where Ganesha idols are shown pulled off their pedestals and thrown in the gutter in the presence of the saint himself. St. Xavier was a siddha. He would not have countenanced any such offensive evangelism. The pictures may be spurious publications by his overzealous followers long after his samadhi. But whatever it may be Ganesha withstood all these insults and onslaughts and is still seen in all glory.

The Hindus never let him down. In all religious forms of worship, he is the first Deity to be supplicated to remove all obstacles. Adi Shankara though not an idolator himself included him among the five Deities, viz., Surya, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh and Ambal to be worshipped by people who are not able to comprehend the higher concepts of yoga philosophy or conceive God in abstract terms.

By about the 10th century A.D. Ganesha became a very powerful Deity. The Ganapathya sect came into prominence with the cult of pancha Ganapathy, viz., (1) The Uchista Ganapathy (2) Maha Ganapathy (3) Urdhava Ganapathy (4) Pingala Ganapathy (5) Lakshmi Ganapathy. The Ganapathy a sect considered Ganesha as the first cause, through whose maya, Shiva and other Gods were created. He was worshipped both by devotional and contemplative practices. In course of time the Ganapathya sect got degenerated and began to indulge in abominable practices andlicentious ceremonies. Ganesha was given a third consort to improve his status in addition to his other two platonic consorts Buddhi and Siddhi. This third consort by name Vallabha does not appear to be satisfied by platonic love. In the contemporary idols Ganesha's trunk is seen probing her private part and the gesture is reciprocated by her, by holding Ganesha's private part in her hand. These obscene figures also were put up for worship. The Ganapathya sect did not survive long, after this moral degradation. The sect got disintegrated. But Ganesha survived this Ordeal of odium cast on his idols and is seen still occupying the hearts of his ardent devotees.