गणेश -चतुर्थी 

Ganesha Chaturthi is the Hindu festival celebrated on the birthday (rebirth) of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati.

It is believed that Lord Ganesh bestows his presence on earth for all his devotees during this festival. It is the day Shiva declared his son Ganesha as superior to all the gods, barring Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune and traditionally invoked at the beginning of any new venture or at the start of travel. The festival, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi

Shree Ganesh is the most adored God among Hindu Gods. The prayers are first offered to Lord Ganesha before starting any religious ceremony or on auspicious occasions. He is known as the Vighnaharta and the master of Riddhi-Siddhi. Any prayer made to him ensures success and removes all the obstacles coming in life. Pleasing Lord Ganesha is very easy. All that one needs to do in order to please him is to chant the Mantra of Lord Ganesha. The Ganesh Mantra is:

वक्रतुंड महाकाय कोटिसूर्यसमप्रभ।

निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा॥

God Ganesh is the one who symbolizes learning and knowledge. One can learn to be responsible to differentiate between good and bad just by getting devoted to Ganesha. It also helps in developing farsightedness. It is for this reason that prayer is first made to Lord Ganesha before starting any religious ceremony.

Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival of the masses. This year Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on 9th September 2013.