace public, il a notamment créé Ballad of Ice and Water à Toronto (2008-2009), River as Thread, Canoe as Needle à l’ambassade du Canada à Berlin (2004) et Speaker’s Circle, une œuvre offerte à l’Australie pour son centenaire par le Canada (2004). Son travail a également été exposé à la Biennale de Sidney et au Musée en plein air d’Utsukushigahara au Japon.
artpublic.ville.montreal.qc.ca/oeuvre/after-babel-a-civic...
There were some more signs like this on another window. They seemed to be about preserving historic Zanesville. While I agree with their sentiment they could have put more care into making the signs.
“Tell me again how you think God will judge others for who they love, and not judge you for hating someone you’ve never met?”
Once a professor at a respected university, Thomas Silvio found himself becoming increasingly obsessed with advanced mechanics, and the prospect of a bipedal mechanical walker. After finding reliable sources of funding and power, he immersed himself in his mission, abandoning family, career, and any of life's other little distractions along the way. After years of tinkering he finally achieved his goal, but what he will do with this amazing new technology is anyone's guess.
The all-powerful and widely respected "Nifty Fifty, AF 50mm F/1.8 D was my third, and newest lens brought into my collection!
This is a totally different beast. My first prime lens has taken a bit to get used to! It will be successful in the objectives presented to it by me though, with a little practice.
I was hurting in these areas -
* Low Light
* Fast-focusing Accuracy
* Great depth presentation in everyday shooting
* Uncanny clarity and color representation
I needed something that could handle a lot more light than I had before and this certainly does that. I want to get into portraits and do street crawls and I want to have the ability to be lightning quick and razor sharp and keep it moving.
This lens can do all of that and more. Hopefully I'll be able to bring some amazing results soon.
sous peine de PV (procès-verbal).
respect the crops or you will be fined. With a bit of time P.V will not be readable and you will not know anymore what you risk.
Darkness and peace activists
Speaking of: original. The battle for the trademark "Sachertorte" employed the courts of the Republic of Austria until 1963. Finally, the Wider-Sacher (sacher antagonists) agreed out of court on this settlement: Only the Hotel Sacher may use the name "Original Sacher-Torte", the Viennese confectionery Demel must offer their product as "Eduard Sacher-Torte".
Anna Sacher has not experienced the darkest years of her hotel. When she died in 1930, Austria had become the most popular tourist destination of the Germans. In 1933, the Nazi government stopped this trend with the so-called thousand mark barrier: every German citizen had to pay a fee of 1000 Reichsmark before traveling to Austria. The Austrian tourism industry suddenly lost 85 percent of its German guests, many businesses were ruined. In 1934, the Hotel Sacher filed for bankruptcy.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler proclaimed on the Heroes' Square in Vienna with a pathetically trembling voice "before history the entrance of my homeland into the German Reich". - More than 100,000 Austrians shouted: "Sieg Heil!". The swastika flag fluttered on the façade of the Hotel Sacher. From 1945 Vienna was controlled by the victorious powers similar to Berlin. Americans, Russians, British and French patrolled Vienna together, in doing so inspiring to the classic movie "The Four in the Jeep". However, the penicillin trafficker Harry Lime, depicted by Orson Welles, was staged in an artistically and commercially impressive manner.
No, "The Third Man" does not play in the Hotel Sacher. But English author Graham Greene stayed here while researching the film script in bombed Vienna. The British had lodged in the Sacher and ran a well-stocked bar there - gin, scotch, Irish whiskey - and a restaurant for the upper ranks.
During a joint lunch at the Sacher, a British secret service employee provided the novelist with the brilliant idea for a film backdrop. Ironically, in this atmosphere the location scout with Graham Greene aroused curiosity about the city's underground sewer system. Immediately after the meal, Greene and his informant visited this sewage underworld - ugh. But script fee does not stink.
20 years later, another Englishman immortalized himself with his peace-giving measure in the guest chronicle of the Hotel Sacher. In 1969, John Lennon and his newlywed wife Yoko Ono used the worldwide media interest in their bedroom activities to spread their message: "Give Peace A Chance!"
Ono-Lennon's bridal chamber was packed with journalists as John and Yoko - hidden under white cloth - chanted about the inability of the politicians, the secret wishes of the Queen and other world problems. Most of the attendees of this press conference in the Sacher Suite 312 did not or could not seriously question the meaning of the political happening. Only the former ORF reporter André Heller gave the impression that he could respect John and Yoko and understand their message: "peace".
