Why Idols of Lord Ganesha is immersed in water after Pooja

Lord Ganesha festival of ten days is continuing at present. Many of the people must have kept idol of Lord Ganesha at their home and some of them may also have immersed Him in river after Pooja. There are many myths surrounding the reason as to why idols of Lord Ganesha are immersed in water after completing pooja. There are many viral stories circulating on the internet and other media relating to explaining logic behind immersion of Lord Ganesha in water. I came across a few of such stories and viral messages and found that they are not pinpointing the right reason behind immersion of Lord Ganesha. This is necessary for all of you to know as this would help you in celebrating this festival in the true spirit.

First of all, I would like to highlight that Lord Ganesha is the Vighnaharta, the god who bestows blessings to rid us of all obstacles, worries and sorrows. Each new activity or pooja is started by first worshipping and offering reverences to the Him. He is invoked and called to preside over any worship or yagna, and only post this the other rituals are started. He is also the first to be worshipped during any auspicious event. This is the reason we invite Lord to our house to come and bless us so that we can get rid of all our worries and obstacles.

Now the big question arises relating to His immersion in water after pooja. It is symbolic. Ganesha idols are made out of mother earth and at the end of festival or worship, Lord Ganesha has to return to one of the five elements of earth and water happens to be the most convenient one. In this context, I would like to highlight that Hindus have followed this unique practice of preparing Lord Ganesha from the mud, worshipping Him and then bid him goodbye requesting Him to return next year to shower His blessings again. The symbolism is that “we accept the eternal cosmic law that which took form has to become formless again”. It is a never ending cycle or chakra where the idols are made from clay and it has to become clay again. Lord Ganesha has accepted to visit our house for few days and after the days are over, He takes all of our wishes and negative energy to dispel with Him on his journey back to Mount Kailash. Submerging him is our way of sending Him off on His journey. These rituals also helped people in bringing them together to share their love with each other. Families and communities spend time together in a positive way in which harmony exists.

On a deep spiritual level, I think the symbolism of immersing Lord Ganesha in river is the acceptance that we are all one with the world and what starts in a form ends in such form and that is why we should not have attachment to physical form. We are now connected with Lord Ganesha and even after submergence He is always with us showering His blessings on us. We have given a shape to mud or clay, invited and worshipped this form in our home and now it has been released back into the water to become formless once again.

I hope you would like this post and I wish Lord Ganesha showers His immense blessings on you. I am sharing a beautiful pic of Lord Ganesha at my home.

"Aum gam ganapataye namah"

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Acharya Vikas Kumar Malhotra
Lal Kitab Astro Centre (LKAC)
Book phone or personal consultation by visiting lalkitabastro.com and lalkitabastrocentre.com