Tue. Nov 5th, 2024
ganesha figurine beside the incense sticksPhoto by Diana Smykova on <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/ganesha-figurine-beside-the-incense-sticks-8369442/" rel="nofollow">Pexels.com</a>

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi everyone! Today is August 22nd and we are celebrating Gamesha’s birthday with flowers and sweets. The festival celebrates Lord Ganesh as the “God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles”,as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence.

Ganesh Chaturthi  is the festival to celebrate the rebirth of God Ganesha.  There is a mythological story about it. Ganesha was initially made by goddess Parvati, out  of turmeric paste and did not have an elephant head. After Ganesha was accidentally killed by his father, Lord Shiva, he replaced his head with a dead elephant’s head and did some enchantments and Ganesha got a new life.Since then, he has been worshipped as a god with an elephant head.

Ganesh is also known as “Vighna-vinashak” which means god that removes all obstacles and troubles in life. He is also the first god to be worshipped before starting any auspicious or important event in life. 

Ganesh Chaturthi is usually celebrated either in August or September based on the hindu calendar. Most people celebrate the occasion with Sweets called Modak and Laddu (Ganesha’s  favorite sweet). It is celebrated for ten days in southern parts of India mostly in Maharashtra.They bring clay statues of ganesha to their houses,pray and celebrate with families. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, when the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or sea.It is believed that after the immersion in the water, Lord Ganesha returns to Kailash(his home). People believe that Ganesha takes away all the troubles with him.

Here I have to keep this blog short but I want to share some interesting facts about Ganesha.

  1. He wrote an epic poem “Mahabharata” while the sage Vyasa spoke it out. 
  1. Ganesh and the moon don’t get along.

         Do you want to know the story?

Some Hindus avoid looking at the moon during Ganesh Chaturthi.

A story tells how Ganesh once went to a feast for his birthday, but he ate so many ladoos that he toppled over when trying to get up. Seeing this, the moon laughed at him. Furious, Ganesh cursed the moon and anyone that looked at it on this day. In some places, Hindus still avoid looking at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi because they believe it is unlucky. If you want to look at the moon on that day, get a piece of fruit and go outside and show it to the moon and ask for good luck. 

  1. Ganesha is worshipped before any god.
  2. His favorite day is tuesday that is why many people fast and go to Ganesh temple on that day. Therefore, he is also called “Mangal Murat”.
  3. Ganesha’s pet is a mouse. 
  4. The large ears of Ganesha symbolizes being  a  good listener.  And his small mouth teaches us to think more and talk less. 

I know that lord Ganesh is everyone’s favorite god, especially young kids. If your kids want to know more about Ganesha, please watch “Bal Ganesh” on youtube. 

Please watch this video about Ganesh Chaturthi (Ganesha’s birthday)

Lets pray to Lord Ganesh today to end all the sufferings and troubles brought by Covid 19 pandemic.  

At the end, I want to share with you a tradition that my grandma follows on this day.  Last year when she was here, she fasted for the whole day, prepared different kinds of sweets and did long prayers. Personally, I like Ganesh Aarti and the Ganesh mantra in Sanskrit (that I have memorized) because it reminds me of the presence of god in my life. 

            Happy Birthday to Lord Ganesha!

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