With the supermarket bag to the Sacher
What the two peace apostles were doing there in the Sacher, the Beatles fans learned a few weeks later by the hit single "Ballad Of John And Yoko". For example, on their "Trip to Vienna", the honeymooners had eaten "chocolate cake in a bag". John and Yoko had crawled into a sack and ate a Sachertorte in it - maybe even today a recommended nightcap after a night of drinking.
It does not always have to be world peace. Also in the Sacher life is happening on a smaller scale. For example, it was enough for a Leonard Bernstein if he could immediately sit down at the piano and "compose" or rehearse on arrival "in his Viennese living room". The main thing, this schedule was meticulously met: In the morning, the movers brought his instrument - the composer of "West Side Story" never traveled without his own piano - in the amber room, then the piano tuner did his job, around noon, the maestro appeared.
Another habit: as a regular guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein booked the same suite on each of his visits to the world capital of music. The reason for this loyalty was revealed to the Sacher management only when Lenny missed his favorite picture on the wall during one of his hotel stays. No problem. Eduard Veit's painting "Black and Blonde" was immediately put back where it should be.
AC/DC, the Callas, Mireille Matthieu, Comedian Harmonists, Otto Waalkes, the BeeGees and Andi Borg - they all have stayed at the Sacher. But the most prominent permanent hotel guest was not a musician, but a professional music listener: Marcell Horace Frydman Knight of Prawy. Or just Marcel Prawy. Until his death in 2003, he was considered the Austrian "opera leader of the nation". His trademark was the plastic shopping bags of the supermarket chain "Billa", in which he dragged sheet music and notes around.
During the last ten years of Marcel Prawy's life, the hotel was the shortest walk to the back entrance of the Vienna State Opera as his permanent home address. This suggests the upscale lifestyle of a privileged, but it certainly leads to complications - especially when in Sacher once again descends a president, the entire hotel has been declared a high-security wing and opposite the uniformed sniper on the roof of the opera sit on lookout.
On the state visit of a ruler of the upper threat class Marcel Prawy was prevented by the police from entering his apartment. Protest futile. So he used the remedy that always works immediately in a foreign-friendly city like Vienna: Prawy explains in awkward English that he is an Arab sheikh and must necessarily visit his friend, the president - and he is waved by.
Luckily the Sacher regular had not claimed he was Marcel Prawy. The police would have taken him on suspicion that somebody was imitating his voice familiar to every ORF radio listener in order to get into the Hotel Sacher without authorization.
Finsternis und Friedensbewegte
Apropos: Original. Der Kampf um die Schutzmarke "Sachertorte" beschäftigte bis 1963 die Gerichte der Republik Österreich. Schließlich einigten sich die Wider-Sacher außergerichtlich auf diesen Vergleich: Nur das Hotel Sacher darf die Bezeichnung "Original Sacher-Torte" verwenden, die Wiener Konditorei Demel muss ihr Produkt als "Eduard Sacher-Torte" anbieten.
Anna Sacher hat die finstersten Jahre ihres Hotels nicht mehr erlebt. Als sie 1930 starb, hatte sich Österreich zum beliebtesten Reiseziel der Deutschen entwickelt. 1933 stoppte die Nazi-Regierung diesen Trend mit der so genannten Tausend-Mark-Sperre: Jeder deutsche Staatsbürger musste vor einer Reise nach Österreich eine Gebühr von 1000 Reichsmark zahlen. Die österreichische Tourismus-Branche verlor auf einen Schlag 85 Prozent ihrer deutschen Gäste, zahlreiche Betriebe wurden ruiniert. 1934 meldete auch das Hotel Sacher Konkurs an.
1938 verkündete Adolf Hitler auf dem Wiener Heldenplatz mit pathetisch zitternder Stimme "vor der Geschichte nunmehr den Eintritt meiner Heimat in das Deutsche Reich". - Mehr als 100.000 Österreicher schrien: "Sieg Heil!". An der Fassade des Hotel Sacher flatterte die Hakenkreuzfahne. Ab 1945 wurde Wien ähnlich wie Berlin von den Siegermächten kontrolliert. Amerikaner, Russen, Briten und Franzosen patrouillierten gemeinsam durch Wien und inspirierten damit zu dem Film-Klassiker "Die Vier im Jeep". Künstlerisch und kommerziell beeindruckender in Szene gesetzt wurde allerdings der Penicillin-Schwarzhändler Harry Lime, dargestellt von Orson Welles.
