Ganapati bappa morya, Pudchyavarshilavkarya
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Our Ganesha Super Star
Morya re Bappa Morya re..
The elatedroars were diminishing as Bala Ganapati slowly submerged to the bottom of the lake. Mooshika landed before Bala Ganapati and gave authorization signal for Bala Ganapati to land.He looked around; there were no sign of any other ganapatis. He felt heavy with all the modaks and laddoos he had ate and decided to nap for a while.
Bala Ganapati felt tickle around his tummy and woke up and saw huge Ganapati with peacock feather on head and a flute in hand. He started playing his flute and bala ganapati was so amused with his raga that he danced around him closing his eyes. “We are late for the event. Come on now hurry up” he told to bala ganapati and started sinking faster, Bala ganapati ran behind him wondering what was this event.
There was a huge crowd and Bala Ganapati found Varieties of Ganapatis there. He was so delighted at the sight of various ganapatis that he started imagining the various forms in which he can come back next year. “Respected Ganapatis and Ganapatis! Please maintain silence. The next event is Introduction of SarvajanikGanapatis” when this call came out all Ganapatis stood still. It was Rockstar Ganapati hosting the event.
“Respected Ministers … sorry Ganapatis, I am MLA ganapati. Please vote for me. Sorry..”
Then came the ganapati with lord Shiva on his shoulders, the latest Bahubali Ganapati. All ganapatis whistled and clappped as Bahubali Ganapati made an appearence. Specially because during Ganesh chaturthi only Gowri and Ganesha are worshipped but Bahubali had brought the almighty Shiva on his shoulders making it very special for all the ganapatis. One by one all ganapatis introduced themselves, it was a real treat for Bala Ganapati. Crickter Ganapaticame with MRF bat and ball and hit a six, allganapatis ran around to pick the ball which went very far! It created a huge traffic around the lake. Rockstar Ganapati had to take help of the senior massive belly Traffic Police ganapati to redirect and bring back all ganapatis to the venue.
“I request Shree Vidwan Ganapati to address the gathering and speak a few words” announced rock star ganapati.
Vidwan Ganapati started addressing the gathering.
“Namaskar to all my dear ganapatis who have assembled here today. I know you all are waiting for the next event eagerly I will not take much of your time. This year let us know about Ganapati Visarjanand its importance, that is why we are created and immersed every year. The word Visarjanis derived from the Sanskrit language and has numerous connotations. However, in the context of worship or ‘puja’ it refers to the formal concluding rite, in which the presiding deity is requested to depart from the physical embodiment, specifically utilized for the puja (usually a murti) in which it was initially invoked. This ‘temporary receptacle’ is then discarded, most often by submersion into running water, such as a river, lake or the sea. The act is not necessary for inaugurated (pratishthita) more permanent murtis (idols).
In order to comprehend the practice of visarjan, we must first understand the concept of worship in the Hindu faith. The worship of the Almighty in Sanatan Dharma may be through the ‘Saakaar’ (with form) or ‘Niraakaar’ (formless). So can anyone of you tell which are we now?”
“We are Saakar (with form) !” shouted Hanuman Ganapati. “Correct.Very good Hanuman,there you go a modak for the correct answer” Rockstar Ganapati presented Modak for Hanuman Ganapati. Hanuman Ganapati gulped the modak and sat in a sense of pride.
Vidwan Ganapati continued “The niraakaar method requires no physical depiction, or object and meditation (dhyaan) is a form of this kind of praying. The Saakaar method requires a ‘physical medium’ through which we are recieving ‘Puja’ or ‘Archana’. Our murtis are made primarily from clay and straw. There is much reasoning behind this. Clay is formed from sediment including the physical remains of once living organisms, including humans. Bhakt Kabir describes in a couplet that although a potter proudly moulds clay with his dexterous hands into numerous objects, it could transpire that in a future life, the very clay he has fashioned will enter the life cycle chain and become a potter! The clay object could break and return to the earth and be reconstituted (through the five elements) into a human being, who could become a potter and mould clay formed from the remains of the former potter.
