A Short Practice to Overcome Obstacles for Work with Officialdom
My personal statue of Ganapati Ragavajra, the King of Obstructers
Dear students and friends,
Our lives in samsara are influenced by rules and regulations that are often beyond our control. For instance, when we need approvals from local authorities and government departments, we may be subject to red tape, delays, uncertainties and worst of all, rejection. Such obstacles can have adverse effects on our work, careers and businesses.
To overcome this type of situation, Tibetan Buddhism offers a very special and powerful practice – that of Ganapati Ragavajra, the elephant-headed deity who is also known as the ‘King of Obstructors’. In the past, I have personally engaged in his practice whenever I had difficulties in extending and obtaining travel visas for Buddhist pilgrimages or getting approvals from various government departments for Dharma projects.
Over the years, I have also seen how Ganapati has helped my friends and students with authority-related problems. And this is why I would like to make Ganapati’s practice available in a very short and condensed form for everyone who needs his help but does not have time for long and complicated prayers.
This short and easy prayer can be done by anyone on its own or as part of a longer sadhana. You do not need to be Buddhist in order to engage in his practice; Ganapati will help you regardless of your faith, race, colour or creed. No special initiations or permissions are necessary.
I wish you the best and may all your spiritual pursuits be obstacle-free and successful.
Sarva Mangalam,
Tsem Rinpoche
Introduction
Click to enlarge
Ganapati, the elephant-headed deity, is a fully enlightened Buddha in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon.
An emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, he is not to be confused with Ganesh or Ganesha, the elephant-headed god worshiped by followers of Hinduism.
The Tibetan Buddhist Ganapati is also known as the ‘Authority-Averting Ganapati Ragavajra’, as he is very efficacious for averting obstacles especially those caused by authority figures, regulations and bureaucracy.
Ganapati is easily recognised by his elephant head and round belly. He has three faces – his principal face is an elephant, his right face is a cat and his left is a monkey. He has six arms, each holding an implement. In his right three hands he holds a radish, a jewel and a sword. In his left, he holds a ladduka sweet meat, a vessel of liquor and an axe. He stands in the pratyalidha posture, typical of deities engaging in activities to subjugate. It represents his dynamic nature, ready to perform enlightened activities to benefit others.
His monkey-faced consort is beneath him. She is white in colour with a reddish tint. She holds Ganapati’s two feet and partakes of his essence from his secret vajra, representing blissful energy. Her two legs are astride with a messenger and female attendant supporting her.
According to Tantric symbolism, Ganapati’s female consort represents wisdom. Contrary to appearances, the nudity and sexuality seen in Tantric deities do not represent lust or attachment but are divine expressions of the union of stainless bliss and emptiness, attained at heightened levels of meditation. As such, these expressions actually serve to cut our worldly desires and attachments as well as to imprint our mindstreams with the seeds of Enlightenment.
Benefits of Ganapati’s Practice
Although this form of Ganapati arose specifically to avert obstacles related to officialdom such as expediting and overcoming red-tape as well as legal or government department processes (e.g. passport, visa and citizenship applications), his practice also brings other benefits:
- Ganapati’s practice bestows inner and outer wealth. Outer wealth refers to finances, health, relationships, physical resources and other forms of material gain while inner wealth refers to virtuous qualities such as generosity. As an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the wealth he grants will also be beneficial for one’s spiritual development and will not cause spiritual degeneration.
- Ganapati alleviates depression and anger as he lessens the ego and self-cherishing mind. In this way, we create fewer problems for ourselves and those around us.
- The ultimate benefit of Ganapati’s practice is the generation of Bodhicitta or ultimate compassion, an essential ingredient for spiritual enlightenment.
Short Prayer to Ganapati Ragavajra
This is my Ganapati shrine
The success of Ganapati Ragavajra’s practice depends on the practitioner’s faith, intent and request. As such, it is best to always have good intentions and make requests that are beneficial and do not bring harm to others.
I have compiled this short but extremely powerful practice of Ganapati that can be done daily by anyone who needs help with overcoming obstacles, problems and difficulties with authorities, bureaucracy, red tape or government paperwork and applications.
It is combined with the recitation of Black Dzambala’s mantra, who is very beneficial for those suffering from extreme poverty, loss of wealth, bad luck, bad debts and the most dire situations. The daily prayers to Ganapati begin with a seven limb prayer to Avalokiteshvara, as Ganapati is considered to be an emanation of Avalokiteshvara.