Nein, "Der dritte Mann" spielt nicht im Hotel Sacher. Doch der englische Autor Graham Greene logierte hier, als er für das Film-Drehbuch im zerbombten Wien recherchierte. Die Briten hatten sich im Sacher einquartiert und betrieben dort eine ordentlich sortierte Bar - Gin, Scotch, Irish Whiskey - und ein Restaurant für die gehobenen Dienstgrade.
Beim gemeinsamen Lunch im Sacher lieferte ein britischer Geheimdienst-Mitarbeiter dem Romancier die zündende Idee für eine Film-Kulisse. Ausgerechnet in dieser gepflegten Atmosphäre weckte der Location-Scout bei Graham Greene die Neugier auf das unterirdische Abwasserkanal-System der Stadt. Gleich nach dem Essen besichtigten Greene und sein Informant diese Kloaken-Unterwelt. - Igittigitt. Aber Drehbuch-Honorar stinkt nicht.
20 Jahre später verewigte sich ein weiterer Engländer mit seiner Frieden stiftenden Maßnahme in der Gästechronik des Hotel Sacher. John Lennon und seine frisch angetraute Ehefrau Yoko Ono nutzten 1969 das weltweite Medien-Interesse an ihren Schlafzimmer-Aktivitäten für die Verbreitung ihrer Botschaft: "Give Peace A Chance!"
Das Brautgemach der Eheleute Ono-Lennon war gerammelt voll mit Journalisten, als John und Yoko - versteckt unter weißem Leinen - über die Unfähigkeiten der Politiker, über die geheimen Wünsche der englischen Queen und über andere Weltprobleme schwadronierten. Die meisten Teilnehmer dieser Pressekonferenz in der Sacher-Suite 312 wollten oder konnten den Sinn des Polit-Happenings nicht ernsthaft hinterfragen. Einzig der damalige ORF-Reporter André Heller machte den Eindruck, als könne er John und Yoko respektieren und ihre Message verstehen: "Frieden".
Mit der Supermarkttüte ins Sacher
Was die zwei Friedensapostel da sonst noch im Sacher so trieben, erfuhren die Beatles-Fans ein paar Wochen später durch die Hit-Single "Ballad Of John And Yoko". Bei ihrem "Trip to Vienna" hatten die Hochzeitsreisenden zum Beispiel "chocolate cake in a bag" gegessen. John und Yoko waren also in einen Sack gekrochen und verspeisten darin eine Sachertorte - vielleicht heute noch ein empfehlenswerter Absacker nach einer durchzechten Nacht.
Es muss nicht immer gleich der Weltfrieden sein. Auch im Sacher geht es durchaus eine Nummer kleiner. Einem Leonard Bernstein genügte es zum Beispiel voll und ganz, wenn er sich bei der Ankunft "in seinem Wiener Wohnzimmer" sofort an das Klavier setzen und komponieren oder proben konnte. Hauptsache, dieser Zeitplan wurde penibel eingehalten: Morgens brachten die Möbelpacker sein Instrument - der Komponist der "West Side Story" verreiste niemals ohne eigenes Klavier - in das Bernstein-Zimmer, dann erledigte der Klavierstimmer seine Arbeit, gegen Mittag erschien der Maestro.
Noch so eine Angewohnheit: Als regelmäßiger Gastdirigent der Wiener Philharmoniker buchte Leonard Bernstein bei jedem seiner Besuche in der Welthauptstadt der Musik dieselbe Suite. Der Grund für diese Treue offenbarte sich der Sacher-Direktion erst, als Lenny bei einem seiner Hotel-Aufenthalte sein Lieblingsbild an der Wand vermisste. Kein Problem. Eduard Veits Gemälde "Schwarz und Blond" wurde sofort wieder dorthin gehängt, wo es hingehört.
