He
Comes, He Sees, He Blesses, He Leaves
Ganesha, for the average Mumbaikar, is more a friend than a God. He is someone with whom he can communicate effortlessly and feel assured that he is being heard.....The immersion, in a very spiritual way, each year also makes humans realise one more time the ultimate destiny of human life – to go back to the expansive consciousness. The return of the Ganesha next year is again symbolic of the recurring creativity of human birth and rebirth.
Ganesha, for the average Mumbaikar, is more a friend than a God. He is someone with whom he can communicate effortlessly and feel assured that he is being heard.....The immersion, in a very spiritual way, each year also makes humans realise one more time the ultimate destiny of human life – to go back to the expansive consciousness. The return of the Ganesha next year is again symbolic of the recurring creativity of human birth and rebirth.
The return of the Ganesha is one of the most awaited
events in Mumbai city. Since childhood I have seen important
festivals like Holi, Diwali lose sheen in terms of their outward
expression, but festivities related to Ganesh Chaturthi have not
only not ebbed, they have in fact risen and grown to different levels
of excitement as well as creativity.
What makes Ganesha the God so special is the intricate
human connection that Mumbaikars have with the Lord. This is one God
whose arrival is awaited with the excitement reserved for a guest
whom we deeply love. I have personally experienced that when we get
the idol home on the appointed day, the house ambience seems to
undergo a dramatic change. Ganesha brings happiness with him. There
is a natural pull for relatives and people living around you to visit
your home to have darshan (auspicious sight) of the idol.
The representation of Ganesha in its various forms
conveys the very strong bond that people have with the Lord, whom
they consider a member of the family. The idol-creators build
expressions that bring alive the human personality ever so
beautifully. Ganesha, for the average Mumbaikar, is more a friend
than a God. He is someone with whom he can communicate effortlessly
and feel assured that he is being heard.
Ganesha enlivens the mood of the city like nothing else does. When one of India's great leaders of the freedom movement Lokmanya Tilak launched the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav (public celebration of the Ganesh festival) concept in pre-independence India as a tool to ward off the British, even he may not have envisioned the longevity of the idea, which has now acquired a relevance and context of its own. The expansion of the social dimension sprung from a political-religious context is truly stunning. Ganesha, in his various forms, mirrors not just human creativity, but also showcases emotions which are superbly human.
Ganesha enlivens the mood of the city like nothing else does. When one of India's great leaders of the freedom movement Lokmanya Tilak launched the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav (public celebration of the Ganesh festival) concept in pre-independence India as a tool to ward off the British, even he may not have envisioned the longevity of the idea, which has now acquired a relevance and context of its own. The expansion of the social dimension sprung from a political-religious context is truly stunning. Ganesha, in his various forms, mirrors not just human creativity, but also showcases emotions which are superbly human.
Ganesha
is a God that Mumbaikars associate with very closely. He is their
`silent` friend, philosopher and guide. Besides the social-religious
significance, the festival also provides relief to the average
Mumbaikar from the at times excruciatingly challenging life he has to
lead in this fascinating but complex city. The festival in many ways
is a celebration of this relief. The Lord's departure on visarjan
(immersion)
day therefore evokes emotions that you feel when a loved one is
leaving for a long sojourn. On visarjan
day, as the Lord gets carried into the deep waters for being
immersed, tears bid farewell to a friend who arrived one more time at
the appointed hour to bless and take away some of the burdens of
human existence.
The immersion, in a very spiritual way, each year also
makes humans realise one more time the ultimate destiny of human life
– to go back to the expansive consciousness. The return of the
Ganesha next year is again symbolic of the recurring creativity of
human birth and rebirth. Thus, the chant Ganapati Bappa Morya, Pudcha
Varshi Lavkar Ya (Hail Ganesha! Come Back Next Year Soon) is not just
a slogan, but a clarion call to the Lord to one more time Come, See,
Bless and Leave.
