Significance of Ganesh Chaturthi:
The day on which the Ganesh frequencies reached Earth for the first time, Lord Ganesh was born , fourth day (chaturthi)of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magh. Since then, an association between Ganesh and chaturthi was established.
Ganesh Chaturthi
The frequencies of Ganesh reach the Earth on the fourth day chaturthi of every fortnight of the Hindu lunar month. This implies that on that date, a greater quantity of frequencies of Ganesh can reach the earth.Chaturthi means the turiyavastha, a state beyond the states of waking (jagruti), dream (svapna) and deep sleep (sushupti). This itself is the target of a seeker.The fourth day (chaturthi) of the bright fortnight of each lunar month is called Vinayaki and that of the dark fortnight is called Sankashti.
Vinayaki :
Goddess Vinayaki or Ganeshani, also known as Gajanani, Ganeshari or Vigneshwari, is the feminineform of Lord Ganesh. GoddessVinayaki is the idol worshipped in Tamil Nadu.GoddessVinayaki or Ganeshani is considered as a form of Shakti rather a Yogini Devata.In Suchindram, a feminine Ganesha in Sukhasana pose is worshipped.In Tibet, the feminineGanesh form is worshipped as Gajanani.Some Puranas and ancient scriptures mentioned the female Shakti of Ganapati as Vainayaki or Ganeshini.Several Puranas referred Ganeshani or Vinayaki as one of the Yogini Shaktis. But the worship of Ganeshini is very less known in ancient rituals and pujas.
Sankashti :
The day marked as Sankashti appears every month in the Hindu calendar.People fast throughout the day and eat in the evening after the moonrise. Most people understand Sankashti as a ritual to please Lord Ganesh so that He removes all the hurdles and crisis (Sankat) that one faces in life.This is the mundane point of view. There are 360 different frequencies that are emitted from the core of the earth. These surround the body and thus slow down the body processes. This is a ’sankat’. In the dark fortnight of the Hindu lunar month, these 360 frequencies are more active. This obstructs the flow of energy in the nadis (channels) in the body. Sankashti is performed to overcome this crisis. Lord Ganesh controls these 360 frequencies. Hence by His worship one is released from the bondage of these frequencies.
The day marked as Sankashti appears every month in the Hindu calendar. People fast throughout the day and eat in the evening after the moonrise. Most people understand Sankashti as a ritual to please Lord Ganesh so that He removes all the hurdles and crisis (Sankat) that one faces in life. This is the mundane point of view. There are 360 different frequencies that are emitted from the core of the earth. These surround the body and thus slow down the body processes. This is a ’sankat’. In the dark fortnight of the Hindu lunar month, these 360 frequencies are more active. This obstructs the flow of energy in the nadis (channels) in the body. Sankashti is performed to overcome this crisis. Lord Ganesh controls these 360 frequencies. Hence by His worship one is released from the bondage of these frequencies.
On this day, devotees fast all day. In the evening, Lord Ganesh’s Aarti is performed and He is offered Naivaidya. This is not a vowed religious observance like others performed throughout the day and night. It is an observance composed of five prahars (one prahar is a period of about three hours), four during the day and one at night. According to the ritual, a meal should be taken at moonrise. Thus that meal becomes a part of the ritual and is not partaken of to end the fast. At moonrise, Lord Soma – The Moon God is sprinkled with sandalwood paste (Gandha), flowers, consecrated rice and sweetmeat. This statement must be creating a doubt among my readers that why is the Moon God prayed especially when on Ganesh Chaturthi people are told not to look at the Moon.There is an incident mentioned in the Puranas that one day when Lord Ganesh was returning home from a feast at Lord Kuber’s house, He tripped and fell. Since the Lord had eaten well, his stomach burst open and its contents fell out. Seeing this, the Moon laughed. The Lord tied his stomach with a snake and cursed the Moon, that if people saw the moon on Chaturthi day, they would be accused of theft.The Moon regretted this outburst and performed various austerities to please the Lord. Since the Moon was already been cursed, it could not be reversed so Lord Ganesh reduced its intensity and said, “On Sankashti, no devotees will consume their meals until they offer their prayers to You.”
Ganesha’s form…
Tags: aum, chaturthi, ganapathi, Ganes, Ganesha, Hindu, india, mystic, OM
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January 25th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Great article! It’s often hard to find such well put together information that makes sense!