AC/DC, die Callas, Mireille Matthieu, Comedian Harmonists, Otto Waalkes, die BeeGees und Andi Borg - sie alle übernachteten schon mal im Sacher. Doch der prominenteste Dauer-Hotelgast war kein Musikschaffender, sondern ein professioneller Musikhörer: Marcell Horace Frydman Ritter von Prawy. Oder einfach nur: Marcel Prawy. Bis zu seinem Tod im Jahre 2003 galt er als der österreichische "Opernführer der Nation". Sein Markenzeichen waren die Plastik-Einkaufstüten der Supermarkt-Kette "Billa", in denen er Noten und Aufzeichnungen herumschleppte.
Während der letzten zehn Lebensjahre von Marcel Prawy galt das Hotel mit dem kürzesten Fußweg zum Hintereingang der Wiener Staatoper als seine feste Wohnadresse. Das lässt auf den gehobenem Lifestyle eines Privilegierten schließen, es führt aber durchaus zu Komplikationen - vor allem dann, wenn im Sacher mal wieder ein Staatspräsident absteigt, das komplette Hotel zum Hochsicherheitstrakt erklärt worden ist und gegenüber auf dem Dach der Oper die uniformierten Scharfschützen auf der Lauer liegen.
Beim Staatsbesuch eines Machthabers der oberen Gefährdungsklasse wurde Marcel Prawy von der Polizei daran gehindert, seine Wohnung zu betreten. Protest zwecklos. Also wendete er jenes Mittel an, das in einer fremdenfreundlichen Stadt wie Wien immer sofort wirkt: Prawy erklärt in unbeholfenem Englisch, er sei ein arabischer Scheich und müsse unbedingt seinen Freund, den Präsidenten besuchen - und er wird durch gewunken.
Zum Glück hatte der Sacher-Stammgast nicht behauptet, er sei der Marcel Prawy. Die Polizei hätte ihn garantiert mitgenommen wegen des Verdachts, dass da jemand seine jedem ORF-Radiohörer vertraute Stimme imitiert, um ohne Befugnis hinein zu kommen in das Hotel Sacher.
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Guess who I ran into! It's true I tell you! Paul, on vacation, actually rode over from England to eastern PA to visit the famed covered bridges no doubt! ;)
OK, in the spirit of Photoimaginarium's posts I'll explain the shot. The background is from a trip with Mike and Charlie and the ladies to PA last year. I had placed a shot by Arianna (my daughter) of me on the Breakout inside the bridge structure last year some time, which I used here primarily because I could not find the original without the manipulation. Then the shot of me on the Limited was this morning using the Canon EOS with infra-red remote. It consists of three shots. One of the bike on the jiffy stand, one of me on the bike while on the jiffy stand, and one of me holding the bike up off the stand. The shot of Paul on his Kawasaki was taken by him in his garage somewhere on an exotic island knows as the Great Britain. A little bit of layer masking, combining the background, the three selfies of me and the bike, and Paul, and you have a scene that never happened but it could! I also had to turn the headlights on Paul's bike and the taillights on my bike on. So there are two of me in this shot. Me riding behind Paul and me riding away from the camera.
I feel better now that I have fessed up! :D
Andrew Rizzi 38/52
Meet The Person:
Andrew Rizzi. Sales Representative & Central US Field Triner
Andrew enjoys being a respected consultant and advocate for his customers. My greatest thrill is the knowledge that he sells and provides for medical products and devices to hospitals to help them provide care for patients in critical need. He enjoys the challenge and competition and the hard work to prove that the company, products and services best represent the customers’ needs. He also enjoys helping and motivating his colleagues to drive sales and provide the best service possible. Andrew has now been with Baxter Healthcare for seven years, with a sales territory in central and southwest Ohio. He has been a five-time consecutive Sales Award Winner, and the inaugural Division Sales Representative of the Year, 2011.
Outside of work, Andrew enjoys spending time with his loving wife, Julie, and of course, their three Chihuahuas - Mia, Kingston & Gizmo. They also enjoy stand-up comedians and city festivals. Whenever they are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, they enjoy traveling and experiencing new places, both domestically and abroad. Andrew also savors the opportunities that they have to visit with their friends and families back in PA/NY. Although his competition days are over, he still enjoys maintaining a high level of physical fitness and anything active.
Andrew earned his B.S. in Marketing from Lehigh University in 2005 and his M.B.A with a Finance Concentration from the University of Cincinnati in 2013.
