Shri Ganeshaya Namah!

ॐ गणानां त्वा गणपतिं हवामहे
कविं कवीनामुपमश्रवस्तमम् ।
ज्येष्ठराजं ब्रह्मणां ब्रह्मणस्पत
आ नः शृण्वन्नूतिभिः सीद सादनम् ॥

ॐ महागणाधिपतये नमः ॥

Gannaanaam Tvaa Ganna-Patim Havaamahe
Kavim Kaviinaam-Upama-Shravastamam |
Jyessttha-Raajam Brahmannaam Brahmannaspata
Aa Nah Shrnnvan-Uutibhih Siida Saadanam ||

Rig Veda 2.23.1

Om, O Ganapati, To You Who are the Lord of the Ganas (Celestial Attendants or Followers), we Offer our Sacrificial Oblations,
You are the Wisdom of the Wise and the Uppermost in Glory,
You are the Eldest Lord (i.e. ever Unborn) and is of the Nature of Brahman (Absolute Consciousness); You are theEmbodiment of the Sacred Pranava (Om),
Please come to us by Listening to our Prayers and be Present in the Seat of this Sacred Sacrificial Altar.
Om, our Prostrations to the Mahaganadhipati (the Great Lord of the Ganas)

श्री गणेशाय नमः

Human life is filled with obstacles. We face oppositions and encounter difficulties at every step, and the whole of our daily activity may, in a sense, be considered as a struggle against all odds which come in different forms as the sorrows of life.

The moment we wake up in the morning, we have to face the obstacle called hunger which we try to obviate by cooking and eating food, the obstacle called thirst which we have to get rid of by drinking, and the obstacles called disease, exhaustion, fatigue, sleeplessness and the like, which we endeavour to remedy by the introduction of various types of medicines.

The very presence of people around us is an obstacle and the human individual suddenly becomes restless, and both consciously and unconsciously puts on an attitude of self-defense, an unconscious act of self-preservation at first instance.

The difficulties of life are, to a large extent, the very substance of life itself. The whole of life is a bundle of difficulties. It is a mess of oppositions, which calls for a continuous counteracting force which is what is called human enterprise. If the whole earth were filled with milk and honey, and if there was no fatigue, no old age and death, no hunger and thirst, no opposition and nobody to utter a word, then there would be no activity, no necessity to do anything and no incentive in the direction of any movement.

The quantity, the expanse and the magnitude of the opposition which comes before us in life is such that no single individual will be able to face it. This whole world is too much for a single man, and considering the incongruous, disproportionate relationship between a single human individual and the vast world outside, there is very little hope of man’s achieving anything in this world, successfully, because we cannot bail out the ocean of waters with a spoon, though our effort may be laudable. We are, no doubt, very sincerely industrious in emptying the ocean of its waters with a little spoon or a ladle. Notwithstanding the fact that this effort on our part is praiseworthy, it is not going to lead us to any success, and the expected result will not follow. The ocean cannot be emptied by any amount of bailing out with a spoon.

Such seems to be the type of world into which we are born, and people who are acutely conscious of this situation become humble enough to accept that even an inch of success cannot be expected in this world without the miraculous grace of God. So, even the little success that sometimes seems to come to us is a kind of undeserved promotion, as it were, granted to us by the mercy of the Almighty. Our efforts are only a puny child’s whining and weeping with a helpless weakness of body and mind.

The traditional annual worship of God in this role, as the remover of all obstacles, as Vighna Vinayaka, is known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesa Chaturthi. It is the day on which we offer special adoration to the Remover of obstacles.

Swami Krishnananda

We are terribly afraid of obstacles. There is no other fear in this world except of obstacles. And so we always pray, “Remove the obstacles, clear the path, cleanse the road.”

On the fourth day of the bright half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada (August-September) every year, the great Lord Ganapati, called the Deva of Hosts, is worshipped throughout India, and perhaps in many other parts of the world also.

Shri Ganesha is among the most popular deities in the Hindu Pantheon. He is worshipped in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bali, Bangladesh, Fiji, Mauritius, and many other countries around the world.

His images are found in Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon Buddhism, Japanese Kanji and Jainism as well.

Known as the remover of obstacles, devotees take his name and pray to him before commencing any major task.

Tomorrow is a day of celebration. COVID had taken away the kind of community-based celebrations that we are used to, but it could not take away our spirit.

And so, celebrate well, and safely, and lets pray that the remover of obstacles helps us tide over all our troubles!