Its back-to-school season, and this year, we are all extra excited and anxious to send our kids back to the school buildings!
First-day pictures, back-to-school shopping, school registration forms, adjusting bedtime routines, school lunch planning, navigating car pool groups, keeping track of COVID cases and trends!! – it’s definitely more than a handful of things to plan and get our hands around!
Amidst all the chaos, (Or planning) – it’s also the festival season for us Desi-Americans – Janmashtami, Gowri and Ganesha, Navratri and Durga Puja! More meal planning, more puja and get-together planning (In most cases, Zoom family get togethers!) Double the pressure to plan and organize!
If you are anything like me, you are surely always on the lookout for shortcuts or a quick path to all of the pujas! And then I feel bad when I look at the sea of complicated décor and celebrations photographs that clog up my Facebook news feed! I make a mental vow to do something different in the future, and well…
Off late though, I don’t beat myself up for doing things a certain way and remind myself that its really being mindful about any little thing that you do that captures the essence of the festival and of course, taking time to reflect on how its relevant to us in the current context.
Ganesh Chaturthi is a great example of how it can fit perfectly in the back-to-school season here in America! As we get ready for new beginnings, who better to invoke than Lord Ganesha, the beloved and unique Elephant God, who is known as the Lord of Beginnings, Remover of Obstacles, the God of Knowledge and Intelligence, and as the symbol of Prosperity and Luck!
Ganesha is worshipped first before beginning anything – be it any other festival, or any other auspicious event in the home, school, business or any place of learning. It’s an integral part of Indian mythology and is intricately woven into the arts and culture of India. You would find different versions of the Elephant God hanging in cars, homes, schools, businesses, etc. Some collectors may blow your mind with the different kinds of Ganesha deities they own!
Whether you enjoy the many fascinating stories of Ganesha as mythology, history, or symbolism, one universal value or theme, is that no matter how much we may feel in control of things and be able to plan and execute everything to a T, there are always things outside of our control.
And for all those moments and events outside of our scope, we can pray and wish for ourselves to better align with whatever is happening around us and wish that the universe aligns with our plans too!
So whether you are just visiting a temple, gathering with the family for a zoom experience, creating Ganesha sculptures in different ways, listening to stories, listening or singing to beautiful Ganesha songs, making modaks to please the Lord and yourself later, or simply just doing any single one of those, don’t forget to stay focused on this very relevant and timely value that this festival brings!
This year, we did a small puja at home, made coconut and jaggery laddoos, listened to our favorite story of Ganesha and the Moon , face-timed our family in India, and made a paper cut out shadow box of Ganesha and loved how it turned out!
Happy Ganesh Chathurthi and dont forget to share how you celebrated Ganesha this year in the comments below.
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