Step 1 - You will need to find the perfect Image of Lord Ganesh that you will want to have at the center of your new shrine or alter, they can be made out of stone, metal or clay and even gemstones or roots if you do not wish to invest in a Murthi(statue) you can simply frame your favorite picture of Lord Ganesh and place a thin sheet of copper behind it inside the frame(copper rolls can be obtained at most craft and hardware stores) here is list of some reliable online Stores that sell Ganesh statues:
http://www.sacredsource.com/Ganesh/products/55/
http://www.mas-india.com/ganesh.html
http://lotus-sculpture.stores.yahoo.net/ganesh-hindu-god-lord-ganapati-ganesha-remover-obstacles-elephant-statue.html we have purchased two Beautiful custom made Granite Murthis from this store I highly recomend Lotus Sculpture
Statues of Lord Ganesh can be found at many shops online this is just a list of the ones we have dealt with directly. Statues of Ganesh can also be found at local pagan and new age shops as well as some Asian inspired home decorating stores. I would suggest picking out one that will last a lifetime and one that you will be able to perform Abhishekam(ritual bath) on. usually clays and woods are not ideal for ritual bathing once you have found the perfect Image of Lord Ganesh you can move on to step 2
Step 2 - Find the perfect spot in your home for your new Shri Ganesha Shrine! pick a quite spot in your home that you will not have interruptions or be disturbed while performing your rituals and that will be out of the way of pets and small children. you will want to pick a spot so that when you sit before it you will be facing west and Lord Ganesh will be facing east. you will want to place your shrine onto a sturdy non flamable surface such as a table, box or shelf. large enough to hold your ritual items and Image of Lord Ganesh as well as your offerings. cover it with a clean non flammable red cloth or simply paint the top of it red.(if painting it you can decorate it with symbols related to Lord Ganesh)place the image of Lord Ganesh at the center of the alter or shrine.
Step 3 - Ritual items that you will need to perform your Araati, Sweet smelling incense, red or white candle(glass encased blank or plain Novena or prayer candles are the most economical and safest to use), a metal serving tray or large plate big enough to hold your offerings, small confection cups to hold your dry food items, small dixie cups to hold your liquid items,a small hand held bell, and some red flowers(the most economical and appropriate way to do this is to buy some nice silk flowers that you can reuse each day replace them when they have become worn and dirty), 1 or 4 coins of any denomination( you can reuse these each day as well), some adornments to decorate Lord Ganesh's image; made out of gold, silver, copper, garnet, or coral, red aventurine or red sandalwood, red mardi gras beads, or red beads of any material, and a red or multi colored floral garland that you can make yourself by stringing the flowers of real flowers or silk flowers or simply go to any party store and find a nice red lei of flowers that you can cut and tie to fit your image of lord ganesh. if your murthi is large enough you can also dress your murthi by simply draping some nice decorative red non flammable cloth around the image of Lord Ganesh!
Step 3 - Food offerings made To Lord Ganesh should include the following; Grains of uncooked rice, dried fruits or simply raisins,water and some milk mixed with a teaspoon of sugar .
Step 4 - you will need a mala(rosary/prayer beads) 108 count should be a Hindu Tantric traditional style mala with knots in between the beads and can be made out of the following materials, Red aventurine(ideal for beginners), red coral, red garnet, red jade, copper, red cats eye and red sandalwood, and quartz crystal. Red garnet, Quartz crystal, red jade and red cats eye are probably the most economical way to go as you will be able to use these mala's later on for shakti rituals as well. Appropriate mala's can be found at our online Tantra Emporium on Etsy.com at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShriShivaShaktinath mala's can sometimes be found locally at new age and pagan shops as well. if the mala is not made well or traditionally it may not work as well or last as long.
Example pic:
If you have any questions concerning Lesson 1 please feel free to comment or contact me by email shri_saman_lee@shri-shiva-shaktinath.com I will do my best to respond within 24 hours! Lesson 2 will be given next Tuesday and will give instructions on how to perform an appropriate Shri Ganesha Araati in English and using a Sanskrit Ganesh mantra for meditation or jappa. In the meantime each day I will post various facts on Lord Ganesh and how he is viewed according to Shri Shiva Shaktinath Tantra....If you would like to make a donation please click on the pay pal donate button to the right of our blog and thank you in advance for your kind gift! each gift ensures we can continue our online School of Tantra
AUM SHANTI
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