Vakratuṇḍa Mahākāya: Seven Secrets of Success
Vakratuṇḍa Mahākāya is one of the most familiar prayers to Bhagavān Gaṇeśa. We chant it before beginning something new, seeking the blessings of Bhagavān so that our work may proceed without obstacles.
But this very short śloka has a beautiful message from the standpoint of goal setting and success.
It gives us seven qualities that can help us not only achieve our goals, but also grow through the journey.
The śloka is:
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥
Vakratuṇḍa Mahākāya Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha ।
Nirvighnaṃ Kuru Me Deva Sarvakāryeṣu Sarvadā ॥
Let us look at these seven qualities.
Vakratuṇḍa — Be Flexible
Vakratuṇḍa means "the one whose trunk is curved." Have you noticed any elephant's trunk? It is always straight. Only near the tip is there a little curve. But Gaṇapati Bhagavān's trunk is curved. What does that signify? It doesn't mean we should be crooked in life, or use crooked means to achieve our goal. It isn't "hook or crook, kaise bhi karke achieve the goal, jugad karke bhi kuch bhi karo." No, no.
It signifies flexibility. Many times we set a goal, but if a particular way doesn't work, we have to find another way. In our sādhanā too, this can happen — sometimes the mind falls into a rut, doing the same sādhanā again and again, and then we have to bring in some variation. Even in exercise — those of you who go to the gym know that after a point the body hits a plateau. Weight loss stops. If you do the same routine, the body gets used to it. You have to break that routine and bring in something new.
So Vakratuṇḍa signifies the first thing one needs in life: flexibility. Attachment brings sorrow.
PJ: Why couldn't the yogi vacuum his carpet?
Answer: because he had lost all his attachments.
In Chinmaya Mission we have a word for this attitude of detachment: WOW - With or Without. If you get Promotion: WOW & If no promotion: WOW. Spouse smiles: WOW or doesn't smile: WOW. Be balanced in all situations. If you insist and are attached, then there will be sorrow to that extent. This also does not mean that we don’t work hard for what we did not achieve. Hence don't WOW as an excuse & be lazy: "If I get up in the morning and exercise, WOW; if I don't, WOW." That doesn't work. Or, "If I do my house duties, WOW; if I don't, Wow."
So Vakratuṇḍa means be flexible in life, be detached in life. This is also why we do Visarjana. We install a lovely form of Bhagavān Gaṇapati for five days or ten days. We worship Bhagavān, and on the last day, he is gone. Visarjana – we submerge Him in water. One might feel, “we did so much of decoration, Bhagavān was here five days, and now we have to do Visarjana." The idea is: do your work with detachment. Be flexible in the means. Many people are very rigid "it has to be this way," "my way or the highway." That is not Vakratuṇḍa.
Mahākāya — Have a Huge Goal
What does Mahākāya signify? Have a huge goal, not unrealistic or unachievable, and not very low and ordinary, not mediocre. Have a high goal, one that keeps inspiring you, one that is beyond reach at the moment, yet reachable, with effort. Only then will one grow.
So one should ask: what is my goal right now, the one that helps me get out of my comfort zone? And is that goal high enough? The tragedy in life is not that people set high goals and fail to achieve them. The tragedy is that they set very low goals and achieve them. Whether it is health, finance, spiritual sādhanā, or social life, one should have goals at different levels and keep working toward them. This is very important. Without a goal, the mind will not get focused. It will become lethargic, tāmasic.
So: Vakratuṇḍa, Mahākāya means have a high goal, and be flexible in the means.
Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha — Be Energetic
Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha means "radiant like crores of suns." One sun alone has so much energy. We are alive because of that one sun. If that sun were not there, life would not be there.
Think of what sunlight does. Even biologically, many of the diseases people speak of nowadays are addressed through lifestyle changes, and one of those changes is this: when you get up in the morning, get fifteen minutes of good exposure to sunlight. That sunlight regulates our melatonin production, our cortisol, all the hormones. That regulation happens because of sunlight. And so many people today get no morning sunlight exposure at all, such a sedentary life.
So Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha means: have energy like the sun. If I have a high goal but no energy, I won't be able to achieve it. We need that energy and enthusiasm in life. So many people go through life mechanically. Poojya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda said, “Many Exist. Few live. To live you must have a higher ideal. A single ideal can transform a listless soul into a towering leader of men.” To live, you must have a higher ideal, and energy, enthusiasm, are required for that.
