In the Ganapathi Upanishad, Ganesh is identified with the Supreme Self. The legends that are connected with Lord Ganesh are recorded in the Ganesh Khanda of the Brahma Vivartha Purana. On the Ganesh Chaturthi day, meditate on the stories connected with Lord Ganesh, during the Brahma Muhurta period.

Then, after taking a bath, go to the temple and do the prayers of Lord Ganesh. Offer Him some coconut and sweet pudding.

Worship Him at home, too. You can get the assistance of a pundit. Have an image of Lord Ganesh in your house. Feel His Presence in it. May the blessings of Sri Ganesh be upon you all! May He remove all the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

Both men and women can observe the fast. After early morning bath, etc. A Kaalsha and Ganesh idol are installed and worshiped with home made ladoos of jaggery and sesame seeds (til). Moon-god and Rohini are also worshipped ritually and offered naivedya.

This is observed as a Vrat, in the evening after sunset and moonrise. The purpose is to get rid of obstacles or problems in life. Fasting during the day, worship of the idol of Lord Ganesh with 16 upacaras, offering of modaks (ladoos) and gifts are given to the Brahmins.

This vrat may be done for the life or 21 years or for 1 year. Even Shiva is said to observe this vrat when he wanted to defeat the demon Taraka!

Ganesh Chaturti is celebrated all over India, but the people of Maharashtra have made Lord Ganesh their patron.

A special pundit (holy man) is appointed by the community and the pandal (place where the idol is kept) is richly decorated. Devotees gather in-groups and singsongs in praise of Lord Ganesh. Singing is done mostly in the evenings, while during the morning and the daytime, individuals and families come to pray and offer prasad (blessed food).

A beautiful chowk – rangoli (design made out of colorful chalk powder) in front of the deity is decorated with flowers. Two oil lamps stand on either side of the idol and a thaal (steel plate) with kumkum (red powder) or haldi (yellow turmeric) and another thaal and some katoris (small bowls) for serving the food cooked for the family are placed nearby.

This is first offered to the deity and then eaten for lunch and dinner. Special Prasad is made only on the first day. Some people keep a fast for just the day. Learned pundits do the installation of the idol in a community center amidst the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas (couplets) with the people of the locality gathering to salute Ganeshji. Aarti (paying ritual homage) is done twice a day after the installation. The people offer prasad of modak (a special type of round sweet meat) or pedas (sweets) at the pandal, at least one red flower - preferably hibiscus - a bunch of three sheaves of grass, collected and tied together, kumukum and haldi and rice along with the mithai (Hindu sweets).

In certain cases there is a tradition of getting an idol of Lord Ganesh installed in a home and the community can come there to pray. If a pundit is not available then the eldest member of the family does the rituals.

The Ganesh idols are not dressed with actual clothes, but clothes are painted onto idols.

The torso has an angavastra (body cloth), jewelry covers the neck and reaches right up to the stomach, and the lower part has a yellow or red dhoti. Ganeshji's stomach protrudes both as a sign of prosperity and the love of good food.

In Rajasthan, on Ganesh Chaturti, an image of Ganesh is bathed in red kumkum with a garland of red flowers. A small thaal with haldi (yellow turmeric) and kumkum (red powder) is placed at the entrance of a household so that people who come visiting take a pinch of each and put it on their foreheads and throat.