Ganesh Chaturthi or Siddhi Vinayak Chaturthi

Ganesh - an elephant-headed is the God of wisdom and remover of obstacles: hence he is invariably propitiated at the beginning of any important undertaking, and is invoked at the commencement of books. He wrote Mahabharata from the dictation of Vyas and is the son of Shiva and Parvati. Each part of his physical form conveys a message: the elephant head conveys knowledge by listening through the ears; the tusks symbolize perfection and imperfection in this world. The trunk stands for physical and mental strength; the large stomach depicts the ability to digest whatever experience life brings; the rat (his vehicle) stands for desire, wealth, and removal of obstacles. He has four hands: in one hand he holds an axe and a goad – the axe is to remove obstacles and the goad is to keep his devotees on the path of dharma (righteousness). The snare on the other hand symbolizes his control over death. In his bottom left hand, he holds a sweetmeat, representing a reward for devotion; and with his lower right hand, he blesses his devotees.

Lord Ganesh grants Siddhi (success) and that is why he is also called Siddhi Vinayak (Ganesh). Ganesh gives and Ganesh takes, and therefore Ganesh is the salvation of both. When breaking the fast the worshipper should first offer food to a Brahman and give something in charity and then eat nothing cooked with or fried in oil. It is believed that he who worships Siddhi Vinayak gets what he wants i.e., knowledge, wealth and success, etc. Ganesh should be worshipped first before praying to other gods or goddesses.

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular Hindu fasts and festivals. This is the birthday of Lord Ganesh. It falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August September). On this day Hindus observe fast to celebrate the birthday of Lord Ganesh. People get up early on this day, take bath, worship the idol of Ganesh and keep a fast. At the end of the festival, the clay idol is thrown into the water and left to sink. Ganesha Chaturthi is especially popular in western and central India and Rajasthan.

People do not look at the moon on this day as it behaved badly towards the Ganesha because the former once laughed at him when he fell off his rat. The moon thereupon craved pardon for having disturbed the equanimity of the son of Shiva, but the curse was only removed on condition that, before looking upon the moon, everybody should hear the story of “Samantakam”.

On the advice of Narad Muni, Lord Krishna observed this fast to get rid of the stigma of stealing the diamond (Syamantaka Mani). Satrajit, son of Nighaa got as a gift the wonderful Syamantaka gem from the Sun god for his devotion to the god. He gave the gem to his brother, who was eaten by a lion, and Jambuwant killed the lion in order to get the gem. Without knowing the fact Satrajit blamed Krishna for taking the gem.

Krishna realized that Jambuwant had taken the gem. He had a fight with Jambuwant and defeated him. The gem was recovered and restored to Satrajit by Krishna. Satrajit was ashamed for blaming Krishna for taking the gem. In return, he presented his daughter Satyabhama in marriage to Krishna.

Why it is forbidden to look at the moon on a fast day. Moon insulted Lord Ganesh and he cursed the moon on that day. Therefore anyone who sees the moon on that day gets the curse. To get rid of the curse, keep fast on every fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month. Pray, make an offering to Ganesh according to your status, and also give something in charity to be free from the sin of seeing the moon.

Pray sincerely to Lord Ganesh and he will remove your difficulties in life and make your family happy and prosperous.