No initiations or special permissions are necessary to engage in this practice.
A Daily Prayer to Ganapati
This daily practice does not require initiation. Anyone can engage in these prayers. The prayers were compiled by His Eminence the 25th Tsem Rinpoche
Shantideva’s Prayer
May all beings everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.
May the blind see forms
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil,
Be restored on finding repose.
May the naked find clothing
The hungry find food
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.
May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the hopeless find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all the medicines be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.
May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.
May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed;
May the powerless find power
And the people think of benefiting each other.
For as long as space remains,
For as long as sentient beings remain,
Until then may I too remain
To dispel the miseries of the world.
The Seven Limb Prayer To Avalokiteshvara
To the Arya Avalokiteshvara, and to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who dwell in the ten directions and three times, I bow and prostrate with devotion and trust.
I make offerings both actual and imagined of flowers, incense, lights, scented water, food, music and much more. I beseech the exalted assemblage to accept these offerings.
I confess all the ten non-virtuous acts, the five immediate retribution acts, and all the other negative acts that I have committed from beginning less time until now under the influence of obscuring passions.
I rejoice in the merit of whatever virtue Shravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and ordinary beings have gathered throughout the three times.
I pray that the wheel of the Dharma be turned in the form of the greater, lesser and ordinary vehicles so that all sentient beings, regardless of aptitude or motive, may understand.
I beseech the Buddhas not to pass into parinirvana until samsara is completely eliminated and to look with compassion on all sentient beings who are drowning in this ocean of samsaric sufferings.
May whatever merit I have accumulated become a seed for the enlightenment of all beings. Upon reaching enlightenment myself, may I develop, without delay, the qualities of a refuge for all beings.
Composed by His Holiness the 9th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chokyi Nyima
Short Praise
Body like a crystal mountain,
Lord of all wealth, need-removing,
Chief of obstructers, Ganapati
And your attendants: I offer you praise.
Ganapati’s Mantra
OM GA GANA-PATI MAMA RATNA-SIDDHI GAGA-GAGA GAGA-GAGA GANA-PATI SOHA (Recite 21 times or 1 mala)
Black Dzambala’s Mantra
OM DZAMBALA DINDRAYE SOHA (Recite 21 times or 1 mala)
Dedication
May my mother and father be well.
May my family be well.
May my wife and children be well.
May my friends be well.
May my nation be well.
May the whole world be at peace.
**Do 3 prostrations**
This concludes the daily prayers to Ganapati
Read more about Ganapati Ragavajra: https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/ganapati-ragavajra.html
The Hindu god Ganesha. Click on image to enlarge or click here for more beautiful thangkas.
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- An Important Purification Practice
- The Healing Deity – Loma Gyonma
- Dhaneshwar Bhagawan Dorje Shugden
- Tea Offering to Vajrayogini (For the 1st Time!)
- Dorje Shugden Gyenze to Increase Life, Merits and Wealth
- Blessing Eye Problems
- A Black Manjushri Sadhana: Self-Healing Meditation and Exercises
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Thank you for the lovely introduction of Ganapati, the god of auspiciousness and success. Life is full of obstacles and hurdles, and you need to overcome them. Hope this short practice will help many to overcome all obstacles in life and bless them with prosperity, good fortune, and wisdom.
https://bit.ly/3v5Bxgq
Do you have Tibetan phonetic text from this practice? Thank you so much
A very good sharing with clear directions of the prayer for obstacles removal. Chenrezig has indeed manifested in various dharmakaya for the benefits of sentient beings. This prayer is short and precise, very useful for current modern society which is fast paced with short attention span. Tsem Rinpoche’s sharing could and has helped many people. Thank you so much…
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing a short and easy practice for us to overcome obstacles in life. The best part about this is, it can be practice by everyone, even non Buddhist. This will be the best “assistance” we can give to those in need of help.
Dear friends,
This meme is powerful. Who you hang around with and the types of attitude they have is who you will be influenced by many times and who you will become in the future. Look at your friends and the people that always surround you to know who you will become.
Tsem Rinpoche
Very thankful to Rinpoche for sharing about Ganapati. I am sure in the course of our lives some of us will encounter situations whereby we need to overcome governmental redtape and etc. As an emanation of Chenrezig, it is good to know that Ganapati supports the development of Bodhicitta.
