In Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), Lord Ganesha is one of the most powerful and popular deities. He is the ruler and remover of obstacles. So, before starting a new work or a venture, we worship him for his blessings. A very common and interesting question about Lord Ganesha is ‘Why Lord Ganesha is worshiped first?’

There are several reasons behind worshiping Lord Ganesha before starting anything new. Let us explore the reasons from different perspectives:
1.    VEDIC REASON: The scripture ‘Ganpati Upanishat ‘ links Lord Ganesha with commencement of any task and mentions that the Lord Ganesha appeared even before the creation of the prakriti (nature) and purusha (consciousness). He is believed to be an eternal power and was present there to remove any obstacles during the process of creation. Hence, Lord Ganesha has become synonymous with the beginning and is prayed before starting almost any work. Ganesha is offered prayers before worshiping any other deity in any the Hindu ritual. He removes all obstacles and clears the way for your prayers to reach the right deity.

2.    POPULAR REASON: It is described in the Scriptures that Lord Ganesha is the ruler and remover of all obstacles. So, he is popular as Vighneshwara, the lord of obstacles. As the ruler of obstacles, he is both Vighnakarta (creator of obstacles) and Vighnaharta (remover of obstacles). We always wish to complete our work successfully without any obstacles or hitches. So, we need to worship Lord Ganesha for his blessings before we begin any of our works.

3.    YOGIC REASON: Lord Ganesha rules the strategic muladhara chakra in our psychic body. Muladhara is the interface between material and spiritual worlds and it is believed that Lord Ganesha controls everything in both of the worlds. So, his grace is important in the material world (Earth) and beyond (spiritual world). He is both the ruler and controller of material enjoyment on the Earth (bhoga) and liberation (moksha) from endless cycle of birth and death. He is the one who gives the fruits of all our actions both material and spiritual. That’s why we should pray Lord Ganesha, before we start any endeavor or lay foundation of a building, or begin a new career, after buying a vehicle or a physical asset, after locating to a new house and to achieve success without any obstacles.

According to Tantras, during the creation of our body and mind mechanism, Mother Kundalini started her creation from the top chakra Sahasrara(crown chakra) and finishes her creation process at the bottom most chakra Muladhara (root chakra). After her creation, she goes and sleeps spiritually at the last center created i.e. muladhara chakra so that we (our  individual self) will be functional in this material world. So, our material life starts from Muladhara chakra whose presiding deity and controller is Lord Ganesha.

In Kundalini yoga, a Sadguru (realized Master) awakens the Mother Kundalini in the practitioner to initiate a worthy disciple to undergo spiritual transformation to experience complete realization by merging with the Universal Self. Therefore, the spiritual journey also begins at Muladhara chakra ruled by Lord Ganesha. So, our introduction to both material and spiritual world’s first begins at this strategic Muladhara chakra which is ruled by Lord Ganesha.

The reasons stated above clearly states that the Lord Ganesha rules both the obstacles and the muladhara chakra. He is the God of new beginnings and the God of success and prosperity. If we want to complete any task successfully, we need the grace of Lord Ganesha in advance.  So, he is an absolutely powerful deity to be worshiped first before we begin any work, either material (bhoga) or spiritual (moksha).

So, next time don’t forget to worship Lord Ganesha before beginning any new work.
“Om Gam Ganapatye Namah”
We the devotees offer salutations to the Lord of the World.