Lord Ganesha The Remover Of Obstacles Theology Religion Essay Example

instructed Ganesha to guard their home and not let anyone enter. One day, while Mother Parvati was bathing, she ordered Ganesha to tightly guard the front door and prevent entry. Unbeknownst to her, Lord Shiva returned home after his hunting expedition. Not recognizing his father, Ganesha refused to let Lord Shiva enter their home. Lord Shiva calmly informed him of his true identity but Ganesha insisted on following his mother's orders and denied entry to Lord Shiva. When asked about his female parent by Lord Shiva,Ganesha replied that it was the powerful goddess Mother Parvati.Lord Shiva asserted himself as her husband and laughed at the idea of needing permission to enter his wife's room.Ganesha remained steadfast in refusing him entry.This angered Lord Shiva who commanded Nandi, his attendant,to remove the boy from the door.However,Ganesha consistently defeated Nandi despite repeated attemptsLord Shiva instructed his best guards to take the boy from the door, but Ganesha easily defeated all ten guards simultaneously. Enraged by this, Lord Shiva decided to personally confront Ganesha and declared that he would no longer request him to step aside. He produced his trident, a weapon with three sharp points at the end of a long lance. Ganesha prepared himself with his massive war mace and the battle began. Both were skilled warriors and neither could gain an advantage. Lord Shiva and Ganesha engaged in a fierce battle. Shiva swung his lance, but Ganesha agilely jumped over it and swung his gada down towards Shiva's skull. Shiva tilted to one side and pushed with his trident, but Ganesha ducked low and swung his gada towards Shiva's knees. The two seemed evenly matched until

Shiva used his powers of illusion to momentarily distract Ganesha. In that moment, Shiva swung his trident and beheaded Ganesha who fell lifeless.
At that moment, Mother Parvati emerged from her house witnessing the battlefield. Realizing what had happened, her fury spread throughout the world as she confronted Lord Shiva blaming him for killing their only son.
The skies trembled, oceans boiled, mountains crumbled, harsh winds swept the land as terrified gods pleaded with Lord Shiva to calm Mother Parvati down.
Shiva begged Parvati warning that if she didn't calm down she would destroy the entire world promising to bring their son back to lifeParvati was reminded by him that she was the mother of all existence and her children were all beings. Upon hearing this promise from Shiva, Parvati started to calm down. However, she insisted that their son be revived and become the leader of all Ganas. She demanded that this male child be worshipped above all other Gods in every supplication. Lord Shiva agreed and told Nandi to bring back the head of the first living animal with its head facing North. Nandi found an elephant sleeping in this position and cut off its head to bring it to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva placed the elephant's head on the lifeless body of their child and chanted a mantra, bringing him back to life. The Gods celebrated and blessed Ganesha, who became beloved by everyone. With his human-animal hybrid features, Lord Ganesha symbolizes the concept of perfection as understood by Hindu sages and encompasses profound philosophical ideas. The wisdom, understanding, and ability to discern are represented by the elephant head—essential qualities for achieving perfection. The wide

mouth represents inherent human desire for enjoying life while large ears signify that a perfect individual has capacity to listen to others and absorb ideas.The trunk and two tusks highlight tremendous capabilities—an elephant can uproot trees yet delicately lift a needle from the ground.One tusk is broken.The human head must possess strength needed to face challenges in external world as well as sensitivity required for exploring mysterious realm within oneselfThe two ivory tusks, one on the right symbolizing wisdom and the other on the left symbolizing emotion, convey the concept of suppressing emotions with wisdom to achieve perfection. The eyes of an elephant possess a natural obliquity that makes objects appear larger than they truly are, representing humility and seeing others as greater even when attaining wealth and wisdom. The Lord's omnipresence and omnipotence are reflected in four arms holding various objects. The left side of the body represents emotion while the right side represents reason. An axe held in the upper left hand and a lotus in the upper right hand illustrate severing worldly attachments and conquering emotions for spiritual perfection, akin to a lotus remaining unaffected by water. A tray of Laddus near Lord Ganesha signifies his ability to bestow wealth and prosperity upon followers. Ganesha's lower right hand gestures approval towards devotees. His human body with a large abdomen embodies kindness and compassion towards all beings. His clothing, typically red and yellow, symbolizes purity, peace, truthfulness, and the dynamic nature of the world.The qualities required of an ideal individual include purity, peace, and truthfulness. A distinctive feature of Lord Ganesha is his large abdomen, symbolizing the ability to confront all life experiences,

whether pleasant or unpleasant. The presence of a mouse near his feet, gazing at a tray of Laddus (a type of sweet), represents the ego's tendency to consume virtuous qualities in a person. However, the fact that the mouse does not actually devour the Laddus signifies that a purified or controlled ego can coexist with worldly temptations. Additionally, as Ganesha's vehicle, the mouse signifies that one must control their ego in order to access wisdom.

