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Today is the day of Lord Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, the remover of all obstacles in life and the giver of happiness and joy. He is the God of protection, the protector. It is very important to think of Gaṇeśa. Whenever we do anything, we must first remember Him. Gaṇeśa is Gaṇeśa Īśvara. Gaṇeśa is all that God is. All spiritual saints and Īśvara are the highest. So, Īśvara Gaṇeśa. Today is the day of the most beautiful Lord. Gaṇeśa is so beautiful; it does not matter how you decorate Him, He is beautiful. He has a gently smiling and kind look. You will never see Gaṇeśa angry. Gaṇeśa is a loving picture for artists. Many artists paint Gaṇeśa. In India, whatever we do, when we begin new things, God Gaṇeśa is remembered first. When Lord Gaṇeśa is there, then success is there definitely, a thousand million times, be sure. If you begin in the name of Gaṇeśa, and when Gaṇeśa is present, you will be successful without any doubt. Why can one not be successful? Because there are obstacles. What kind of obstacles? Ignorance. Gaṇeśa is the lord of the buddhi, the intellect, the most intelligent one, the most intellectual one. He removes the ignorance and all evil thoughts; He removes karmic obstacles. Gaṇeśa is the most mighty one; He can purify all the karmas. Gaṇeśa is known as the god of Ānanda Maṅgalam, Maṅgalam, who gives harmony and bliss. Bliss and harmony—what more do we need? Therefore, Gaṇeśa is always remembered. When you begin satsaṅg, the first bhajan should be for Gaṇeśa. When you go to your examination, remember Gaṇeśa and then go, or take Him with you. You will be successful. I made an experiment a few times. A minister wanted to win an election, and I gave them a small, beautiful Gaṇeśa. I said, "Keep it with you; you will be successful," and she was successful. I told her, "Do not lose Him; if you lose Him, you will lose again." But you know how politicians are. When they are weaned, you cannot even speak with them on the telephone. He then thought, "I do not need Gaṇeśa anymore," and put Gaṇeśa somewhere. Within six weeks, he lost the ministry. "Swāmījī, ahoj. What can I do?" I said, "Search for Gaṇeśa." He asked, "Can you give me a second one?" I said, "Gaṇeśa does not want to be dealt with like this, like gambling." This is also for health. That is why Gaṇeśa is also kept at the door of the house, the entrance, but not there where you put your shoes and coat. Many people think Gaṇeśa should be at the entrance, and Gaṇeśa is just there where the shoes are. You know that Gaṇeśa's nose is very sensitive. Do you know why Gaṇeśa's nose is sensitive? Because He has a longer nose than we do, so He is closer to the smell than we are. One day Gaṇeśa was angry with me. He said, "Yes, thank you. You told all your bhaktas that they should keep me in their house." But Gaṇeśa said, "I have one request, Swāmījī." I said, "Lord, what request do you have for me? You are the Lord of removing all obstacles." He said, "Please remove my obstacles." I said, "How interesting. The Lord who removes obstacles is also still fighting with obstacles." It is like we are searching for our Self, we are searching for Self-realization—"know thyself," who are you? What a funny question; still we do not know who we are. I am not the body, I am not the mind, I am not the intellect, I am not all this—so then what am I? Who am I? That is the answer to all your questions: know thyself. I was surprised that the lord who removes obstacles is also fighting to remove an obstacle. Then He smiled—Gaṇeśa, you know, smiles on one side—and He said, "You know, I can remove the obstacles. Then your bhakti will be poor because every time they put shoes in front of me, the shoes will disappear, and they will have to buy new shoes every day." I said, "Please, Lord, do not do this, but can I do something for you?" He said, "Tell your people: do not place me there as a guard for the shoes. I am not a guard for their shoes." Therefore, Gaṇeśa needs a very clean, very pure, very holy place. Between your look and Gaṇeśa, there should be nothing else. It is better not to put Him there. This is one thing I want to tell you. So immediately remove Gaṇeśa from where you have your shoes, coat, belt, hat, and such things. Therefore, you can make a cabinet or a closet for the shoes so they are not visible from Gaṇeśa's side. Beautiful thoughts, pure thoughts. If you do not know, then sing the bhajans or remember Gaṇeśa. As soon as you remember Gaṇeśa, divine, holy thoughts will come. Pure thoughts will come. Your life will be very pure. That is it. All sins are removed. In the bhajan book of Śrī Holy Gurujī, the first bhajan is dedicated to Lord Gaṇeśa. So anyone who writes a bhajan and sings a bhajan, the first bhajan is dedicated to Gaṇeśa. The Gaṇeśa mantra is: Śrī Gaṇeśa Namaḥ, which means "I bow down to Śrī Gaṇeśa." Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa pāhimām, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa rakṣāmā—sing. Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa pāhimām, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa rakṣāmā, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa pāhimām, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, rakṣāmā Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, Śrī Gaṇeśa, rakṣāmā. While going to an examination, sing this kīrtan loudly or mentally, and you will be successful. Make the experiment. Gurujī used to say, "Always one in all, all in one," and that is true. One God in different forms, so you see everything in one. Holy Gurujī sees Gaṇeśa in Mahāprabhujī, and in Gaṇeśa she is the Mahāprabhu. That is the beauty of Sanātana Dharma, and that is the beauty of Hinduism: to respect and adore all, unity in diversity. That is beautiful. Because there is only one God, and that God has no name and no form—that is beyond our explanation.