Five things Ganesha loves

~ Ganesha UpanishadSarva Jagad idham thwatho jaayathe. Sarva Jagad idham thwatha sthishtathi.

Lord Ganesha is the supreme lord who removes all obstacles and destroys sins of his devotees. He is worshipped before beginning any activity for victory and auspiciousness. He has the power to remove all types of negative vibrations that cause hindrances and evil. Lord Ganesha can be invoked every day in the form of prayer by offering fruits, flowers, ghee lamp and durva grass. A swastika symbol in red should be drawn in front of him or in rice flour to attract his blessings.

Durva Grass

Legends say that when Analasur, a demon was wreaking havoc in the three worlds, at the request of the Gods, Ganesha swallowed him. This caused terrifying heat in the stomach of the Lord. To cool the heat, Lord Indra gave him the Moon, but it did not help to quell the heat. Lord Vishnu gave him a lotus, it did not help. Lord Shiva gave a serpent to be tied around his stomach to remove the heat, it did not help. Lord Varuna showered him a lot of water, but still the heat continued. Then the celestial sages numbering 88,000 offered 21 blades of Durva grass each to Ganesha and the heat vanished. Such is the greatness of durva grass. It is the favourite of Lord Ganesha.

Lord Ganesha himself has said that, ` Anyone who offers durva grass to me with devotion would get my blessings and immense merit or punya`.

Modak

Modak is a sweet steamed rice ball stuffed with fillings of jaggery, coconut, cardamom. Offering of modaks helps in getting wishes fulfilled by the Lord`s grace. He is very pleased when one offers this sweet dumpling as Prasad to him. Generally, many Hindu households make this sweet preparation on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi that falls in the months of Aug-Sept. It is offered to the Lord and distributed to friends, family and neighbours on that day.

Red Hibiscus

Another favourite flower of Ganesha is red hibiscus. Those with afflictions of Planet Mars in their birth charts will find relief when they offer this flower to the Lord on Mondays for 27 consecutive weeks.

Pomegranate

The favourite fruit of Ganesha next to mango is pomegranate. When one makes an offering of this fruit to the Lord, one is blessed with high positions in career, job, and government and also in educational levels. One`s status and position is elevated through offering this fruit regularly on Fridays.

Swastik

When one draws the pattern of Swastik symbol in red in front of Ganesha and offers flowers and incense to the swastika, one is blessed with auspicious vibrations. The swastika is mystical and gives immense good to the person who draws it. Lord Ganesha loves this symbol and to attract his blessings, one should draw this sacred symbol and light a ghee lamp. The lamp must not be placed on the symbol for any reason. Read our related articles Ways to Celebrate Eco Friendly Ganesh Chaturthi