The Vedic Science of Personal Advancement

The Vedic tradition in its entirety emphasizes individual freedom to investigate spiritual truth. The central theme of Vedic philosophy is the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent reality - a formless being worshipped in countless forms known as deities or gods. Each god represents a characteristic or value which devotees seek to emulate, through worship according to their personal inclination. Worship in the form of prayer – mental, oral or physical – plays an important role. Other methods to gain personal experience of the spiritual include meditative contemplation, faith in God, trust in oneself, appreciation of nature and harmonious living. Research on the effect of Thoppukaranam is limited despite it being practiced as a form of worship to the elephant-headed Hindu deity of success - Ga?apati - and as a punishment in schools. This work studies the significance of Lord Ganapati according to Vedic tradition and the effect of the practice of Thoppukaranam on selective attention and mental concentration, state anxiety and state mindfulness.