09-11-2018 03:50 PM - edited 09-12-2018 01:24 PM
Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day Hindu festival celebrated to honour beloved Hindu elephant-headed God Ganesha's birthday, popularly worshiped for his ability to remove obstacles and bring good fortune. He is the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
Good luck, good fortune, wealth and prosperity
May you blessed with all these and more
This Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesha is known by 108 different names and is the Lord of arts and sciences and the deva of wisdom. He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies as he's considered the God of beginnings. He's widely and dearly referred to as Ganapati or Vinayaka.
[There are two different versions about Ganesha's birth. One has it that Goddess Parvati created Ganesha out of dirt off her body while having a bath and set him to guard her door while she finishes her bath. Shiva who has gone out, returned at that time, but as Ganesha didn't know of him, stopped him from entering. An angry Shiva severed the head of Ganesha after a combat between the two. Parvati was enraged and Shiva promised Ganesha will live again. The devas who went in search of a head facing north of a dead person could manage only the head of an elephant. Shiva fixed the elephant's head on the child and brought him back to life.]
It is usually celebrated in Late August or early September, depending on the cycle of the moon. It falls on the fourth day after new moon in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. In 2018, Ganesh Chaturthi is on September 13. It is celebrated for 11 days (ending on September 23), with the biggest spectacle taking place on the last day called Anant Chaturdasi day.
Mostly in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. One of the best places to experience the festival is in the city of Mumbai. Celebrations take place in a special way at the towering Siddhivinayak temple, located in the central suburb of Prabhadevi, which is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. An incalculable number of devotees visit the temple to join in prayers and pay their respects to the God during the festival. In addition, around 10,000 statues of Lord Ganesh are displayed at various locations in the Mumbai city.
Lord Ganesha is also worshiped in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal and China.
How is it Celebrated? - The festival begins with the installation of huge elaborately crafted statutes of Ganesha in homes and podiums, which have been especially constructed and beautifully decorated. Artisans put months of effort into making the statues. It's forbidden to look at the moon on this first night as legend had it the moon laughed at Lord Ganesha when he fell from his vehicle, the rat. On Ananta Chaturdasi (the last day), the statues are paraded through the streets, accompanied by much singing and dancing, and then immersed in the ocean or other bodies of water.
In Mumbai alone, more than 150,000 statues are immersed each year!
Those who have a Ganesha statue in their house treat and care for him as a much loved guest.
Foodies wait for Modak, a sweet dish prepared using rice or flour stuffed with grated jaggery, coconuts and dry fruits. The plate containing the Modak is supposed to be filled with twenty-one pieces of the sweet.
The festival is celebrated in a very public manner. Local communities compete with each other to put up the biggest and best Ganesha statue and display. Expect very crowded streets, filled with boisterous devotees, and lots of music.
There are four main rituals during the festival –
>Pranapratishhtha - the process of infusing the deity into a murti or idol, (Once a statue of Lord Ganesh is installed, a ceremony is undertaken to invoke his holy presence into the statue, during which a number of mantras are recited)
>Shhodashopachara - 16 forms of paying tribute to Ganesha (Offerings of sweets, flowers, rice, coconut, jaggery and coins are made to the God. The statue is also anointed with red chandan powder. Prayers are offered to Lord Ganesha every day during the festival. )
>Uttarpuja - Puja after which the idol could be shifted after it's infusion,
>Ganpati Visarjan - immersion of the Idol in the river/sea/pond.
(You might have be wondering that Why are the Ganesh Statues Immersed in Water at the End of the Festival. Well, We Hindus worship idols, or statues, of their gods because it gives us a visible form to pray to. We also recognize that the universe is in a constant state of change. Form eventually gives away to formlessness. However, the energy still remains. The immersion of the statues in the ocean, or other bodies of water, and subsequent destruction of them serves as a reminder of this belief.) How to Experience Mumbai's Epic Ganesh Festival
Lalbaugcha Raja pandal - It is most famous ganpati pandal. Thousands of people visit here from all corner of the nation to get the blessings of Ganpati Bappa
Here is the glimpse of last year immersion.
Mumbai's Ganesh Chaturthi festival is the biggest celebration in the city. If you want to experience in Indian festival on a grand scale, this is it! It's a massive street party with a special spiritual meaning.
visarjan (immersion) video
How did the festival become so popular in Mumbai though?
The festival was celebrated as a public event to promote culture and nationalism since the time of Maratha King Shivaji, but a Sarvajanik (Public) Ganesh idol was installed first by Bhausaheb Laxman Javale.
However, in 1893 the freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak transformed it from a private celebration to a grand public event "to bridge the gap between Brahmins and non-Brahmins and find an appropriate context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them". His reasons for doing so were to bridge the gap between the castes, and build unity against British colonial rule. Lord Ganesh, as the much loved remover of obstacles and god for everybody, served this purpose. The tradition has carried on, and nowadays there's great competition among local communities to put on the biggest and best displays of statues of Lord Ganesh.
