When I was a child. My Anglo Indian, ‘Christian’ mother used to sing a song, I now know if was a mantra dedicated to ganpatti ; the elephant-headed god whose puja she attended yearly when she lived in post independence India

As I began my journey in adulthood uncovering my ancestoral connections to India and her vast Vedic spiritual traditions I discovered Ganpatti was another name for Ganesha the genial elephant-headed deity worshipped in many Hindu households for prosperity and wisdom,

Ganpatti is another name for or a name of an aspect of Ganesha… (there are 32 aspects (or names) of Ganesha btw and I discovered to my delight that Ganpatti or Uchchhishta Ganpatti is the aspect of Ganesha rooted in shadow work and fierce tantric tradition, which most respectable Hindu householders would not want to be seen venerating in their living room .

Uchchhishta Ganpatti is of interest to me in my own personal development work and as a practitioner of tantra and dark tantra as Uchchhishta Ganpatti is the manifestation of dark tantric energy .

He represents the conquest of the unconscious mind, and the realisation that divine power exists beyond the false dualities of samsara.

When you attend a tantra session you are knowingly or unknowingly connecting to the energy of Uchchhishta Ganapati as you are leaning into an experience of sexuality. An experience that society has labelled as shameful or wrong or dirty or uchchhishta.

Uchchhishta Ganapati invites you to divest yourself of such notions and submit to an experience that exists beyond these old-fashioned and arbitrary cultural standards. To engage in a moment of self-liberation.

The word Uchchhishta (Sanskrit: उच्छिष्ट) primarily means leftover food, scraps, or contaminated remnants.

Uchchhishta Ganapati reminds us that conventional ideas of purity and impurity are a fallacy of the illusion of duality and the material world.

Chanting ‘Ganapati Bappa Morya! as my mother did when I was a child not only calls upon the public-facing form of ganpatti; Ganesha who you invoke for material prosperity and abundance- but also, if you allow it, helps you activate the archetypal power of your united will and psyche and connect to all the aspects of your identity that you perhaps have been avoiding

As Carl Jung says ( who has written a surprising amount on the archetype of Ganesh /Ganapatti )

“Be careful when you cast out your demons that you don’t throw away the best of yourself”

Actually it was Friedrich Nietzsche who said that, but I’m sure Carl Jung would agree .

Part of the tantric process is that it allows us to integrate these Uchchhishta aspects of the self. Tantra is a form of sexual mindfulness. It allows you to enter subconscious realms where the parts of yourself you label as Uchchhishta;

impure or unwanted exist, often blocking your path in life or sitting unwanted and misunderstood, waiting for the time you become conscious enough to put them into service.

Just as lord Ganesha unblocks the path to success in the material realm. Uchchhishta Ganpatti does the same in the subconscious one

Did you also know that Lord Ganesha, according to Vedic esoteric traditions sits guarding the Muladhara Chakra (the Root Chakra) at the base of the spine where lord Ganesh gatekeeps the Kundalini Shakti (the inner spiritual energy) until the mind, body, and ego are fully prepared to receive it….

Which, according to esoteric Vedic traditions is why your pelvis and spine look like an elephant head and that the elephant’s head in Hinduism represents wisdom, new beginnings, and the removal of physical and spiritual obstacles and the outdated ego.

Namaste 🙏 & happy

Ganpatti Chaturthi