As a wrestler, Andrew started wrestling as a freshman in high school with a record of 2-14. He ended his career with a winning record. At Lehigh, he was a varsity starter for the the 2nd ranked NCAA Division I Lehigh University Wrestling Team. He finished 6th individually at the E.I.W.A Conference Championships (top 5 places qualified for NCAA’s.) To Andrew, it was an incredible privilege to compete at that high of an athletic level and contribute to a prestigious program.
Andrew is grateful for and to his Mom, “Mom Riz.”
Influence:
Rizzi. Rizz dog. The Rizza.
Rizzi was a good friend and teammate in high school. We wrestled together at Pennridge and enjoyed some fun times outside of the room as well. Andrew was one of the hardest working kids I had ever met. Everything he did was 110% and he never held back.
Rizzi started wrestling very late, as a 9th grader (atypical for most good wrestlers these days) and didn’t have a lot of experience. But he had a ton of drive and determination. He wasn’t the best wrestler by any means, but he was the hardest worker. His work ethic was by far the best in our wrestling room. And that work ethic helped him become very successful not only on the mat but outside as well. Rizzi went on to Lehigh University and also made the wrestling team. And if you know anything about the wrestling program at Lehigh you know it’s a top 20 team perennially. So cracking that lineup is an amazing accomplishment. So not only do you need to juggle an ivy league education but you also have to juggle weight loss and a grueling schedule to boot. Nobody could handle that better than he could!
I always looked up to Rizzi. I was a year under him in school so he was that older kid who you wanted to model your work ethic after. He had a motor that just wouldn’t stop. It would actually be annoying sometimes because he would always make you look bad! When you were tired and had nothing left in the tank, he was the one going harder and faster. We would lift and workout together which obviously helped as well because, again, he would try and lift more than you every time! He was also a fantastic student in school. His mom was an English teacher at Pennridge as well. And, coincidentally, I had her as my English teacher (god bless her! haha)
Andrew’s mom was basically our team mom. We would go and spend a ‘study hall’ with her after school for 30 minutes or so before practice got started. So we would spend time in her room just hanging out, getting work done and relaxing. She would bring in snacks and granola bars and stuff for us to eat. She was our wrestling mom and we loved her. But very sadly during my senior year, Mrs. Rizzi passed away unexpectedly from a blood clot. It was devastating. I still remember where I was when I got the phone call and heard the news. It was one of the closest people I had in my life at the time that died. And it was not fun. I felt so bad for Andrew, his mom was such a big influence in his life. It was also a huge blow for our entire wrestling team. She was such an incredible lady and meant a great deal to everyone on that team. Her viewing was so emotional. Like I said, she was one of the closest people I had in my life to pass away. Add to that how incredibly sad I felt for Andrew and that just made it miserable. But as with anything in life, you have to pick yourself back up and move forward. It came at a tough time with Andrew going off to college as well. So he struggled for a while. But as he had throughout his entire life, he worked hard and he came away with some great things. Like wrestling D1 for Lehigh, getting his degree, landing a great job he enjoys and just this past weekend, marrying his fiancee that he met at Lehigh.
Rizzi and I had some good times in high school, hanging out, wrestling and lifting. But one thing I will never forget was when he was up at Lehigh and invited me to hang out. It was my first year at Bucks County Community College and I was living at home and working construction with my dad. He was up at college, living in a wrestling house and having a good time. It was not long before this that my sister got diagnosed with a brain tumor. Times were extremely rough for me then. My grandfather was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and died within three months. At the same time we found out about my sister. So when he asked me to come up and hang out with him and some teammates, I was really excited. I would go up on Tuesday nights during the week to go bowling with them. It was something like $1 games and $1 beers so naturally, we took advantage! I went up a handful of times and really enjoyed hanging out with him and the wrestlers. I really felt like I was part of their group and they were a bunch of nice guys. It was something that I really needed and was a great release for me. I know the type of guy Rizzi is and I know he wanted to help me out. And I just want him to know how much that meant to me during that time. I am sure the experience of losing his mom helped him in his understanding of what I was going through. And to be able to learn from a tragic experience of losing your mother to helping out a friend who was worried about losing his sister is pretty incredible. And I can’t thank him enough for that.
Thanks Rizz for always being the gold standard of the student athlete, for having a work ethic that would make even the hardest workers jealous and for being a great friend.