Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi and Ganeshotsav. Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the Chaturthi tithi which comes in Sukla Pakshe during the lunar month Bhadrapada.
Legend
The first person to observe the Ganesh Chaturthi Vrat was Chandradev – the moon. After being declared as Ganapati – the leader of Shiva’s ‘ganas’, Lord Ganesha was travelling through the heavens. Chandradev was full of pride on his attractive features, when Ganesha came across him. Chandradev laughed at Ganesha’s appearance. In return, Lord Ganesha cursed him, “You shall bear the fruit of your karma. Whenever somebody sees you he will be cursed too.” Chandradev begged for forgiveness. Lord Ganesha then advised him to observe the Ganesh Chaturthi vrat. So by performing Chaturthi vrat Chandra dev got released from his cruse.
Spiritual Significance of Ganesh Chaturthi
It is only when we understand the inner significance of the Ganesha principle that we will be able to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi properly. Lord Ganesha is worshiped at the beginning of all poojas and religious occasions as the remover of obstacles and the bestowal of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. ‘Ga’ symbolizes Buddhi (intellect), ‘Na’ stands for Vijnana (wisdom). So, Ganapati is the master of Buddhi and Vijnana. Lord Ganesha is also called Mooshika Vahana (one who has a mouse as his vehicle). You may wonder how a small mooshika can carry Vinayaka on its back. Here mooshika does not mean a mere mouse. It symbolizes the darkness of ignorance because it is in darkness that the mouse moves about. Hence Lord Ganesha is one who subdues ignorance and dispels darkness.
Vinayaka is also called Vighneswara (remover of obstacles). No obstacle can come in the way of one who prays to Vinayaka. Worship of Vinayaka confers success in spiritual as well as worldly endeavors. God grants happiness at two levels, Pravritti (outward) and Nivritti (inward). Pravritti is related to physical body whereas Nivritti to intellect. Lord Ganesha dwells in each one of us as our intelligence and wisdom. When we make proper use of our inherent intelligence and wisdom, we will be successful in life. Vinayaka is the master of every kind of knowledge. Learning is related to the intellect (buddhi). One’s entire life is a continuous process of learning. Any process of inquiry is related to learning. But basically our inquiry should be concerned with finding out what is transient and what is permanent. This is true knowledge.
Spiritual Significance of Ganesh Idol Visarjanam
Traditionally, Ganesha idol was sculpted out of mud taken from nearby bodies of water. After the festival, it was returned to the Earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This cycle was meant to represent the cycle of creation and dissolution in Nature. The Visarjan ceremony symbolically teaches us about the concept of Samsara, or the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (reincarnation). The purpose of Visarjan is to replenish our spiritual energy and to remind us that material wealth is transitory and is of no use to the soul. The process of Visarjan teaches us detachment. It also teaches us to realize that life is short and that our own body, which we cherish and pamper, will one day be reduced to ashes and base elements.
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