The festival ends with the parading and immersion of the statues into a body of water, usually the ocean in Mumbai.
Girgaum, known as the heart of old Mumbai, is a must-visit place during the festival (and especially on the last day of immersions).
Unfortunately, most Ganesh idols are not eco-friendly. They're made from Plaster of Paris and instead of naturally dissolving in the ocean, their broken parks often wash ashore. we should also think about this.
"Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Pudcha varshi loukar ya" - Hail Lord Ganpati, come soon again next year.
@NareshDarji @BishowvijayaP @Julien44 @Shrut19 @LucioV @ValeriaA_ @TravellerG @ErmesT
09-07-2018 11:55 AM
The festival celebrates Lord Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence[6][7] and is observed throughout India, especially in the states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh,[1][8] and is usually celebrated privately at home in states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.[9] Ganesh Chaturthi is also observed in Nepal and by the Hindu diaspora elsewhere such as in the Trinidad, Suriname, Fiji, Mauritius,[10] United States and in Europe[5][11](in Tenerife).[12]
GaneshaEdit
The earliest mention of Ganapati, now considered equivalent to Ganesha or Vinayaka, is found in the Rigveda. It appears twice in the Rigveda, once in hymn 2.23.1, as well as in hymn 10.112.9.[17][18][19] Both of these hymns imply a role of Ganapati as "the seer among the seers, abounding beyond measure in food presiding among the elders and being the lord of invocation", while the hymn in mandala 10 states that without Ganapati "nothing nearby or afar is performed without thee", according to Michael.[17][20]However, it is uncertain that the Vedic term Ganapati which literally means "guardian of the multitudes", referred specifically to later era Ganesha, nor do the Vedic texts mention Ganesha Chaturthi.[21][18]
Ganapati appears in post-Vedic texts such as the Grhya Sutras and thereafter ancient Sanskrit texts such as the Vajasaneyi Samhita, the Yajnavalkya Smriti and the Mahabharata mention Ganapati as Ganesvaras and Vinayakas. Ganesha appears in the medieval Puranas in the form of "god of success, obstacle remover". The Skanda Purana, Narada Purana and the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, in particular, profusely praise him.[22] Beyond textual interpretations, archeological and epigraphical evidence suggest Ganesha had become popular, was revered before the 8th century CE and numerous images of him are traceable to the 7th century or earlier. For example, carvings at Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples such as at the Ellora Caves, dated between the 5th and 8th century show Ganesha reverentially seated with major Hindu goddess(Shakti)
FOOD
The primary sweet dish during the festival is modak (modak in Marathi and Konkani, modakam or kudumu in Telugu, modaka or kadubu in Kannada, kozhakatta or modakkamin Malayalam and kozhukattai or modagam in Tamil). A modak is a dumpling made from rice or wheat flour, stuffed with grated coconut, jaggery, dried fruits and other condiments and steamed or fried. Another popular sweet dish is the karanji (karjikai in Kannada), similar to modak in composition and taste but in a semicircular shape. This sweet meal is called Nevri in Goa and is synonymous with Ganesh festival amongst the Goans and the Konkani diaspora.[66]
09-11-2018 11:28 PM
Thank you @NandKK for tagging me and that is great info Ganpati Bappa Morya
09-12-2018 12:31 AM
Thank you so much for your this great post dear @NandKK
09-12-2018 02:25 AM
Hi @NandKK,
Thanks a lot for this great post, beautifull pictures and good explanations.
It is always good to discover the world and you are one of the great local guides who brings us with himself to the heart of its country.
Thank you so much for sharing Ganesh Chaturthi. I wish you all the best (luck, fortune, wealth and prosperity)
See you around
Jul
09-12-2018 04:17 AM
Thanks for sharing the story @NandKK! Great post!
I'm not a religious person, but I'm always respectful of other religions, and I have to admit that I always liked Ganesh, I don't know why 🙂
09-12-2018 05:16 AM
गणपति बप्पा मोरिया भाई @AmbrishVarshney
09-12-2018 05:17 AM
09-12-2018 05:31 AM
Thank you so much @Julien44 for your lovely words.
I am really feeling honoured by such a lovely feedback by you 😄😄😄. Your comments always encourage me for posting more and more.
I will try my best to keep updating you about my countries culture.
Thank you again.
May lord Ganesh bring you good luck and prosperity!
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
09-12-2018 06:01 AM
Thank you @LucioV for your lovely and kind comment.
It's good to know that you always liked Ganesh, and thy will help you to know the reason behind this. 🤗🤗🤗
In my opinion being a non-religious person is a good thing. At least they are way more tolerant than a religious person.
There should be only five points (commandments) for being a good human,