आदौ पूज्यो गणाधिपः Starts with worshipping Lord Ganesha

Good luck, favorable fortune, and an obstacle-free path to success. Who wouldn’t like to have all this?

Have you ever wondered about why Lord Vinayak is worshiped first?

The term 'Shri Ganesh' means the beginning of something new according to Hindu beliefs, especially the beginning of something good and hopeful. The elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, with his good-natured and sagely visage and full belly, sitting on his under-sized vehicle, the mouse, is the epitome of all this. The elephant head is an indication of knowledge and wisdom. The big ear suggests that whatever his devotee says, the Lord hears all. You can’t help but smile when you lay your eyes on this pleasant form, an auspicious beginning in itself.  

Throughout the world, Hindu people worship this omnipresent God first. In particular, people pray with great devotion to this omnipresent Lord as he is the Vighnaharta or destroyer of all our hardships & difficulties, ordeals and calamities, etc. While this powerful elephant headed God is worshipped first by the people of the world, very few people know why Lord Ganesha is worshipped before any important religious performance begins. Every one of us does have a belief that Lord Ganesha will save us from any disaster and obstacle. Lord Ganesha really is an all-powerful God whom we unambiguously accept and pray to for our betterment.

Ganesh Chaturbhai is a special day when we celebrate the birth of beloved Lord Ganesha. 

Lord Ganesha is unlike other gods. This is because Ganesh Chaturbhai is not the only day we pray to Him. He is present in each and every puja or ritual and new or important venture that we undertake. You will see His idols and pictures in corporate offices, shops, and cars. This is because as per the Hindu culture, praying to Lord Ganesha brings luck, success, and prosperity. 

According to Hindu scripture Ganapati Upanishad, Ganapati appeared even before the foundation of nature and consciousness. This is one of the important reasons why Ganapati is worshiped first before starting any Puja.

Tradition of Worshipping Lord Ganesha

As per the traditions, Lord Ganesha is worshipped first before beginning any puja or anything auspicious in homes or places of business. By singing chants and thinking about Lord Ganesha we invoke him at the beginning of every good thing asking his blessings for success and prosperity. On Ganesh Chaturthi, devotees worship clay models of Lord Ganesha. During other festivals, they make small models with haldi or turmeric powder that they worship before starting a puja. So, whether they are performing Lakshmi puja or Saraswati puja, they first invoke Lord Ganesha. During havan or Yagya, small idols of Ganesha are created using mud or clay wrapped in molly threads and worshipped before beginning the Yagya asking the Lord for his benediction over everyone attending the Yagya or puja.

Known for its alluring charisma, Lord Ganesha has always been associated with prosperity and positivity. Therefore, praying to Lord Ganapati will eradicate all of life's misfortunes. If you wonder why the elephant god is worshipped before everything auspicious in India, here are mythological stories behind it.

Symbolism of the idol

As per the Hindu scriptures, divinity resides within us. So, we make clay models of the lord and worship them by offering fruits, flowers, and water to express gratitude. These are, actually, symbols of our own prana or energy force. So, when we worship the idol, we honor our own inner spirit - for the strength and vigor that it gives us to live well. Once the puja is done, we request the lord to return to our heart. 

Clay models are a means that offer form to the formless - to make the abstract physical. Through sadhana and meditation, understanding the formless becomes more effortless.

Ganesha carved in a door

Place Ganesha Idols on the entrance to invite prosperity: Not just for auspicious occasions, Ganpati sculpture can invoke a sense of positivity anywhere they are placed. However, apart from keeping Ganesha idols inside the home, there is one place where you should be setting this adorable lord and that is the entrance of your house. According to Vastu, keeping a Ganesha idol at the door helps in warding off the evils. This is the reason why several business places keep their idol at the entrance lighting up deepam praying for success and prosperity.

While placing the Ganesha idol in the house or a business place, try to ensure that his back is not towards the structure. It should be towards a wall that does not have any room behind it. It is said that poverty lives behind Lord Ganesha’s back; hence, according to Vastu, one should avoid keeping the backside towards their home or place of business.

Today, people put images of Ganapati on marriage invitation cards, birthday invitation cards, and business initiation cards etc. This is a popular belief that the Lord Ganapati will destroy all sorts of hindrances. That is why the people put images of Lord Ganesh on various invitation cards. When we have Ganapati present at home or in the temple, our devotion is deepened. For Ganapati, we all have exceptional and devoted respect.

Legends behind why Lord Ganesha is worshipped first 

According to Indian mythology, two stories are considered the reason behind lord Ganesha worshipped before any other lord on auspicious occasions.

The first one is where goddess Parvati orders little Ganesha to guard her chambers while she is inside. Following the orders, little Ganesha stops Lord Shiva from entering the rooms, which infuriated the god, and he ends up cutting the head of Ganesha. When she finds Ganesha’s head slashed, Goddess Parvati becomes enraged and warns to annihilate the whole creation. Seeing this, Lord Shiva then replaces Lord Ganesha’s head with that of a baby elephant, blessing him to be worshipped before anyone.

As per the second mythological tale, there was a race between Lord Ganesha and his elder brother Lord Karthikeya. Both were asked to go around the world and whoever comes back first will be the winner. The winner receives the gift of immortality and knowledge. While Lord Karthikeya begins his race thinking Ganesha is slow and will never be able to come first, Ganesha went around his parents stating that they indeed meant the world to him. Impressed by his love for the parents and intelligence in winning the race, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati blessed him with the fruit of Knowledge along with that of immortality. This is the reason why we seek blessing from ineffably charming lord Ganesha before beginning anything new.

Spiritual aspect of Ganesh Chaturthi

There is a Yogic belief which has also prevailed. All of our tasks have been divided into two, i.e. material and spiritual, according to Yogic belief. We have seven main chakras or nerve points in our body. At the base of our spine is the Muladhara Chakra. This point is the base or foundation point in our body, and is responsible for the energy we feel – enthusiasm, dullness, interest, inertia and so on. Only when this point is activated do we feel enthusiasm; this energy can then be transferred upwards to the other chakras enabling wisdom, knowledge and learning to take birth within us.  

Lord Ganesha is the Lord of the Muladhara Chakra. He is also believed to be the energy and consciousness within us. We pray to Him so that wisdom can awaken within us.

As, Muladhara is considered to be the interface between spiritual and material worlds. Lord Vinayaka said to control these worlds. He is only who gives us enlightenment and make us free from rebirth. He is the only powerful God who gives us success in the worldly affairs. Our devotion towards Lord Gangesha will certainly give us not only spiritual success but also the material success.