Om Gam Ganapataye Namah

 

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah: the meaning behind Ganesha's seed mantra

Before a new home, a new job, an exam or a journey, many of us start with Ganesha. Among all his mantras, one is chanted more widely than any other: Om Gam Ganapataye Namah. It is short enough for a child to learn, yet it comes from one of the most important texts on Lord Ganesha. That text explains the mantra sound by sound.

Where the mantra comes from

The mantra comes from the Ganapati Atharvashirsha, also called the Ganapati Upanishad. It belongs to the Atharva Veda tradition and is regarded as the most important text on Lord Ganesha.[1] In its seventh section, the Upanishad describes how Ganesha's mantra is built:

गणादिं पूर्वमुच्चार्य वर्णादींस्तदनन्तरम् । अनुस्वारः परतरः । अर्धेन्दुलसितम् । तारेण ऋद्धम् । एतत्तव मनुस्वरूपम् ॥
(Ganapati Atharvashirsha, 7)

"First say the first sound of the word 'gana' (ga). After it, the first of all letters (a). Then the nasal sound (m). It shines with the crescent moon. It is enriched by Om. This is the form of your mantra."

The same section ends by giving the complete mantra: 

ॐ गं गणपतये नमः.[1]

The phrase etat tava manusvarupam, "this is your form as mantra." The Upanishad does not present the mantra as a prayer to Ganesha from a distance. It says the mantra  is Ganesha, in the form of sound.

Gam: the seed

A bija, or seed mantra, is a single syllable that holds the whole power of a deity, the way a small seed holds a whole tree. "Gam" is Ganesha's bija. The Upanishad goes on to describe its parts:

गकारः पूर्वरूपम् । अकारो मध्यमरूपम् । अनुस्वारश्चान्त्यरूपम् । बिन्दुरुत्तररूपम् । नादः सन्धानम् । संहिता सन्धिः ॥
(Ganapati Atharvashirsha, 7)

"Ga is the first form. A is the middle form. The nasal sound is the final form. The bindu (point) is the higher form. Nada (resonance) is what joins them, and their union is the whole."

Say "gam" slowly and you can feel this for yourself. The ga is firm and grounded. The a opens. The m closes the sound and brings it inward. Then a soft hum remains for a moment and fades into silence.

So one small syllable carries you from outer sound to inner stillness. This is why "gam" is called a seed. What is spoken outwardly grows inward.

Another detail: in the written mantra, the bindu sits with a crescent moon. Ganesha is often shown with a crescent moon on his forehead, and he is called Bhalachandra, "the one with the moon on his brow." The written mantra and his image carry the same sign.

The bond between Om and Gam

Why does the mantra begin with Om? The Upanishad answers this itself. Among the parts of Ganesha's mantra it lists tarena riddham, "enriched by the tara." In the mantra tradition, tara, "that which carries across," is a name for Om.[1] Om is not an extra added from outside. It is part of the mantra's own definition.

The Mandukya Upanishad teaches that the whole universe is Om. It also teaches that Om ends in a fourth state, beyond the sounds A, U and M: silent, peaceful and non-dual, the Self.

अमात्रश्चतुर्थोऽव्यवहार्यः प्रपञ्चोपशमः शिवोऽद्वैत एवमोङ्कार आत्मैव ॥
(Mandukya Upanishad, 12)[2]

Put the two teachings side by side. Om moves from A to U to M, and then into silence. Gam moves from g to a to m, and then into the point and the fading resonance. Both open onto the same stillness. Om is Ganesha as the whole of existence. Gam is Ganesha as the door we can walk through. The mantra first names the whole, then gives the door.

The saint Jnaneshwar took this to heart when he began his great commentary on the Gita by bowing to Ganesha. He describes Ganesha's very body as Om: the sound A is his two feet, U is his large belly, and M is his head.[3] For Jnaneshwar, to look at Ganesha is to see Om, and to chant Om is to touch Ganesha.

Ganapataye Namah: the offering

Ganapataye means "to Ganapati." Gana means a group or host, and pati means lord. Ganesha is the lord of all groups: the hosts of beings in the world, and also, as teachers often explain, the crowd of senses, thoughts and emotions inside us.

Namah is the bow. A well-loved traditional explanation reads it as na mama, "not mine." At the end of the mantra we lay down the feeling of "I am the doer" and let Ganesha lead.

So the complete mantra reads like a small journey. We begin with the whole (Om), enter through the seed (Gam), turn to the Lord of all our inner and outer forces (Ganapataye), and let go (Namah).

What chanting this mantra brings

The Upanishad does not attach a list of rewards to this mantra alone. What it does is tell us clearly  who we are calling when we chant it. That is the real source of its benefit.

