Ganesh Chaturthi: Simple Steps for a Fulfilling Prayer

Posted on Oct 22nd, 2024

by Monisha

Categories:

Occasion

how i celebrate ganeshchaturthi festival at my home

‘OM VIGNESHWARAYA NAMAHA’
Meaning: The remover of all obstacles

In this blog:
1. Introduction
2. About our celebration at our home and traditions observed in my native.
3. Procedure I follow on this day with my family.
4. Sharing some glimpse of our ‘manjal pillayar’ pooja.

INTRODUCTION:

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856–1920) is recognized for promoting the Ganesh festival in the late 19th century – He played a significant role in popularizing the public celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi during the late 19th century. As a leader of India’s freedom movement, he encouraged community celebrations to unite people and strengthen social harmony.
Tilak was a key leader in India’s freedom movement and a social reformer. He was also known as “Lokmanya,” which translates to “People’s Leader.” He proposed that people attend this festival to get to know one another and form a sense of community, which also contributes to peace and harmony among varied communities.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a famous Hindu holiday that commemorates the birth of Lord Ganesha. It is important for numerous reasons: –

Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the remover of obstacles and the deity of wisdom, knowledge, prosperity, and new beginnings.
Devotees believe that worshipping Lord Ganesha invites wisdom, prosperity, abundance, and positive beginnings into their lives.
In Mumbai, Ganesh Chaturti is the most anticipated festival because we receive numerous invitations from friends and neighbors to seek darshan, and the best part is a weeklong vacation.

ABOUT OUR CELEBRATION AT MY HOME AND
TRADITIONS OBSERVED IN MY NATIVE

So being a South Indian and a person brought up in the city, I have always been fond of celebrating occasions since back then. However, because of my city life at my parents’ house, I missed most of the celebration. We never celebrated the way I see it in Mumbai because we were all too busy with work and studies.

Ganesh Chaturthi is also celebrated on the same day itself in our hometown, with neivedhyam and modak being the only offerings. Previously, while at my parents’ house, I would make ganpati out of soil and pray, as I believed. After my marriage, I found my own way to continue celebrating this festival.

Now that my daughter has seen and understood the festival and how it is celebrated, she wants to have Ganpati at home and celebrate in the traditional manner of ‘sthapana’ and ‘visarjan.’ So I came to the conclusion that I would follow this ritual and began inquiring with my senior friends about how to celebrate this festival, including the do’s and don’ts.

PROCEDURE I FOLLOW ON THIS OCCASION
WITH MY FAMILY

So, my daughter is someone who equally shows the same enthusiasm as I do. She is very fond of the tradition and festival at this early age because I have made sure to pass down the culture to her right from the early days. She does all that I do on occasion, from cleaning the house to organizing the pooja mandap. Decorating with flowers and making rangoli. It really feels so cute and beautiful to see my daughter’s participation.

My husband helps whenever I ask him to, but otherwise, festival preparations are mostly a mother-daughter affair. Sometimes I jokingly feel like he’s just a ‘Festival Tourist’ attending our celebration rather than one of the organizers! Haha! Hopefully, one day he’ll join us with the same enthusiasm.

I start by cleaning the pooja mandap in the early hours of the morning. keeping all the pooja items ready and washing the idols.
After having oiled your head thoroughly, an ubtan bath is a must this day. Wear a dress that is comfortable and neat. I usually wear a saree while preparing, but this time I was too short on time and just went with my regular home wear.
I prepare a cone-shaped (or mound-shaped) Manjal Pillayar using pure turmeric powder.
I sprinkle Gangajal around the pooja area while preparing the Manjal Pillayar as part of my personal prayer ritual. I keep a clear wish in my heart while shaping the sculpture. offering the kumkum tilak and janeu to the sculpture, which I now believe is Manjal Pillayar.
I place my ‘manjal pillayar’ (turmeric ganpati) on a clean pooja plate with a banana leaf. This is the sculpture I keep for 1 night (24 hours) and immerse the next evening after lighting up the lamp.
After lighting up the lamp next evening with all necessary rituals, I proceed with the immersion of manjal pillayar in clean earthenware that I buy, especially from the shop, for this particular proceeding. Once the immersion is done, I will pour this water around a tree near any temple or just let it flow near a clear pond.
Neivedhyam on this day comprises pure vegetable South Indian thaali along with modak. I also make some paal kozhukatai (Modak/sweet dumpling) that we offer to Lord Ganesha and call it so in our native tongue.
That’s all that is my simple and sweet ganpati pooja, which I have been following for over years and years and feel the divine blessing and satisfaction from within.

Now that my daughter attends the Ganpati festival celebrated at our friend’s and neighbor’s house, she is so excited and wants to celebrate the Ganpati festival by bringing home an idol and doing visarjan.
We have never celebrated the Ganpati festival like the Maharashtrians do. So it is through my friends that I’m going to be learning this procedure so I don’t end up making any mistakes and start doing it the way my daughter wants very soon.

I usually make any simple kolam made with wet rice flour. I lit up the Kuththu vilakku (long lamp) not only occasionally but also on a routine basis.
This is my ‘Manjal pillayar,‘ and the floral decoration varies with every year.
My simple home temple that has the deities I truly believe in from the bottom of my soul.

Offering freshly prepared homemade Modak to modaka priyana gajanana.
Then I offer our aarti with Panchamukhi Deepak or the Pancha Arti Diya. (Read the end of the article for Panchamukhi Deepak benefits.)