Shubh & Happy Ganesh Chaturthi – August 29th 2014 #GanpatiBappaMorya

Ganesh Chaturthi, also referred to as Vinayaka Chaturthi by many devotees, is a festival and celebration that starts to be celebrated on August 29th, 2014. It is a Hindu festival for Lord Shri Ganeshaji who is believed to have a presence on earth for all his devotees for the duration of this festival. Ganesh Chaturthi is observed in the Hinduism calendar month of Bhaadrapada and therefore most commonly falls between mid-August & mid-September on an annual basis.

Biggest and most passionate celebrations are held in the Indian state of Maharashtra. However, you can find Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations in Goa, Gujurat, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well as major cities/countries outside India where large hindu communities reside – such as Canada, US, UK and Australia. Although there is are a large number of Hindus in Pakistan, reports suggest that radical Islamist groups threaten any large celebration of idols or any non-Islamic festival. In 2011, 2  people were killed and many hindu shops vandalized in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh after a riots began by Muslim radicals. The riots began by Muslim radicals after a hindu shopowner installed a statue of Lord Ganesh in his store, which is near a mosque, therefore offending local muslims.

Ganesh Chaturthi begins with the setting of these Ganesh murthis in bright decorated homes and specially erected temporary structures called mandapas. The mandapas are then erected by devotees. Pundits (Hindu Priests) then symbolically invokes energy into the statue by chanting mantras. This ritual is called the Pranapratishhtha. Then the ritual Shhodashopachara (sixteen ways of paying tribute) follows. During the ceremony, vedic hymns from the Rig Veda, the Ganapati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad, and the Ganesha stotra from the Narada Purana are chanted. For ten days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi, Lord Ganesh is worshipped.

On the 11th day, the murthi is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, and fanfare to be immersed in a body of water (usually lakes or rivers) symbolizing a ritual see-off of Ganesha in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of his devotees, this is the ritual known as Ganesh Visarjan. All devotees then join in this final procession shouting “Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Pudhachya Varshi Laukar ya” (O lord Ganesha, come again speedily next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the idols to the river to immerse it.

During the celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi the principal food dish is modak, which can also be called modagam or modakam. Modak is a vegetarian dish mostly common in Southern India.

The Chakra wishes everyone a happy/shubh Ganesh Chaturthi and good blessings of wealth & health. Here is a bhajan (hindu spiritual chant) that can be played on Ganesh Chaturthi: