The elephant-headed God

It is Ganesh Chaturthi once again, and in many states across the country, people have started paying obeisance to the delightful Elephant-headed God.

It kind of brings back memories of Pune two years back, which is the cradle of  Ganeshotsav. The memories of colourful Pandals, huge colorful processions, prasadam, the ubiquitous dhol-tasha (drums and cymbals) ,Ganesha idols in hundreds waiting for Nimajjan,. I was lucky to see some of the traditional Ganeshotsavs of Pune, such as the Kasba Ganapati, Dagdu Seth etc. Also the very first Ganeshotsav of Pune , which was started by Lokmanya Tilak as a symbol of national awakening and pride. And we had taken out an evening, with my daughter perched on my shoulders, roaming around the lanes of the old city of Pune, checking out the Ganeshotsav pandals. No wonder she was shouting yesterday, sitting in Kolkata, “ Ganapati Bappa Morya!”

I still remember the strains of the hymn,

“ Om Ganeshaya Namoh Namaha,

Siddhivinayaka Namoh Namaha,

Ashtaviniyaka Namoh Namaha,

Ganapati Bappa Morya.”

It will stay with me forever.

The memories of Nimajjan ( immersion) of Lord Ganesha in the small river next to where I used to stay  at Chinchwad, Pune, are also very fresh in my mind. I was amazed by the outpour of devotion and fervor associated with this festival.

Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel I have seen Ganesh Puja at Manipal, Hyderabad, Pune and even yes! Kolkata- the fervor is spreading. What was popularized in the community by Bal Gangadhar Tilak to evoke national feelings is now doing exactly that by transcending boundaries.

A bit on the legend of Ganesha:

“ Traditional stories tell that Lord Ganesha was created by goddess Parvathi, consort of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed. Lord Shiva returned and, as Ganesha didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter. Lord Shiva became enraged and asked his follower ghosts to teach the child some manners. Ganesha was very powerful, being born of Parvati, the embodiment of shakti (or power). He defeated the ghost-followers (called "Ghana"s) and declared nobody was allowed to enter while his mother was bathing. The sage of heavens, Narada, along with the Saptarshi (the seven wise rishis) sensed a growing turmoil and went to appease the boy with no results. Angered, the king of Gods, Indra attacked the boy with his entire heavenly army but even they didn't stand a chance. By then, this issue had become a matter of pride for Parvathi and Shiva.

After the devas were defeated, the trinity, the controller, preserver and destroyer of the universe launched an attack against Ganesha. Amidst the fighting, Shiva severed the head of the child. And brought on Parvathi's rage. Seeing her son dead, Parvathi revealed her true self, as the Adi-shakti, the prime energy that fuels the universe and sustains matter. Taking on a terrible form, she vowed to destroy the universe where her son was killed and re-create a better one. The Gods prostrated before her and Shiva promised that her son will live again. The trinity hunted the world for a head and came across a mother elephant crying for her dead baby. They consoled the mother and fixed the head of the baby elephant in place of Ganesha's head. Lord Shiva also declared that from this day, the boy would be called as "Ganesha" (Gana-Isha : lord of the Ganas). In this way, Lord Ganesha came to be depicted as the elephant-headed God.”

(Courtesy- Wikipedia)

Being easily the most colourful God in the Hindu pantheon, Ganesha evokes a sense of delight in all of us. While Ganeshotsav is celebrated all over India, it is most elaborate in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Outside India, it is celebrated widely in Nepal and by Hindus in the United States, Canada, Mauritius,  Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Fiji, Trinidad & Tobago, and Guyana. And yes, even in Bengal, where I come from, though Ganeshotsav is not celebrated widely, we do invoke the blessings of the elephant headed God at the beginning of our New Year, and inaugurate the haal- khata ( ledger book) at business establishments with the blessings of Lord Ganesha.

A bit on the history of this festival. Ganesh Chaturthi was being celebrated as a public event in Pune since the times of Shivaji (1630-1680), the founder of the Maratha Empire. The Peshwas, the de facto hereditary administrators of the Empire from 1749 till its end in 1818, encouraged the celebrations in their administrative seat Pune as Ganesha was their family deity (Kuladevata). With the fall of the Peshwas, Ganesh Chaturthi lost state patronage and became a private family celebration again till its revival by Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak in 1893. I am lucky to have seen the  Ganeshotsav that he started, tucked away in one corner of Old Pune ( Sardar Chinchurkar Wada, Sadashivpet) .

Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival, it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Mumbai, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. In Maharashtra, not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celebration like Muslims, Jains, Christian and others.

( Courtesy: Wikipedia)

If we look at a deeper level, beyond the devotion and rituals and the prances of the most colourful God in the Hindu lexicon,  Lord Ganesha symbolizes a few things:

-          A  big head: to encourage us to think big

-          Small eyes: to concentrate on issues minutely

-          Large ears: to listen more

-          Small mouth- to talk less

-          Rope: to pull you towards your aims

-          Axe: to cut off the bonds of attachment and craving

-          One tusk: to retain good and throw away evil

-          Trunk: high efficiency and adaptability

-          Large stomach: peacefully digest all good and bad things in life ( I can’t emphasize how important this is – I would say this is the one quality all of us must adopt if we are to be happy and healthy as individuals)

-          Blessings: blesses and protects on the path to the spiritual

-          Prasada: the whole world is at your feet for asking ( believe in yourself!)

-          Mouse : desire/ craving- unless under control, can cause havoc. You ride the desire and keep it under control and don’t allow it to take you for a ride

So, as we go out and invoke the blessings of the Lord Ganesha, here is my tribute to Lord Ganapati in my own way: I wish we all imbibe some of the characteristics of the Lord described above, so as to gain happiness, effectiveness and peace in our personal and professional lives.

Ganapati Bappa Morya. Long live Lord Ganesha.