Another symbolic gesture depicted in Ganesha's posture is his right foot swung over his left foot. This conveys using knowledge and reason to overcome emotions for leading a successful life.

Ganesha Chaturthi is an esteemed Hindu festival commemorating Lord Ganesha's birth. It occurs during the Hindu month of Bhadra and spans up to 10 days. Months ahead of the festival, clay idols are crafted in various sizes. On this auspicious day, these idols are placed on elevated platforms for individuals to pay their respects. Throughout those 10 days (from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to Ananta Chaturdashi), devotees worship Lord Ganesha fervently.

On the 11th day, there is a grand procession where the idol is carried through streets accompanied by dance and song before being immersed in a river or sea symbolizing Lord Ganesha's return journey back home to Kailash while taking away misfortunes afflicting mankind along with him.The final chant during this procession is "Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya" (O father Ganesha, come again early next year). After the ritual offerings of coconuts, flowers, and camphor are presented, the graven image is carried to the river for immersion. This joyful moment has serious consequences as every year during the Ganesha Chaturthi festival in

India and other countries, numerous idols are submerged in fresh waters. The beaches become littered with leaves, branches, clothes made for the idols, worship items, and broken statues of Lord Ganesha washed ashore by the waves. The cleaning process takes several days. In fact, after the idols were immersed in the Yamuna river, water production at two water treatment plants in the capital had to be reduced due to pollutants in the water. Consequently, submerging idols made of chemicals and inorganic pigments in bodies of water during subsequent Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrations has been banned by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. This directive aims to prevent pollution caused by materials like plaster of Paris and chemical pigments used to make these idols from harming the environment. To address this issue appropriately, eight locations have been identified within the district where Ganesha idols used for worship during festivals can be properly immersed.Over time, there has been a shift from using clay to plaster of Paris for making Lord Vinayaka statues. Unfortunately, the use of oil-based and man-made colors instead of eco-friendly natural and vegetable colors is causing damage to marine life and polluting coastal waters. A visit to the beach after immersion clearly reveals the extent of pollution caused. To tackle water pollution, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has arranged for mobile water tanks near Ganapathi temple in Hosamane area where fans can immerse their idols. In Berhampur, a young person has crafted an eco-friendly idol of Lord Ganesha for a puja pandal. There is now a collective effort to create awareness about the water pollution resulting from immersing plaster of Paris Ganesh idols painted with

harmful synthetic pigments. Green Yatra (www.greenyatra.org) offers a program called Go Green Ganesha that aims to promote a safe and environmentally friendly celebration of Ganesha Chaturthi by advocating against the use of harmful materials like Plaster of Paris (PoP) for Ganesha idols. The main objective behind Go Green Ganesha is safeguarding marine life and preserving the environment through promoting eco-friendly idols as an alternative to commonly used harmful Plaster of Paris Ganesha idols during India's Ganesha festival.We not only raise awareness, but also offer solutions through the introduction of eco-friendly biodegradable Go Green Ganesha idols. This year, we plan to present even more effective and practical solutions to replace Plaster of Paris Ganesha idols. Some prominent supporters of Go Green Ganesha in 2010 included 93.5 Red FM, MPs Mr. Milind Deora and Mr. Sanjay Nirupam, Mayor of Mumbai Mrs. Shraddha Jadhav, Mayor of New Mumbai Mr. Sagar Naik, and respected social activists like Dr.Ravi Kant Singh (SARRC).

Lord Ganesha is one of the major deities in Hinduism and is worshipped worldwide with various names such as Ganapati (Lord of All Gods), Akhurath (One who has Mouse as His Charioteer), Chaturbhuj (One who has Four Arms), Durja (Invincible Lord), and Vighnahara (Remover of Obstacles). He is the elephant God who can overcome any hindrances.