Background Information on Ganesh, the Ganesh Festival & Hinduism
Ganesha (Sanskrit: also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh) is one of the best-known and most popularly worshiped deities in Hinduism. Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits, and explain his distinct iconography. Ganesha is worshipped as the lord of beginnings and as the lord of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, and the god of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.
Ganesha appears as a distinct deity in a clearly-recognizable form beginning in the fourth to fifth centuries AD, during the Gupta Period. His popularity rose quickly. Today, Ganesha is one of the most worshipped divinities in India. Worship of Ganesha is considered complementary with the worship of other forms of the divine, and various Hindu sects worship him regardless of other affiliations. The devotion of Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and others beyond India.
The Ganesh Festival or as it's called in Mumbai, The Gaṇeśa Chaturṭhī is an occasion or a day on which Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. It is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada, starting on the shukla chaturthi (fourth day of the waxing moon period). This typically comes sometime between 20th of August and 15th of September. The festival lasts for 10 days, ending on Ananta Chaturdashi. Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is widely worshipped as the supreme God of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. While held all over India, it is at its most elaborate in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire.
Hinduism is a religion that originated in the Indian subcontinent. In contemporary usage Hinduism is also referred to as Sanātana Dharma a Sanskrit phrase meaning "eternal law".
With its origins in the Vedic civilization it has no known founder, being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is the world's oldest existent religion, and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India and Nepal. This places it as the world's third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Hinduism contains a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound on theology, philosophy and mythology, providing spiritual insights and guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance and antiquity. Other major scriptures include the Tantras, the sectarian Agamas, the Purāṇas and the epics Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. The Bhagavad Gītā, a treatise excerpted from the Mahābhārata, is sometimes called a summary of the spiritual teachings of the Vedas.
Hinduism originates from ancient Vedic traditions and other indigenous beliefs, incorporated over time. Due to its diversity Hinduism can only be defined in terms of peoples and places. It is possible to find Hindu groups whose beliefs have very little in common and nearly impossible to identify any universal belief. Prominent themes include Dharma (ethics/duties), Samsāra (the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), Moksha (liberation from samsara), and the various yogas (paths or practices). Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism share traits with Hinduism, because these religions originated in India, focus on self-improvement and aim to attain personal first hand, spiritual experiences. They along with Hinduism are collectively known as Dharmic religions.