Blessing Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles

Chris Karmiol

April 19, 2004

A bare-chested Hindu priest bathed the temple's centerpiece, a statue of Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, in coconut water, milk, ghee and yogurt, a process that took more than a half an hour. He then rinsed off the statue and, behind a drawn curtain, dressed it in fine silk and silver, a daily ritual at the Hindu Temple Society in Flushing, Queens.

Singing, chanting and the ringing of bells echoed through the temple all morning, and scores of Hindu worshippers came to witness the transformation of one of the central gods of their religion.

But, unlike some churches, where following the service the room empties out and business is done for the day, Ganesh Temple's doors remain open. After the main purification and adorning service, anywhere from 50 to several hundred worshippers continue flowing in and out of the space to pay their respects, say their prayers and, most importantly, make offerings to Ganesh.

"Ganesh removes obstacles," said Raj Appalameni, a Hindu worshipper who sat on the temple floor with his baby daughter in his lap. Appalameni watched as his wife and a crowd of about a dozen others stood in front of the idol praying, with the palms of their hands pressed together and held in front of their chins. "You pray to him and he removes. He helps marriages, everything."

Appalameni's wife returned and their baby daughter crawled onto her lap.

"Whenever we start something we pray to Ganesh first," she said. "He makes it right."

"That's why he's the main god," Appalameni said.

"Everything in Hinduism begins with the worship of the Lord Ganesh," according to the Hindu Temple Society's informational booklet. "He represents universality of creation."

Lord Ganesh is the son of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort, Parvati, and, along with Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga, he is one of the main Hindu deities. Besides removing obstacles, Ganesh is also the god of education, success, wisdom, prudence and salvation.

Belief in this popular god -- who is represented in the temple by a statue sitting on a grand throne, and is dressed and bathed every morning in a royal style to the delight of devotees -- runs deep. To many, none of life's events are taken on without first going to Ganesh for praise, approval and especially assistance.

"We Hindus normally think for anything and everything you ask him for blessings first," said a temple worshipper who calls himself Mahen. "Don't ask me why, but my belief has not gone wrong."

As a chubby Hindu priest entered the sundidi (the holy room that houses the statue of Ganesh), devotees gathered around. First three or four stood in reverent anticipation holding small green plastic bags filled with apples, broken coconuts and boxes of raisins. The bags, provided by the temple for a cost, are offerings that devotees make to Lord Ganesh.

The priest began to sing, took the bags and said archanas, Hindu prayers. More devotees gathered around the sundidi, holding their own green bags. The priest repeated the process. He placed the fruit-filled bags on the floor next to the statue and continued chanting and singing. Devotees stood by with their hands held together in prayer. The priest sprinkled rice and coconut water, more blessings, onto the feet of the statue.

"When you're going to someone's house you take a gift," said Subramaniam, a skinny priest at the Ganesh Temple who wore a simple white wrap-around outfit, large-framed eyeglasses and a friendly smile. "The gift is nothing but affection. Gifts are blessings."

With offerings to Ganesh, worshippers are giving him their blessings, hoping and expecting he will return the favor. The gifts, Subramaniam explained, are fruits such as bananas, coconuts and raisins because these fruits are sweet and always in season. He explained the significance of the coconut: "It's rough on the outside, but sweet pure and white on the inside," he said.

These are the types of offerings that Hindus believe keep Ganesh happy, and keeping Ganesh happy, they believe, is a key to their own happiness.

"Ganesh, he helped me with work, he gives me strength," said Sridhar Vankeadarea, a skinny temple volunteer who stood barefoot near the statue (shoes are removed at the temple entrance).

"He's very powerful, very graceful, very kind," said G. P. Padmanabhan, another temple worker.

Hindus there said they worship all the gods in the temple, including Lakshmi, Lord Shiva, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and others. One devotee said that there are more than 36,000 gods in India, and worship is a matter of family tradition or geography.

"Every region, every place has its own deities to worship," said Subin Anto, a Catholic software engineer who comes to temple with his Hindu wife. Some villages even worship rocks, trees and animals, he added. "It's more faith. If you believe in anything, that's good for you. That's your belief."

Devotees poured in all morning, to pray to the many gods around the temple's inner perimeter, but mostly to Ganesh.

"Anything good or bad, leave it to him, this is how I live my life," said Mahen, a banker who said he's a devout Hindu. "Don't ask me why. I'm a blind believer. I don't question it."

His wife, Ishwary, said that she's been praying to Ganesh, as well as the other Hindu gods, since she was a child. She ruled out the notion of ever forgetting to give Ganesh his praises.

"I don't think there's a chance for that," she said. "Complete faith and surrender -- we really believe that he is guiding us."

(Updated April 19, 2004)