Sending again - this was meant to go on Silk - but I seem to have done something wrong..
On Tuesday 18 Sep 2007 9:08 am, Lawnun wrote: > (I really could hear, 'Come again...' after the thank you, so I blame the > Simpsons on that) > > Can you explain what the immersion business is about? I'd not heard of > that as one of the ceremonials... Immersion is a fundamental part of the ceremony. The idol is immersed any any body of water. With concern being increasingly expressed about pollution and silting because of this - we tend to immerse in a bucket of water in the backyard at home. Lakes in Bangalore are no longer open for immersion of such idols - there are special water-filled tankers on standby for this purpose. The actual ceremony is something that I got some insight into from my late father in law - who, like many of his generation was a Sanskrit scholar, but also wrote translations (for us in English). I expect there are many explanations but here is one that i got. Ganesha himself is credited with many attributes and powers and his worship is said to lead to inevitable success in any venture. A lot of public info is available about these attributes and qualities. Anything I have written below will be hotly contested by people who claim to know.. quote me at your own risk. The actual reason for having a big celebration on a particular day every year has many explanations - but seems to be linked up with another Hindu story relating to (I think) the slaying of a mythological bear (Jambuvantha) by Lord Krishna and the retrieval of a precious jewel. Apparently the worship of Ganesha may well have been only a symbolic Vedic ritual in ancient days with no idol. After Hinduism got pushed into the background by Buddhism, Hindu revivalists brought Hindu rituals "back to the masses" by various means and giving "form" to Ganesha as an idol may have been one of those means. This explains the curious mix of ancient Vedic chants intermingled with ritual related to the mythology of Ganesha. In the actual ceremony a place is prepared for Ganesha - a little room, a seat etc which are suitably cleaned and decorated. An idol in Ganesha's form is placed on there and Ganesha is invited to come and take the place of the idol for the duration of the ceremony, and he is offered things that are said to please him. Each of these offerings has a story behind it, largely forgotten by the mindless ritual repetition that is done in most places. Once this is done, there is a specified period after which Ganesha is declared to be satisfied, and the idol (traditionally clay) is sent back to where it came from - ie a water body. Mind my disclaimer above if you quote me.. shiv
