Speaking Tree - Why Not Be A Ganesha To Each Other

Speaking Tree - Why Not Be A Ganesha To Each Other:

The clay Ganesha murtis that you bring home for Ganesh Chaturthi take several weeks to be crafted out of clay, moulded, dried, smoothened, painted, decorated – before you can pray to them asking to remove all hurdles to your life; but what about you? Are you not supposed to prepare yourself to invite divinity to visit you, bless you?

Cleaning your house and surroundings is one part of the preparation, what is equally, in fact, more important, is cleaning yourself from inside; removing traits which are undesirable for human growth such as jealousy, envy, fear and guilt. The Supreme has endowed each of us with a special individual trait which can be developed to contribute to the welfare of humanity but many of us don’t know what their special individual trait is.

Most people pray to Ganesha, also called ‘vighna harta’ – destroyer of hurdles, to remove the blocks from their material life, their physical being, for their own betterment, for the welfare of their children. All this is at a very gross level, whereas Ganesha-energy can do a lot more. It is meant to be ignited when you are about to start a new project. To keep yourself alive you need to have some passion. So, what new passion are you planning to pursue, what new project are you taking up for which you are inviting Ganesha to vibrate your home? Introspect on this. And if you are seeking Ganesha’s blessings to start something new, is this new project meant for all or for your own selfish motive? There should be clarity. Ganesha is to be ignited to let blossom all your strength, your inner qualities and directing them towards a holistic and beautiful creation, which is for humanity as a whole; or to silently contribute to universal life force for showering wisdom,peace, bliss and right direction to all.

The community ritual of setting up a pandal and worshipping a Ganesha murti together with everyone for 10 days and then immersing it in water – has now developed into something very personal. People get their personal Ganeshas home, seeking personal benefits, and this has spread everywhere. Otherwise, there used to be a few Ganesha puja pandals in different parts of the city where everyone would go and worship – this would inculcate in them a community feeling, of service, sense of discipline, teach them the idea of beautiful coexistence. But times have changed. Surely you can keep a Ganesha murti at home if you like; in fact, you could keep anything symbolic of Ganesha at home, anything which reminds you of him. It could be a pebble or even a plant, instead of buying murtis which when immersed only litter banks and beaches, lying there like garbage, half broken and discoloured.

All deities are symbolic and it is important to know that they are reminders of certain virtues to be imbibed. Be a Ganesha to each other. To mark the festival visit the homes of friends and relatives you have not met in years or acquaintances you have ignored and give them some happiness, give them some new zest in life, help them set up some new venture that will add some happiness to their lives. Be a Ganesha to each other rather than indulging in rituals or showing off your opulence and how well you are taking care of the Ganesha you have installed in your home.