Under intermittent showers and sunshine, the Ganesh murti arrived in Amritapuri in the late afternoon of August 28th. The “Remover of Obstacles” was carried from the Ayurveda beach accompanied by enthusiastic singing and the majestic Lakshmi the elephant, wearing her festival regalia. The procession passed along the beach road of Amma’s natal village and the locals smiled and clapped along with the songs as the group passed by. The ice cream vendor rang his bell in time with the music and the drivers of vehicles stopped by the procession were seen jiving to the beat as well. After all, how can you resist a cute elephant headed little boy? (Although the head of the murti was lightly covered with a scarf until the installation the next morning…) Entering the ashram gate, birds swooped joyously overhead and the palms swayed rhythmically in the breeze. The procession made its way to the back hall where another Remover of Obstacles was giving darshan. Amma smiled and the group moved to the Kalari.
Ganesh Chaturthi: Gaja puja @ Amritapuri
Our Ganesh was installed the next morning, gazing benevolently at us all. We even received his favourite sweet, a laddu, as prasad. A little later in the morning came the Gaja Puja, where the honoree was Lakshmi, the living elephant, who “danced” along with the singing in her usual graceful fashion, nodding and swaying. I overheard a mother explaining to her child, “See, Amma tells us that what we are really worshiping is the Supreme Consciousness within this form, which also lies in all of creation.” The child looked up, thought about that for a moment, and went back to eating his sweetened rice flake prasad from the Gaja Puja. Ganesh will stay with us for a few more days until he is immersed in the sea, a reminder of the dissolution of the form into the Formless, a day which will arrive for each of us.
The start of the Ganesh Festival signals the start of the festival season at Amritapuri. Onam, Krishna Jayanti and Amma’s Birthday celebrations will follow. Devotees will stream here to benefit from Amma’s darshan, enjoy Amma’s Prasad lunch on Onam, sing bhajans, hear satsangs, do pujas, watch Uriyadi and cultural programs, along with many other activities and opportunities. It’s a joyous time to be savored and used to the maximum benefit, a time to greet old friends and make new ones. Most of all, it’s a time to focus on the benefit of Amma’s physical presence here before she leaves for the Europe tour in October. The Formless has taken a form to inspire and uplift us and as Amma often reminds us, actually, every day is a festival in Amritapuri.
– Rta S