Prasanthi is set to dazzle as Ganesh Chaturthi arrived. The august auspicious evening on the 23rd August welcomed the Lord who came granting His darshan lighting and delighting thousands upon thousands with His trademark adorable beatific countenance. When He moved along the huge bunch of students from the University followed by the special block from the Primary School, there was a flurry of Ganesha cards all along, handiworks of expressive love for The Master Beloved!…and the Lord was in all smiles, most benevolently glancing through their expressions of love to the merriment of the tiny tots. One should see the mirthful faces of these little hearts, every little one in the bunch vying for an opportunity, craning his neck, often flickering innocent joyful expression in gratitude, beholding the beautiful form of the Lord from the closest angle, blissfully unaware of the spiritual import of the entire episode.
Indian culture believes in the concept of pantheism - God can be identified with all the forces of nature and with all natural things. That is why our ancients worshipped trees. People worship snakes and elephants and our Indian mythology speaks volumes to testify this fact. Among the Indian gods and goddesses, Lord Vinayaka is given the prime place and is worshipped as the prime deity, believed to be the remover of all obstacles.
Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the Shukla Chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period).
This festival that is celebrated throughout the country with religious fervour, often takes a different shape in Prasanthi Nilayam. It was Ganesha all over, right from the early morning as one could hear Ganesha Bhajans sung starting with Nagarsankirtan, followed by the morning Bhajans at 9 and the evening proceedings related to the festivity.
A bouquet of nine songs, a mix of strotrams and keertanams, starting with Ganashtakam (octet on Lord Ganesha) to end up with a scintillating carnatic vocal was the highlight of the evening session. Earlier Bhagawan, upon completing His darshan round, blessed the “Mandir Ganesha” mounted in the Bhajan Hall, a traditional custom every year. Prasadam was distributed and Arathi was offered before Bhagawan retired to Yajur Mandiram.