In the case of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, it commemorates the creation of we, LordGanapatis and we are venerated for ten days,three or five days with great fervour. As we know our Mother , the Goddess Gaurimouldedus originally form from exfoliate of her own skin. She then invoked her consort, Lord Shiva to breathe life into the inanimate sculpture. Hence, the process of creating us is in the aforementioned method analogous to the actual genesis. The Goddess Gauri is represented as mother earth and the clay symbolises her body’s exfoliate from which Ganapati was formed. Do you all remember our birth story?”
“Yes yes” roared all Ganapatis. “Would you like to see it again?” asked Vidwan Ganapati with a smile. “Yes yes, show us . Story story” Ganaptis cheered. Vidwan Ganapati temporarily made way for this Nritya Roopaka. Ganapati dressed as Paravati, Shiva and Ganapati himself were all a visual treat to watch. The birth story of ganapatis was presented amazingly. Paravati Ganapati’s acting was the best and it received a standing ovation.
Vidwan Ganapati came back and he continued “Unity is Strength. Our birth story was beautifully crafted before us here .We should appreciate their team work .Similarly the involvement of all members of the human community in creating this holy depiction is noteworthy and promotes cohesion in their community. The fisherman dredges the lakebed to obtain the clay, to which the potter adds various organic materials from diverse sources. The clay is then sculptured into the murti by the skilled artisan, for which the tailor then fashions vestments. The learned Priest invokes the spirit of the deity at the auspicious hour. The whole process from inception to completion teaches us collaboration and reminds us that we all have important functions in society.
The visarjan ceremony represents the concept of Samasara, or the cycle of birth death and rebirth. This fate befalls all living creatures including humans as life is fleeting and once the soul departs from our body, the corporeal form then perishes and returns to the natural elements, only to be reconstituted in another body in the subsequent life cycle. Similarly, once the presiding deity departs from the murti, its physical manifestation is then returned to nature, only to be reanimated the following year. The imbibed spirit however remains in the hearts of the devotees and enriches their lives.
As per the Hindu tradition only clay idols are to be worshiped and immersed in water. Those who celebrate ganesh festival in eco -friendly manner and those who avoid eco-harmful and eco-hazardous material in water would be blessed with better health and better environment. “All ganapatis applauded and Bala Ganapati was delighted by the words of Vidwan Ganapati.He was in a state of self-realization.
“Now I request this year’s any of the new member Ganapati to come forward and share their experience.” announced rockstar Ganapati. Krishna Ganapati poked Bala ganapati, again and cried “He is new! Go now Bala Ganapati”. A chill ran down Bala Ganapati’s spine, it was an impromptu for him. He gathered all courage and started speaking.
“Respected Ganapatis, a bow to all of you here. I am Bala Ganapati .This is my first year and I must say I had a wonderful time. I first of all would like to thank Krishna Ganapati for bringing me here. As humans organize cultural events during our festival we too organizing it is a unique concept.As you can all see I am colorless. The potter who moulded me has named me as Eco-Friendly Bala Ganapati. He also told I am purely made of clay and there is no Plaster of Paris in me.Plaster of Paris is harmful to environment and it is used only to make us look more attractive ,but are not we attractive naturally? Why this hazardous material for our creation? Hence I request all Ganapatis to enlighten their respective potters next year to make you Eco-Friendly. Thank you”
The ganapati crowd was dumbstruck by the words of Bala Ganapati .Vidwan Ganapati personally came and pat BalaGanapati’s shoulder. Rockstar ganapati was back and said” Our Bala Ganapati has spoken a very serious matter and I would like to add one more important thing. According to me our idol height must be limited.The larger the idol more is the difficulty in Visarjan. Ourdieties should not be objects of exhibition.We are obstacle destroyers, we ourselves should not be made an obstacle in the encvironment. Let’s hope humans realize it Now, Let the music play!”.
All Ganapatis gathered around.They danced,they sang, they played.
And they said “See you all next year!”
Inspired by this video I had received on WhatsApp.
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-Kunkuma Kodlekere
Studied Engineering, Engineeer by profession. Kannadati! Born at Gokarna, brought up in Namma Bengalooru. Music enthusiast, Love to read & write, Movie Buff.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
