Ganesh Chaturthi

Ganesh Chaturthi falls on the fourth day after new moon in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (August – September). Bhadrapad Shukla Paksha Chaturthi or the fourth day during the waxing phase of moon in Hindu Calendar

Vinayaka Chathurthi is the name of the Festival celebrated Bhadrapadra Shukla Chaturthi all over the country, from the Himalayas to the Cape, and also wherever people of this country owning allegiance to its culture live. Vinayaka or Ganesh or Ganapathi or Vighneswara all indicate the Elephant-God, who is popular among young and old, and who is worshipped as the very first deity, before regularly beginning any ceremony or samskar, any Yaga or Yajna, any vow or fast or pilgrimage. He is the Lord of the Ganas or Divine Forces, inside and outside the human body; He is the Lord, who masters and overwhelms vighna or obstacle, however imminent or eminent. This is the natural effect of the fact that Ganapathi is the God of Intelligence, the wealth coming from knowledge or Buddhi.

 

According to Hindu Mythology, once Lord Shiva was out hunting with his ‘Ganas’ or attendants. Parvati, Shiva’s consort, was alone and desired to take a bath. But since there were no attendants to guard the entrance of the house, Parvati created a handsome young Ganesha from mud and asked him not to let anyone inside.

Soon, Lord Shiva returned and found an arrogant guard stopping him from entering his house. In a fit of fury, Lord Shiva cut off Ganesha’s head.

When Parvati came to know about the fate of Ganesha, she was overwhelmed with grief and Lord Shiva soon realized the grave mistake had committed in anger. He asked one of his Ganas to bring the head of the first animal he saw sleeping with its head towards north.

The Gana returned with an elephant’s head and Shiva placed it on Ganesha’s body and restored his life.

All these extraordinary events of Parvati creating Ganesha from mud and Lord Shiva chopping Ganesha’s head and replacing it with an elephant’s head took place on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadrapada (August-September).

 

Ganesha and Root Chakra

As per Kundalini Yoga, the human body receives its subtle cosmic energies from seven chakras that are ruled by different gods. Lord Ganesha rules Muladhara Chakra, the Root Chakra associated with family, stability and knowledge. Mula means ‘main, root or original’ and adhara means ‘base’, meaning the Lord Ganesha is the root cause of our familial happiness and domestic peace that are absent without his blessings. The Ganapati Atharvashirsa mentions a verse: “O Ganesha! You reside at the base of the spine”.

Ganesha is particularly important to us in today’s world for he is lord of the Muladhara and ruler of the Earth Element. At a time when billions of people are living almost entirely within their heads, a re-grounding into our bodies, into basic manifested existence living rightly in the natural world is the only prescription that can actually shift us from the dead-end path that billions are now embarked upon. Aligning ourselves with the Ganapati energy is a sure way to return us to the right route.