FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
The Shree Ghanapathy Temple supports a multi-faith culture. This means that we allow members of any major faith to join us in prayer in the temple. We are a key contributor to multi-faith activities in London
It is a customary and a traditional mark of respect to remove your footwear prior to entering the consecrated spaces within the Temple.
In the Hindu culture, it is traditional to undertake a spiritual cleansing ceremony (Punniyavasanam) prior to e.g. moving into a new house; or undertaking any other ceremony.
Hindu festivals are combinations of religious ceremonies, worship, prayer and other activities of a religious or traditional character.
Ganesha (also known as Ganapathy, Pillaiyar) is the elephant-headed god of wisdom and the remover of obstacles.
He is the most beloved and revered of all the Hindu gods and is always invoked first in any Hindu ceremony or festival. He is the son of Parvati (the wife of Shiva, the Destroyer, the most powerful of the Hindu trinity of principal gods). There are many stories about how Ganesha got his elephant head, and about his exploits and antics.
Hindu deities are physical representations of God. We believe in one ultimate formless God, but the physical representation helps us to focus our prayers.