Lord Ganesha dwells in every human being in the form of intellect and wisdom.Lord Ganesha is also referred to as Ganapathi in the Rig Veda. ‘Gana’ means multitude in Sanskrit and here it refers to hosts of Brihaspathi and ‘Isha’ means Lord. When these two words are coined together it becomes Ganesha or Ganapathi – both refers to the Chief of Ganas. The word ‘Ganas’ symbolize desires, thoughts and impulses.
Lord Ganesha is identified with divinity in its perceptible manifestation. The human part of Lord Ganesha which represents the manifest principle, is subordinate to the unmanifest depicted as elephant. When Divinity is depicted by way of symbols, opposites can co-exist. It is this combination of co-existence of the human-part and the elephant (manifest and unmanifest) led to the formation of PRANAVA. Elephant is a wise animal and hence elephant-head symbolizes wisdom. Elephant is also a symbol when existence begins as well as the issuance of the syllable AUM. It is from AUM, the Veda was issued as Universal Law. From the Veda the Universe was created. PRANA is the life-force and VA is the energy of Lord Shiva, known as Shiva-Sakthi. When they mingle in the vibration of PRANAVA, Lord Ganesha reveals himself.