Why We Must Worship Lord Ganesha

Most of us are immersed in Ganesh Chaturthi revelry, especially in Maharashtra where Ganpati celebrations are akin to Durga Puja in West Bengal. In the midst of these festivities, perhaps it makes sense to remember whey Lord Ganesha is the most loved and significant.

The first to be worshipped

Any Hindu festival, auspicious occasions begins with the chant of Lord Ganesha, as he’s known to be the remover of obstacles. His prosperity extends to other religions like Jainism, Buddhism. The elephant god’s blessings are considered important even amongst followers of feng shui and vastu Shastra.

Lord of Supreme Intelligence, Wisdom

He’s the most intelligent of all gods. His elephant head symbolizes wisdom – the big head denotes ‘think big’, large elephant ears denote ‘listen more’ and small mouth denote ‘talk less’, small eyes denote ‘focus’, one tusk denotes ‘retaining good and discarding the bad’, the trunk denotes ‘efficiency and adaptability’, the large stomach denotes ‘digesting the good and bad’, riding the mouse denotes ‘being humble despite wealth and power’.

Patron of Art

He’s written scriptures, he’s an expert musician and loves art. It’s said that while writing the epic Mahabharata with sage Vyas, his pen broke and so the diligent god is said to have broken his tusk to continue writing the epic without interruption.

His Many Names Describe His Stature

Lord Ganesha is also popular with many names:

Ganpati – The Lord of all lords

Sumukh – The Lord with a beautiful face

Vinayaka – The prominent amongst all 

Gajanana – The Elephant headed God

Ek Danta – The Lord with one tusk

Lambkarna – Long Eared God

Vigneshwara – Remover of all the obstacles

Why We All Love Bappa?

We are fascinated by his grandeur, wisdom and the power to clear obstacles. Ganpati a.k.a Vinayak or Lord Ganesha is indeed the most popular deity. As kids we all adored his curved trunk, big ears and pot-bellied body, for he is the cheerful god who blesses you with wisdom and destroys all difficulties. Remember carrying Bappa’s photo to school before every exam or sharing homemade modaks with your friends? Each one of us has a special connection with Bappa.
Often our elders would tell us the significance of praying to Lord Ganesha; for e.g. the laddoos he holds near his trunk mean one must add sweetness to their soul, his large ears tell us that he hears our problems patiently, and despite his grandness, the Lord is down to earth to ride a small creature like mouse. And of course, we all know the famous story of how Bappa got the elephant head when he stopped Lord Shiva from entering mom Parvati’s home. What’s your favourite memory related to Bappa? For me it’s my grandmother making modaks in kitchen on Ganesh Chaturthi and relatives visiting us to take blessings from the newly arrived Ganesha at our home. The whiff of delicious modaks stuffed with coconut and jaggery would surround our home and all kids in the family would participate in elaborate decorations beautified with marigolds and roses. The entire week we’d visit Ganesh pandals for evening aarti and savor the sweet modaks. Thanks to the growing awareness about eco-friendly Ganesha idols, it’s now possible to immerse idols which do not release any toxic materials in water bodies.

Ganpati’s charm transcends beyond the traditional. There are so many gift essentials that draw inspiration from the Elephant God. Look around and you’d always find a Ganpati motif whether it’s a beautiful painting or a small Ganpati idol in your car. Think about the last time you went shopping, you must have spotted many t-shirts with Ganpati pictures in myriad colours, a home decor store with tons of Ganpati idols and plaques with ‘Vaktratunda Mahakaya  Suryakoti Samaprabha (Oh Lord Ganesha, of curved trunk, large body, and with the brilliance of a million suns). There’s a bit of cool quotient attached to Bappa; browse through gift stores, and you’d find Ganesha idols dressed in modern attire playing a guitar, working on a laptop, dressed as a batsman and more. Ganpati motifs on pendants and coins crafted in gold and silver continue to be a favourite during festivals.

He’s truly a global deity, inspiring even international fashion designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Prabal Gurung, Manish Arora to weave designs and colourful motifs based on him. The elephant deity strings a multitude of cultures in India during Ganesh Chaturthi; he even has a Wikipedia page dedication! Not to forget the blockbuster songs in Hindi movies which has seen many leading Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan crooning about Bappa’s glory. So bring on the festivities and get ready to hail Ganpati Bappa Morya this month!