Hello pure souls,
In India, we are in the week leading up to the celebration of Vinayagar Chathurthi (also known as Ganesh Chathurthi in many parts of the nation). It is a welcome celebration for Lord Vinayaga ( August 22 this year) as it marks the day he arrived on Earth from Mount Kailash. Hence I would like to share few things about LORD VINAYAGA!😊
LORD VINAYAGA (in Tamil, Vinayagar), is the elephant headed God who is one of the Gods in Hinduism. He also goes by many names: Ganesha , Ganapathy, Iygaragan, Pillaiyar etc..
Vinayagar Chathurthi is one of the important Hindu festivals which is celebrated for several days, the poojas ranging from anywhere between 3 to 10 days.
For this festival, a plethora of Lord Ganesha idols are created by sculptors and sold all over India. On this occasional day, homams and poojas are held early in the morning for Lord Vinayagar and prasadham are distributed to all the devotees going to the temple. There are also temple processions of Lord Vinayaga in almost all localities around the country to spread his blessings to every person in the neighbourhood . It is considered an auspicious and joyous event of being blessed by God.
Let me now tell you the story of Lord Vinayaga.
One day, Goddess Parvathi created a male baby idol of clay, gave him life and named him Ganesha, making him her son. She asked him to stand guard while she went for a bath. At that time, Lord Shiva (the husband of Goddess Parvathi) arrived at the place to visit his wife. As Ganesha didn't know who this new person was, he stopped Lord Shiva and warned him to not go inside. There ensued a big argument between them. Lord Shiva sensed that this was no ordinary child and in his fury, he cut off little Ganesha's head.
When Goddess Parvathi learnt of Vinayagar's death, she was so upset and enraged that she threatened to destroy the world. To placate her, and to avoid such a catastrophe, Lord Shiva promised her that he'd bring back to life her dear son. He ordered that they find a dead animal whose head pointed north, and that its head be brought to him immediately. It was an elephant whose head was towards north that was available at that time. So Lord Shiva fixed this as Vinayaga's head and brought him back to life. Finally, Lord Shiva blessed Lord Vinayaga that he would be the god of (removal of) obstacles and of new beginnings.
There is also a belief that all these happened for a reason. It was to kill a demon (in Tamil, asuran) named Kajamugasuran, that Lord Ganesha (Vinayaga) was made as an elephant-headed God.
Kajamugasuran was a devote of Lord Shiva . He got a boon ("varam") from Lord Shiva for the purity of his meditation. Kajamugasuran had asked for immortality - he could not be killed by anyone or anything such as humans, animals, birds etc. As the boon was granted to him, and he realised that he didn't have to fear death, he started destroying everything!! To stop his cruel activities, Vinayagar, who is neither a full-human nor an animal, fought against him and won.
Finally Lord Vinayaga transformed Kajamugasuran into a "Mooshikan" (a rat) and made it his mount or vehicle (vahanam). That's why Lord Vinayaga also called MOOSHIKA VAHANA. (Do you all notice something?? I find that everything happens for the highest good - Even Lord Ganesha being beheaded! Positivity!!! 😋)
From the above story , we know that Lord Ganesha is blessed as the God of new beginnings!! In India there is a practice that before worship of any kind, poojas will be first offered to Lord Vinayaga and then to any other Gods and Goddesses. Whatever things are begun with his blessings, they always reach victory! Many people pray to Ganesha before they start anything new in their life.
Also, as Lord Ganesha is believed to be a remover of obstacles, in India, many people pray him before starting any new ventures. So that their business/works can proceed in a blessed way with good financial protection. Even in many other countries, people worship Lord Vinayagar as one of the ascended masters. They also call upon him when faced with difficulties and to ease their troubles😊
Let me share a personal experience here:
In 2014, I had to appear for an entrance exam to join M.Phil course. It was on the day after "Vinayagar Chathurthi" that year. As I believe in God, (especially Vinayagar during my college days) I decided to start my preparation for the entrance exam only after the Vinayagar Procession in my township. So after the procession, I happily started my preparation with self-confidence. It took me just an hour time to finish the preparation successfully and wholeheartedly with positive energy.
Next day, I wrote the examination very well. I came to know that I had secured the highest marks in that examination. It was really a surprising moment in my life. My self-confidence along with positive energy over the subject knowledge (mathematics) and God's blessings gave me the best results.
I thank Vinayaga for sending this like a reminder of my self-confidence in the past which I had forgotten probably because of the current hard times. I'm feeling grateful as I write this. 😊
There are many such interesting things about Lord Ganesha. He has an abundance of believers and most of them are students😁. Not surprising, right?? That's true. I have seen many students who strongly believe that Lord Ganesha answers their prayers.
Notably, Lord Ganesha's favourite things are kolu kattai or modak (an Indian sweet dish) and Scutch grass (in Tamil, Arugampul). So kolu kattai and garlands of Scutch grass are always dedicated to him by devotees as a token of their love.
If you have faith in God, it can make you feel specially blessed in your life.
I believe that people reading this article will always be blessed by Lord Vinayaga😇.I wish you all "HAPPY VINAYAGAR CHATHURTHI"
A person who wishes peace for everyone and everywhere. I have created this blog to share my knowledge of experiences which have helped few people so far. Being positive will change our life to the next level . Everyone of us faces many tragedies in our life. But those who have faced their tragedy with strong positive mind become inspirational to all of us . Be an inspirational person to this world!