Ganapati festival

The Ganapati Festival represents our own life. Ganesh is a divine incarnation where the Formless Infinite has assumed a form and has come to bless mankind. Ganapati is made out of clay. Our bodies are also made out of clay. Clay is the earth element in our bodies. When the pran-pratishtha ceremony is done, prana is infused in the idol, just like we are filled with pranic, bio-energy, which makes us feel alive and active.

Ganapati remains in our house for 1.5, 5, 7, 11 days, symbolic of our life spans. During the presence of Ganapati in our house, utsav is celebrated. We wear the finest clothes, prepare the tastiest sweetmeats and eat the best dishes. We visit our near and dear ones and exchange pleasantries and gifts. The house is decorated like a bride and earthen lamps are lit as a symbol of the spreading of the divine light. The entire house takes the aura of a temple. In keeping with the spirit of the festivities, the lifespan allotted to us should be full of joy and celebration, a lila, an utsav.

Finally, Ganapati is immersed in the sea, or the river, and the clay merges back with its elements, Universal Consciousness. Similarly, we also have to evolve from our limited form to the unlimited formless being.


Ganapati's story is our story. Hinduism believes in the divinity in each of us. Ganapati is the symbol of that divinity. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.