It calls Ganesha the one from whom the whole world is born, in whom it rests, and into whom it dissolves (section 5).[1] It says he is beyond the three qualities of nature, the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and the three periods of time (section 6).[1] It opens by declaring, tvam sakshad atmasi nityam, "You are the Self itself, always" (section 1).[1]

When we chant Om Gam Ganapataye Namah, we turn toward that Ganesha. He is not only the remover of problems in our work and life. He is the ground of our own being. The obstacles he removes are the outer ones that block our path, and above all the inner one that stops us from knowing who we truly are. This is why he is worshipped first. Every beginning goes better when the mind is steady, humble and clear.

How to use the mantra in daily sadhana

The Upanishad tells us where Ganesha lives within us:

त्वं मूलाधारस्थितोऽसि नित्यम् ।
(Ganapati Atharvashirsha, 6)

"You always dwell in the muladhara," the root centre at the base of the spine.[1]

When the Upanishad gives the mantra, it also names three things that belong to it:

सैषा गणेशविद्या । गणकऋषिः । निचृद्गायत्रीच्छन्दः । गणपतिर्देवता ।
(Ganapati Atharvashirsha, 7)

"This is the knowledge of Ganesha. Its seer is the sage Ganaka. Its metre is Nichrid Gayatri. Its deity is Ganapati."[1]

These three are the rishi (the sage who first saw the mantra), the chhandas (its metre), and the devata (the deity it invokes). They are the basis of nyasa, which means "placing." In nyasa, we place the seer, the metre and the deity on our own body before we begin chanting. This is a way of remembering, with gratitude, where the mantra came from, and of making the body a fit place for it to live.

A simple daily practice:

1. Sit at the same place and at the same time each day, facing east or north. Keep the spine upright.
2. Viniyoga (stating the purpose). Hold a little water in the right palm and say:

   अस्य श्रीगणपतिमन्त्रस्य गणक ऋषिः, निचृद्गायत्री छन्दः, श्रीगणपतिर्देवता, श्रीगणपतिप्रीत्यर्थे जपे विनियोगः ॥

   "Of this Sri Ganapati mantra, the seer is Ganaka, the metre is Nichrid Gayatri, the deity is Sri Ganapati. I undertake this japa for the pleasure of Sri Ganapati." Then let the water fall to the ground or into a small vessel.
3. Nyasa (placing). With the fingertips of the right hand, touch each place as you say the line:

   शिरसि गणकऋषये नमः ॥
   Touch the top of the head: "Salutations to the sage Ganaka, on my head."

   मुखे निचृद्गायत्रीछन्दसे नमः ॥
   Touch the mouth: "Salutations to the Nichrid Gayatri metre, on my mouth."

   हृदि श्रीगणपतिदेवतायै नमः ॥
   Touch the heart: "Salutations to the deity Sri Ganapati, in my heart."

   The sage is placed on the head because we bow to the one who first saw the mantra. The metre is placed on the mouth because the mantra is spoken through it. The deity is placed in the heart because that is where he is meant to live.
4. Dhyana (meditation on his form). Bring Ganesha to mind as the Upanishad describes him: one tusk and four hands, holding the noose, the goad and the tusk, with the fourth hand raised in blessing. He has the mouse on his banner, a red complexion and a large belly, wears red, and is worshipped with red flowers. The Upanishad says that whoever meditates on him in this way every day is the best among yogis (section 9).[1]
5. Japa. Chant Om Gam Ganapataye Namah on a mala of 108 beads, with your attention resting at the muladhara. Chant slowly. Let each part of "gam" be clear, and let the hum fade before you go on to "Ganapataye." Begin with one round and keep that number steady before increasing it.
6. Silence. At the end, sit quietly for a few moments in the stillness the mantra leaves behind. Then offer the japa to Ganesha with a bow.

On pronunciation: the m of "gam" blends into the g that follows, so it is naturally spoken as "gang(last alphabet is pronounced as ङ् -nasal  sound of ka varga) ganapataye." This is why you often see it written "Om Gang Ganapataye Namah." Say it clearly and without hurry.

The Upanishad itself says that this teaching should be received from a teacher (section 11).[1] If you want to take up the mantra as a serious practice, learn it from a guru. A teacher will guide you in the practice and help you grow into its full meaning.

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah is small enough to chant on the way to work, and deep enough to hold a lifetime of sadhana. It begins with everything, passes through a single seed of sound, and ends in a bow or salutation. Chant it with attention and it does what Ganesha does at the start of every undertaking: it clears the way.

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References

1. Ganapati Atharvashirsha (Ganapati Upanishad), sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 11. Sanskrit text: sanskritdocuments.org. Section numbers follow this edition, and some printed editions number them differently.
2. Mandukya Upanishad, mantra 12. Sanskrit text: vedapath.app.
3. Jnaneshwari (Bhavartha Dipika) of Sant Jnaneshwar, chapter 1, ovi 19.
4. For further study: Swami Chinmayananda, Glory of Ganesha; Swami Tejomayananda, Ganapati Atharvasirsa Upanisad (Sanskrit text, transliteration, word meaning and English translation).