Dear Rinpoche,
This will be very helpful especially in this modern time, one way or another we will have to deal with authorities. It is good to learn that Buddha Ganapati Ragvajra prayer can help to remove obstacles when dealing authority, this will sure to help people in their work, careers or businesses.
Thank you, Rinpoche for sharing with us, we are indeed very blessed.
With folding hands,
Yau Mun
First time coming across this Ganapati deity, we are fortunate and able to practice in our daily lives. All because of Rinpoche we got the apportunity to practice it.
Well said beautiful daily prayer to Ganapati, which I intend to print it out.
In life as we goes along the path, there are many obstacles and challenges we got to go through but when we are in Dharma we will somehow manage with it. It’s a wonderful to learn these beneficial and powerful Ganapati practice with our Guru blessing .
Thank you Rinpoche for compiling these beautiful and powerful prayers for us especially for those who need help to overcome obstacles with authorities and so forth.
Very beautiful prayer! I’m not familiar with Ganapati,but I guess it’s fine to visualize our Guru instead when reciting this prayer right? It’s like this prayer has all my thoughts! ? thank you Tsem Rinpoche…
With folding hands…
As long as we are in samsara, we have to experience all different types of sufferings.
With the blessings and compassion of Rinpoche, we have the opportunities to learn the dharma in depth and apply the dharma to overcome our difficulties and eventually to bring benefits to others. For instance, Ganapati Ragavajra is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara. With Rinpoche’s clear explanation on this unique and rare Buddha statue, it cleared our doubts or wrong interpretation about the statue.
Thank you Rinpoche for reminding us that the success of a practice is subject to the practitioner’s faith, intent and request. Determination, consistency and persistence may eventually lead us to peace and achieve our spiritual growth.
A most beneficial practice for the modern times. As the world gets divided in more ways than one, we will have to deal with the authorities some time or another. As this looks like a very short prayer, it is well within our scope to practice this when we need Ganapati Ragavajra’s assistance.
Thank you, Rinpoche for your kindness in making this available for us.
We often face lots of challenges and obstacles daily, sometimes we are running out of ideas and not have anyone there to give us a helping hand. Its good to learn that this form of Buddha, Ganapati Ragavajra is very effective, the best part is we do not need any initiation to do this practice.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing with us the benefit of reciting the Ganapati Ragavajra prayer/mantra. Since there are different protectors i.e. DS, Trakze, Tara, Manjuhsri, Gyenze and hence mantras and prayers, do we recite the Ganapati mantra when we are doing our daily Sadhana? Or, we only recite Ganapati mantra when we need his help to avert obstacles related to officialdom?
With folding hands
Grace Tan
hi i have a question regarding the vajrayogini praise, are we allowed to recite that even if uninitiated?
Dear sikji,
Thank you for your questions. ?
The Vajrayogini Praise can be recited after initiation. You may read the “8 Lines to Infinity” here https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/?p=24443 for a detailed answer.
Good luck,
Pastor Adeline ?♀️
Dear Sikji,
Thank you for pointing this out. His Eminence Tsem Rinpoche has ammended the post with a praise to Arya Avalokitesvara instead. And you will not require initiation to recite or do this practice.
Thank you and good luck.
Pastor Niral
Dear Rinpoche,
Please forgive me for this but I couldn’t keep my eye off from this – The 8 lines of Praises to Vajrayogini instead of the Ganapati Ragavajra practice ( I do not need it at the moment but will do it in future should the need arise). I first saw this when I went to DS/Setrap puja at KH (on one of the Mondays when I was in KL) However, it was written as the praise to “mother” and immediately I saw the connection of this with the 8 line of praises to Mother Vajrayogini but I didn’t ask to confirm further. I remember I’ve read the article on it long ago in this blog. It was written that this praise cannot be disclosed but somehow I found this during the puja and now, again in this article. This praise is very very very powerful and should be recited anywhere, anytime. To bless people, to plant the seed in them, bless the environment and so much more. Thank you Rinpoche for this article as somehow I found the joy in it. Yesterday, I’ve just written down the praises in a piece of paper and I told myself to include it in during my sadhana (Sorry if this was against the rule as I’ve captured it during the puja )
With folded hands, thanks again Rinpoche. ?