When we say “Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavantu” we cannot put lives of others to risk and ask for such a blessing with hollow words. One has to work for the Sukha of all Janah – and that is why caring for the self and others comes automatically with our faith. This has been very well translated into action by the Lalbagh Ganeshotsav Mandal too – they are going to have Plasma donation camps, donate 25 lakhs to the CM’s fund, felicitate the families of the Police Personnel who have lost their lives due to COVID while being on duty and much more.
Rati Hegde
When I saw the above tweet by well known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, the first thought that crossed my mind was that this is exactly how a deracinated mind would speak.
Only someone who has been removed from their social or cultural heritage or memories would make a statement that “the Gods have to bow before a pandemic”. Obviously Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, the famous promoter of eating beef is one who has neither studied his Dharma or his Sanskriti well.
Lalbagh cha Raja – this Ganeshotsav Mandal was created in 1934 to celebrate Ganeshotsav in a public manner. The ‘mandal‘ was founded because of a vow (Navas) for construction of the present Lalbaug Market at its existing place. The marketplace at Peru Chawl was shut down in 1932. Hence, the fishermen and vendors who used to sit in the open place prayed to Bhagwan Ganesha for permanent place for their market. Finally, the efforts and prayers paid off and the landlord Rajabai Tayyabali agreed to give a plot for construction of a market. As fulfilment of their wish, the fishermen and traders seated a Ganesh vigraha for community Puja on 12 September 1934. The first vigraha was dressed as a fisherman. Since that day, the Lalbaghcha Raja is believed to fulfill the wishes of devotees. “In view of the coronavirus pandemic this year, the Mandal has decided to hold blood donation and plasma donation Camp for 11 days instead of installing a Ganapati idol,” said Lalbaughcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal treasurer Mangesh Dalvi. In 2019 about 1.25 crore Ganesh devotees visited the Raja of Lalbagh and offered up to 9 crore rupees to Bhagwan Ganesh. It is one of the biggest attractions of Ganesh festival in Mumbai.
Mr. Sardesai, while tweeting about this wish-fulfilling Ganesha did a great disservice to the faith of millions of Mumbaikars. Whether one accepts the religion or faith followed by the majority of the population is not the question here. What is material is whether by wanting to keep His followers safe and healthy, Bhagwan Ganesha is bowing down to a man-made pandemic or to some man-made rules. Out of curiosity I checked whether Mr. Sardesai had tweeted about the Jagannath Rath Yatra too and found out that he had not put out even one tweet on the same. Thank God for small mercies!
What our so-called famous journalists do not understand is that when Hindus who are religious and also aware of their surroundings, make conscious decisions to invoke their Bhagwan within themselves as against in an outside vigraha, it is because they care about the effect of every action of theirs on the surroundings. Whether it was the muted Rath Yatra of Bhagwan Jagannatha or the muted celebrations of Aashadi Ekadashi of the Varkaris or the muted celebrations of the Ganesha devotees, the principle and belief is the same – Bhagwan is above all humans and their efforts – He/She (Bhagwan) can understand the feelings of the devotees and will bless them just as He/She did in the past. It is not the externalisation of devotion that is required to show faith … it is the pure faith (aastha) of the simple devotee which Eeshwar reaches out to and blesses. One may then ask as to why then we still go for the Rath Yatras and the Kumbh Melas and the Ganesh Utsavs … This is because when we externalise our faith, we create a circle of positive energy which encompasses us and millions of other devotees and the entire region too. This too is an essential aspect of Hinduism.
When we say “Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavantu” we cannot put lives of others to risk and ask for such a blessing with hollow words. One has to work for the Sukha of all Janah – and that is why caring for the self and others comes automatically with our faith. This has been very well translated into action by the Lalbagh Ganeshotsav Mandal too – they are going to have Plasma donation camps, donate 25 lakhs to the CM’s fund, felicitate the families of the Police Personnel who have lost their lives due to COVID while being on duty and much more. This is not Bhagwan Ganesha bowing down to any pandemic – this is Bhagwan Ganesha blessing millions of His devotees and mankind in general, through the hardworking volunteers of the Mandal. Jai Ganesha!
