Lord Ganesha symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life. He is one who pacifies all worries and obstacles from life.

We all are eagerly waiting to welcome our beloved Ganapati bappa. After 3 years of many restrictions due to the pandemic, this year we all are planning a huge celebration. Creative and unique decorations in pandals, authentic pooja, different Prasad items are creating very positive vibes amongst all of us. Apart from these many Ganapati mandals are also arranging different competitions like decoration competition, Modak making competition, various competitions for kids and even some cultural events. All of these have direct or indirect associations with our health. It’s true that festivals and its mass celebrations are responsible for good community or social health. Let’s see how true it is!!

According to Ayurveda health is not merely absence of disease but it is a perfect equilibrium of physiological, psychological and social health. This festival is having micro and macro impact on all three domains of health. It is said perfectly, Ganapati bappa brings happiness by demolishing all the obstacles.

Ganapati festival and its impact on Physical health domain –

There are so many festivals celebrated in India. Festival rituals are always associated with local food and ways of seasonal care which are very essential to prevent health hazards. Ganapati festival comes under the season of Varsha rutu. The low digestive fire and metabolic toxins always hamper gut health these days. Ukadiche modak is a perfect recipe which minimizes load on digestive systems and takes care of our nutritional requirements. Daily sweet food items used as Naivedya like ladoo, kheer, panchakhadya, jaggery and coconut, milk added with sugar reduces accumulation of pitta and balances vata and avoids outburst of pitta disorders in the very next season.

Ganapati festival and its impact on Psychological health domain –

It is very common to observe that all the members of the family intermingle with each other in a very happy mood in Ganpati festival, be it while preparing Modaks in the kitchen place or making pooja arrangements or little ones of family giving out their best ideas in decorations, pooja arrangements etc. Effectively, Ganpati bappa keeps the family united and happy.

Especially after the pandemic, many people are seen to face numerous psychological problems. work pressure, disturbed family structures, lack of conversation and quality time is lacking in many families. This Ganesh festival is an opportunity for all of us to bond with each other again. A happy, positive time with family while worshiping Ganapati is necessary to drop down many psychological issues.

When it comes to large scale, we all know that Lokmanya Tilak started public Ganapati festivals for many reasons. It has now evolved to a different level where every Ganapati mandal acts as a single big family of relatively unrelated people with each other. Everyone is involved and devoted to a single cause. This interaction, positivity, creativity, happiness, helping sense removes negativity of mind. The positive vibes of festivals are responsible for removing negative emotions from mind.

Ganapati festival and its impact on social health domain –

Social health is an individual’s ability to handle, and act based on different social conditions. Good social health relations involve good communication, empathy, and care for family, friends, and colleagues. Ganapati festivals have many social benefits. Festivals promote a feeling of social harmony, enhance social identities, offer a release from stresses of everyday life, positively influence subjective well-being, contribute to a sense of place, and build better multicultural societies.

Festivals and special events during it lead to many benefits within the host community. As stated earlier, these benefits include building social cohesion, providing a sense of belonging, providing public goods beyond entertainment, and providing a socially acceptable area for public actions.

Rolling economy, business opportunities, creativity, improvement in other domains of life are some added advantages of Ganapati festival.

“Wishing a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. May Lord Ganesha bless each and every day of our lives!!”

Author:
Dr. Gayatri Kulkarni – Mulye (MD Ayurved),
Vaidya Tejaswini Bhale – Borse (Ayurveda Physician)

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