Why do Hindus throw their god Ganesh into the water?

Answer 1

It is called 'Visarjan'....

We did 'pranapratishtha' of idol of Lord Ganapati and it is a hollow idol..

As Shri Ramakrishn Kshirsagar Swami has said, the permant idol of God at home should not be hollow, we cant keep Lord Gnesh ji's idol in those days. So we do 'visarjan' every year.

Immersion of Ganesha is water:Ganesha removes Vighnas or obstacles.

Vighna/ Competitive blockade:

If two thoughts try to enter our conscious mind at precisely the same time it results in abolition of all movements, emotions, feelings and thoughts leading to false peace and false self-control.

If the blockade fails there is exchange of emotions between the two thoughts. This enables us to barter a small force of a desirable activity to the mighty force of an undesirable activity.

Ganesha - the obstacle remover and facilitator:

Ganesha not only removes blockades (Vighnas) caused by competitive blockade but also enables us to execute mighty tasks with a small force symbolized by his vehicle, a mouse carrying his mighty body.

The unwanted byproduct:

The small force gets associated with the undesirable activity and is stored in an unwanted part of our mind.

Once an year we must get rid of all unwanted thoughts. However, undesirable thoughts can't be dumped outside our body.

The seven minds:

We have seven distinct minds. We can also suppose that our mind has seven states.

They are,

1. Dreaming mind - Indra

2. Illusory mind - Shakti

3. Voluntary mind - Brahma

4. Semi voluntary mind - Vishnu

5. Involuntary mind - Shiva

6. Status altering mind - Shani

7. Compulsive mind - Yama

The Semi voluntary mind:

This mind is voluntary (Manual) in the middle and Involuntary (Automatic) at both extremities. This mind thus maintains status quo and thus the only shock absorber of our life. It is thus the best mind to dump unwanted thoughts.

The symbolic representation of the Trimurti forces:

The Trimurti forces are symbolically represented by the three basic elements of nature.

1. Voluntary (Brahma) force - Air

2. Semi voluntary (Vishnu) force - Water

3. Involuntary (Shiva) force - Land

This symbolism indicates the flexibility of the associated force. Voluntary force makes activities brittle, Semi voluntary force makes them flexible and Involuntary force makes them rigid.

The best place to dump unwanted thoughts:

The best mind to dump undesirable thoughts is the Semi voluntary (Natural) mind. Since Vishnu is the preserver there would not be chaotic changes. Since this mind is associated with our entire life undesirable thoughts get assimilated easily.

This mind is associated with Vishnu and Vishnu is symbolic of water.

The immersion of Ganesha:

The Immersion of Ganesha (Dumping of accumulated unwanted thoughts) is between Bhadrapada Chaturti and Anantha chaturdashi (the day when Vishnu as Anantha Padmanabha, would give us maximum peace).

Ganesha is made of clay because unwanted thoughts should get assimilated with the Involuntary (Land) part of the Semi voluntary force, leaving the voluntary part clear.

Thus, immersion of Ganesha in water is symbolic of our dumping of unwanted thoughts into the Semi voluntary mind.

Answer 2

It is part of celebrating his birthday. Lord Ganesha is one of India's most popular deities. Each year, on his birthday, which usually occurs sometime in August or September, worshippers make clay figurines of him, and after two days of singing songs and doing special dances in praise of him, they throw the figurines into water (an ocean, lake, river, or pond). This ritual represents change-- everything in life changes, and what is created will one day no longer be present, although its essence will still remain. Lord Ganesha's clay statue may be gone, but his eternal form remains in other places (many Hindus have an altar in their home, which contains a statue of him), protecting those who believe in him.