Why do we Celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi ?
Also Called as Vinayaka Chavithi....,
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the
birthday of Lord Ganesh (Ganesha), the god of wisdom and prosperity on the
fourth day of the moons bright fortnight, or period from new moon in the lunar
month of Bhadrapada. The celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi continue for five,
seven, or ten days. Some even stretch it to twenty one days, but ten the most
popularly celebrated. In the tradition of the right hand path the first day is
the most important. In the left hand path tradition the final day is most
important.
Ganesh Chaturthi |
Legend has it that
Parvati created Ganesha out of the sandalwood dough that she used for her bath
and breathed life into him. Letting him stand guard at the door she went to
have her bath. When her husband, Shiva returned, the child who had never seen
him stopped him. Shiva severed the head of the child and entered his house.
Parvati, learning that her son was dead, was distraught and asked Shiva to
revive him. Shiva cut off the head of an elephant and fixed it on the body of
Ganesha.
Another tale tells
of how one day the Gods decided to choose their leader and a race was to be
held between the brothers- Kartikeya and Ganesh. Whoever took three rounds of
the earth first would be made the Ganaadhipati or the leader. Kartikeya seated
on a peacock as his vehicle, started off for the test. Ganesh was given a rat,
which moved swiftly. Ganesh realised that the test was not easy, but he would
not disobey his father. He reverently paid obeisance to his parents and went
around them three times and thus completed the test before Kartikeya. He said,
" my parents pervade the whole universe and going around them, is more
than going round the earth." Everybody was pleasantly surprised to hear
Ganesha's logic and intelligence and hence he came to be known as the
Ganaadhipati or leader, now referred to as Ganpati.
There is also a
story behind the symbolic snake, rat and the singular tusk. During one of his
birthdays, His mother, Parvati, cooked for him twenty-one types of delicious
food and a lot of sweet porridge. Ganesha ate so much that even his big belly
could not contain it. Mounting his little mouse, he embarked on his nightly
rounds. His mouse suddenly stumbled upon seeing a huge snake. To adjust His
belly, Ganesha put the snake on as a belt around his stomach. All of a sudden,
he heard laughter emanating form the sky.
He looked up and saw
the moon mocking him. Ganesha infuriated, broke off one of his tusks and hurled
it at the moon. Parvati, seeing this, immediately cursed the moon that whoever
looks at it on Ganesh Chaturthi will be accused of a wrong doing. The symbology
behind the mouse and snake and Ganesha's big belly and its relationship to the
moon on his birthday is highly philosophic. The whole cosmos is known to be the
belly of Ganesha. Parvati is the primordial energy. The seven realms above,
seven realms below and seven oceans, are inside the cosmic belly of Ganesha,
held together by the cosmic energy (kundalini ) symbolized as a huge snake
which Ganesha ties around Him. The mouse is nothing but our ego. Ganesha, using
the mouse as a vehicle, exemplifies the need to control our ego. One who has
controlled the ego has Ganesha consciousness or God-consciousness.
One of Biggest Ganapati in India |
Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations:
The festival of
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh and many other parts of India. Started by Chatrapati Shivaji
Maharaja, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism, the
festival was revived by Lokmanya Tilak (a freedom fighter) to spread the
message of freedom struggle and to defy the British who had banned public
assemblies. The festival gave the Indians a feeling of unity and revived their
patriotic spirit and faith. This public festival formed the background for
political leaders who delivered speeches to inspire people against the Western
rule. The festival is so popular that the preparations begin months in advance.
Ganesha statues installed
in street corners and in homes, and elaborate arrangements are made for
lighting, decoration, mirrors and the most common of flowers. Poojas (prayer
services) are performed daily. The artists who make the idols of Ganesh compete
with each other to make bigger and more magnificent and elegant idols. The
relevantly larger ones are anything from 10 meters to 30 meters in height.
These statues are then carried on decorated floats to be immersed in the sea
after one, three, five, seven and ten days. Thousands of processions converge
on the beaches to immerse the holy idols in the sea. This procession and
immersion is accompanied by drum- beats, devotional songs and dancing.
It is still
forbidden to look at the moon on that day as the moon had laughed at Ganesha
when he fell from his vehicle, the rat. With the immersion of the idol amidst
the chanting of "Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!" (Hail Lord Ganesh). The
festival ends with pleas to Ganesha to return the next year with chants of
"Ganpati bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh,
return again soon next year.
Ganesh Chaturthi Images:
Ganesha 2012 |
Lord Ganesha |
Ganesh Chaturthi Wishes |
0 comments:
Post a Comment