If the goal is inspiring to you, you will have energy. Do things that can change at least a hundred people's lives. But that should be inspiring to you, so that every morning you have something pulling you up. What helps you get up in the morning? Why should you get up in the morning? Making a difference to others is the goal. "I have to achieve this," so I get up. Otherwise why should one get up early? And if you read the book The Joy of Laziness, you will fall in love with laziness. It says quite plainly that hardworking people die very soon, while lazy people sleep nicely, eat well, are very comfortable, and live long!
If the goal is high enough and it inspires you, then with that energy, one truly lives. The body requires rest, so you give it sleep, that's all. Beyond that, how much does one sleep, and what does one achieve with sleeping? What is more joyful? To manifest your potential, or to let your potential die with you? Of course, to Manifest your potential. And the majority of people die with their potential intact.
Natural resources get depleted when you use them, but human resources get depleted when you don't use them. Many people's potential simply doesn't manifest because they don't set a high goal, they are afraid of setting a high goal. And when they do set one, they don't have enough energy or enthusiasm.
So one has to live energetically. If you are a spiritual person doing spiritual sādhanā, you will have tremendous energy, because you live in self-control, because you have high goals, because you are selfless. Living like that, you will have so much to do. So if someone says, "I am a spiritual person, I do spiritual sādhanā, but energy nahi hai humare paas," that means somewhere the person is going wrong, or that energy is leaking out.
Nirvighnaṃ — Overcome Obstacles
Now, as we walk toward the goal, obstacles will come. And when obstacles come, what should one do? That’s easy: just give up. Majority of people don't even start, out of fear of obstacles. First they start thinking of everything that can go wrong. So they never start.
I often give this sarcastic definition of a committee: a committee is a group of individuals who cannot do anything individually and come together to decide that nothing can be done. That is a committee. Why do you need a committee to decide something cannot be done? You need a committee to make it happen! Of course if something is not appropriate, then the committee must reject it.
One type of person says, "I won't start, because of the obstacles." A second type says, "I will start," but the moment an obstacle appears, "See, I told you, this is not possible," and gives up immediately. A third type starts, faces obstacles, overcomes them, and reaches the goal, but says, "Done. Only once. No more. Kailāśa Yātrā is done once. Not going again.” Then there is a fourth kind, who says, "I will face all obstacles, I will achieve the goal, and I am ready to do it again." Once more. Or for a higher goal.
So you have to decide which type you belong to. Best is the third or the fourth, in some things one can be the third, in some the fourth. But don't be the first or the second.
Bhagavān Gaṇapati is the remover of obstacles, not that he sits and simply removes all our obstacles for us. He gives us the capacity. He is the resilience in us, the fortitude in us.
Kuru Me Deva — Humility and Surrender
"O Bhagavān, You make this happen." This is humility and surrender. I may do everything, but I remember that it comes through Bhagavān's grace. He is the doer, I am an instrument, He empowers me. Whatever I have achieved so far, I am grateful to Bhagavān, He has made it happen. And whatever I achieve henceforth, too, will be by His grace alone. So, surrender to Bhagavān with humility. As Gurudev would say: do your best and leave the rest. Bhagavān knows the best.
Sarva Kāryeṣu — In All Work
In all the work I take up, I must carry these qualities. Not only in my meditation, not only in my spiritual sādhanā, but in whatever work comes to me during the day, whether it is my profession, my studies, my relationships, my responsibilities at home. Sarva Kāryeṣu means in every single task. We tend to compartmentalize. We say, "This is my spiritual life, and that is my worldly life." No. Vakratuṇḍa, Mahākāya, Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha, Nirvighnaṃ, Kuru Me Deva, all of these qualities have to flow into everything I do. If I am flexible only during meditation but rigid at work, that flexibility hasn't really become part of me. If I have high goals only for my career but no goal at all for my inner growth, that too is incomplete. Sarva Kāryeṣu is asking us to bring the same quality of engagement everywhere.
There is another version of the line that goes Śubha Kāryeṣu instead of Sarva Kāryeṣu. And this adds something important. Śubha means auspicious, that which is good, that which uplifts. So the goal you set for yourself must be Śubha, it must be auspicious, not just for you, but for others as well.
