Grandeur of the Lord in South Auckland

A daylong event, replete with Poojas, Abhishekams, Bhajans and music will mark the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival on Saturday, September 29 in South Auckland.

0800 Mandap Events and Gayatri Pariwar Limited are organising the elaborate programme at the Malaeola Community Hall (16 Waokauri Place) in Mangere at which more than 1000 men, women and children will participate.

Goodwill mission

An initiative of 0800 Mandap Events Director Soni Mudaliar, the Festival aims to not only promote goodwill and freindhip among all ethnic communities in New Zealand but also invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesha, known as ‘The God who removes all obstacles and delivers progress and prosperity.’

“We hope that the first Festival planned this year will be a harbinger for future events, which will bring together people to pray and generate widespread understanding and companionship. A number of organisations have extended their patronage and support to the forthcoming Festival and we are confident of organising a bigger event next year,” Mrs Mudaliar said.

Acharya Nandlal Joshi will conduct the rituals and proceedings.

The rituals

Jaynati Mehta and Jashubhai Patel of Gayatri Pariwar Limited said that the forthcoming Festival would be in tune with the rituals practiced by Hindus in India and other parts of the world.

“Starting with the Ganesh Pooja (which is traditional at all social and religious functions conducted by Hindus, including marriages), we propose to ‘honour’ the Deity of Ganesha with Abhishekams. There would also be ‘Hawan,’ Bhajans, Mangala Aarti and Maha Prasad. We request all devotees to be present at the venue before 9 am,” they said.

World Peace

Mr Mehta said that ‘Vishwa Shukh Shanti’ will be a major prayer at the Festival.

“The world has witnessed many natural and manmade disasters in recent times. These include earthquakes in Christchurch (New Zealand), Japan, Costa Rica, the Philippines and other countries. There have been deaths and injuries perpetrated by terrorist attacks. Humanity needs salvation from these disasters. ‘Vishwa Shukh Shanti’ (which invokes God to bless the world with peace and happiness) is an important ritual in Hinduism,” he said.

Mr Mehta said that a procession of the Deity with all decorations would be among the highlights of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

“The Deity would be taken from the Malaeola Community Hall, through Malaeola Drive and Tidal Road, following the route to the Eastern Beach, where the concerned authorities have accorded their permission to immerse the Deity as per the Hindu custom followed in marking Ganesh Chaturthi,” he said.

While the function is open to all, those keen on participating in the Abhishekam and other religious items of the programme should register their names online at www.mandap.co.nz