Hindus
worship the Supreme Soul present in all animate and inanimate. But for majority
of the people it is not possible to worship this formlessness. They need a form
to pray to, to seek help, to cry and to take blessings. The Supreme Soul takes
form of Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is ‘OM’ the primordial sound or the first ‘Vaak.’
Clay and water is mixed to give form to the formlessness. Each person brings
Ganesha in clay idol form into the home. This is the Supreme Being arriving at
home. After the celebrations, it is time to accept the eternal cosmic law that
which took form has to become formless again. It is a never ending cycle
(Chakra). The formlessness giving way to form and then moving again towards
formlessness. Each year Ganesha arrives to teach us that forms change but the
Supreme Truth remains the same.
So now the
Question arises, Why Ganesh visarjan is performed? Why Lord Ganesh is immersed
in water after Ganesh Utsav? Ganesh immersion, also know as Ganesh Jala
Nimajjan, is the most beautiful event of this festival. About the immersion
reasons and factors, it is the perplexing question to answer. There are some
reasons related to both the Sanathan Hindu Dharma and the environment. As per
many Hindu scriptures, the clay idols of any God (we usually see the idols of
Lord Ganesha and Goddess Durga) should be immersed after performing puja and
worshipping for certain period. But nowadays the idols of Plaster of Paris(POP)
are also immersed in water. We should immerse only the clay idols in water and
not the idols made of other hazardous material like POP and other harmful
chemicals.
There is
another version to the story of Ganesh Jal Nimajjan and Durga Visarjan. To
reserve fresh water of rainy season in ponds, lakes, tanks, and other water
bodies, we need to dig out the old clay or soil in them. To show the accordance
with Hindu rituals and environmental awareness, Ganesh idols are prepared with
clay of tanks and ponds. Reason behind the practice is, the clay idol is
worshipped with turmeric and some naturals herbs during the Ganpati Navratri.
When the idol is immersed in the water bodies, the herbal characters of these
materials help the water inhabitants like fish, tortoise, etc., to grow well.
Thus, Ganesh
Utsav is not only a Hindu religious ritual but also a reminder for us to
protect our environment. As per the scriptures and traditions only clay idols
are to be worshipped and immersed in water. So we have to celebrate Ganesh
Utsav in eco-friendly manner and avoid immersion of eco-hazardous material in
water and be blessed with better health and better environment.
