Campaign for awareness of spiritually
correct way of celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi
FAQs about Lord Ganesh and Ganesh Chaturthi celebration
Why should we use Lord Ganapati’s
statue only in seated, and not in standing position?
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When we have a guest, we offer
him a seat; we do not leave him standing. Similarly, during
Ganesh Chaturthi we invoke the Ganesh principle (Ganesh
tattva), meaning me invite Lord Ganesh. Hence, we should
show hospitality with the faith that Lord Ganesh Himself
is visiting us. |
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Besides, if we the statue is kept
standing for 10 days, there are chances of the weight on
the legs of the statue actually breaking the statue. Hence,
statues should be made as the traditional ones in the seated
position. |
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Why should we refrain from making statues
of Lord Ganapati in various forms?
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Lord Ganesh’s statue should
not be made to look like some Saint’s, such as Sai
Baba, etc. This is because, even though Saints are a manifest
form of The Lord, there is a difference between God and
Saints. |
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Similarly, Lord Ganesh’s
statue should not be made to look like some other Deities,
because doing so affects the viewer’s faith in that
Deity. |
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Since the role of each Deity is
different, showing one deity in the form of another is
being disrespectful towards the Deities’ roles. |
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As per the science of Spirituality
(adhyatma shastra), each Deity actually represents a specific
divine principle. Hence, if Lord Ganesh’s statue
is not made as per the science of Idols (Murtividnyan),
there is no Ganesh principle in it, hence, the devotee
does not benefit spiritually from the statue. |
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top] What are the spiritual benefits of the satsevas of
sculpting the statue through immersing it?
In Hindu Holy festivals,
statues are worshipped ritualistically (puja). For instance,
during Ganesh Chaturthi, Lord Ganesh’s statues are ritualistically
installed for public as well as individual worship. Similarly,
during Navratra, the Goddess’ (Devi) statue and during
Nagpanchami, the statue of a hooded cobra is worshipped ritualistically.
In these programs, the relative benefit (as explained by H.
H. Parulekar Maharaj, Sindhudurg, India) from the various satsevas,
starting with sculpting the statue to immersing it are given
below:
Satseva
|
Proportion
of benefit (%)
|
1.
|
Creation of the statue |
|
|
a.
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Bringing and filtering
the material for the statue |
|
10
|
|
|
25
|
c.
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Coloring/painting
the statue |
|
5
|
d.
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Opening the eyes of
the statue |
|
15
|
2.
|
Bringing the statue
home and (after the celebration), immersing it (visarjan) |
|
11
|
3.
|
Ritualistic worship
(puja), singing hymns (bhajans) and moving lit lamps
(arati) in front of the statue |
|
8
|
4.
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Preparing food and
offering it as Holy sacrament (naivedya) to the Deity
(statue) |
|
21
|
5.
|
Lighting dhoop,
lamp with ghee/oil and keeping it lit continually |
|
5
|
Total :
|
100
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From this table, it is
clear that:
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The sculptor gets the maximum
(55%) benefit. Of course, the sculptor benefits in proportion
to his spiritual emotion that it is the satseva of Lord
Ganesh Himself. The higher the proportion of commercial
viewpoint in this satseva, the less the spiritual benefit
from it. |
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In many families, the responsibility
of bringing home the statue and taking it for immersion
is given to some person, who is paid for the task. The
above table reminds us of how spiritually beneficial it
is to do these satsevas ourselves. |
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In ritualistic worship (puja),
singing of hymns (arati), etc., only the mind is offered
at The Lord’s Feet. However, in the satseva of sculpting
the statue, preparing the Holy sacrament (naivedya or prasad)
both our body and mind are offered at The Lord’s
Feet. Hence, the spiritual benefit from the latter satsevas
is relatively more. |
Reference: The Sanatan’s publication, Volume
10: Holy Festivals, Religious Festivals and Vowed Religious Observances,
compiled by H. H.
Dr. Jayant Athavale and Dr. (Mrs.) Kunda Athavale.
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What is the importance of learning/information
about Lord Ganesh?
It is necessary to journey
from the embodied Soul (pinda/jiva) to the Supreme Soul (Brahmanda/Shiva)
to make spiritual progress. This infers that the embodied Soul
can blend with the Supreme God only if it imbibes all the principles
from the universe, that is, from every deity. A droplet of
water tinged with oil cannot truly merge with a body of water.
Similarly, a devotee of Lord Ganesh cannot truly merge with
Lord Ganesh, that is, he cannot attain Liberation (Sayujya
mukti) without imbibing all the qualities of Lord Ganesh. Information
about Lord Ganesh will help seekers in this direction.
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What is the significance of worshipping sattvik images
of Lord Ganesh?
According to the science of Spirituality,
Lord Ganesh is worshipped to imbibe His qualities and as a
result, experience spiritual and worldly benefits. To experience
these benefits to the maximum, the images of Lord Ganesh used
in the worship should be sattvik. Hence, with the aim of bringing
maximum benefit to devotees, the Sanatan has prepared images
of Lord Ganesh containing a significant proportion of Lord
Ganesh’s divine principle (Ganesh tattva). Sattvik
images, chanting strips, as well as informative booklets of
other deities are also available.
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