This is worth pausing on. Sometimes people set very ambitious goals, and they achieve them too, but in the process someone else suffers. Maybe a business goal is achieved by cutting corners that harm employees or customers. Maybe a personal goal is achieved at the cost of a family member's peace of mind. That is not Śubha Kāryeṣu. A goal is not truly successful if it brings gain to one and loss to another. Dharma always asks us to look beyond our own benefit.
So before you run after any goal, ask yourself two questions. Is this goal high enough to help me grow? That is Mahākāya. And is this goal good enough, auspicious enough, that it doesn't harm anyone else in the process? That is Śubha. Both together. A goal that is only big but not good can turn destructive. A goal that is only good but not big won't inspire you to grow. You need both.
Sarvadā - Always
Sarvadā, at all times, I must be consistent. Energy naturally rises and falls because of various things, no doubt, but I keep consistently moving toward my goal. Sarvadā means consistency. Any goal I want to achieve, I cannot be sporadic about it. I cannot say, "I will feel enthusiastic suddenly, do it for five days, and then it's gone." That happens so often. When we started the Candraśekhara Dhyānam, the first day had 150 people. Then 120. Then 100. Then 80. Finally, fifty people completed it consistently, the rest were only watching the recording. I have no problem with that at all, I am only pointing out how hard consistency is for people.
If you do something consistently, that power of consistency is tremendous, even in small doses. Which is better: to meditate once a week for an hour and a half, or for fifteen minutes every day? Obviously the latter. That is the power of consistency. As the book The power of Atomic Habits puts it, small habits, done consistently every day, bring about a big change. Otherwise, people start out very enthusiastically, but give up soon. If you are consistent, nothing is impossible. Huge mountains are broken by consistent drops of water. Just one drop, falling consistently and slowly, the whole mountain breaks.
Putting It All Together
So, these are the seven qualities in the śloka:
- Vakratuṇḍa: Flexibility
- Mahākāya: Huge goals
- Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha: Be energetic, enthusiastic
- Nirvighnaṃ: Resilience, get over obstacles
- Kuru Me Deva: Humility and surrender
- Sarva Kāryeṣu: Apply these qualities to all the work we do
- Sarvadā: Consistently work toward the goal, and ensure nothing takes you away from it
So these are the seven great qualities of success. Next time you remember Gaṇapati Bhagavān with this śloka, pray to him to bless you with these seven qualities. Don't say, "Bhagavān, please remove my obstacles." Say, "Bless me with these seven, and help me reach my goal."
A Small Grammar Note
Please remember, this śloka has no visarga anywhere. Especially if you are printing a marriage invitation or a house warming ceremony invitation, please write this śloka properly. So many invitations I have seen where people think that in Sanskrit, adding aḥ(Visarga) and aṃ(anusvāra) anywhere is like salad dressing, "more Sanskritized," "more bhakti."
Vakratuṇḍaḥ Mahākāyaḥ Sūryakoṭiḥ Sambhaprabhaḥ
Nirvighnaṃ Kuru Me Devaḥ Sarvakāreṣu Sarvadāḥ,
Why have you added that visarga everywhere?
The verse has words in the vocative case, the seventh case. You are calling out to Bhagavān: "O Vakratuṇḍa! O Sūryakoṭi! O Mahākāya!" And having called him, you say, Nirvighnaṃ Kuru Me Deva. If you don't call him first, to whom are you praying? Without the vocative you are only stating that Gaṇapati is Vakratuṇḍa, Mahākāya, Sūryakoṭi Samaprabha, you haven't addressed him at all.
So remember, this śloka has no visarga. Don't add anusvara also randomly:
Vakratuṇḍaṃ Mahākāyaṃ Sūryakoṭiṃ Sambhaprabhaṃ
Nirvighnaṃ Kuru Me Devaṃ Sarvakāryasu Sarvadāṃ.
No dot anywhere except Nirvighnam, and no visarga anywhere. Otherwise, you are praying to Bhagavān to remove all your obstacles, but you are only putting obstacles into your Sanskrit!
May all of us be blessed by Gaṇeśa jī with all seven qualities, and may we achieve all our goals in life, and may our goals in life be in line with the goal of life. Be successful, be happy, enjoy your life, enjoy this journey, and make others happy too.
Maximum happiness to maximum people for the maximum time.
Gaṇapati Bappā Moryā! Maṅgala Mūrti Moryā! Siddhi Vināyaka Svāmī kī Jai!
(Listen to the 23min satsang on this topic)
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