Why do we say “Ganpati Bappa Morya”

“Ganpati Bappa” … if you instantly said “Morya!”- do you know the meaning of that word? Here’s the tea.

This word honours Morya Gosavi - the admin of Ganesha’s fan club, the OG bhakt, and one of the biggest icons of the Ganapatya group, which sees Ganpati as the Supreme.

He was born somewhere between the late 14th and early 17th century, most likely in Bidar, Karnataka.

His parents had prayed at the Mayureshwar temple in Morgaon, Maharashtra, where Ganpati is uniquely worshipped in his peacock-riding Mayureshwar avatar - taken to destroy the demon Sindhu in a previous yuga, before the mushak or mouse became his vahana.

Originally named Moreshwar, our boy was so aloof he got expelled from home. His wandered through Chinchwad near Pune and back to Morgaon, where he discovered his Bappa & fell in love.

There, he also met his guru Nath yogi Nayanbharati Gosavi, who initiated him into the ascetic Gosavi order - hence the surname.

Morya was special, not only for his hardcore meditation, days of fasting, barefoot pilgrimages, and living in total simplificty & humility - but legends speak of his mystical healing powers given by the Siddhivinayak himself.

He kept a low profile but couldn’t avoid fame - supposedly even helping royalty like Shahaji & his son, our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Out of jealousy, he was shunned from temples, but Ganpati publicly sided with Mory - accepting only his humble offerings over the grand ones from the rich.

In his last phase, Morya moved back to Chinchwad, where he established a Ganapati temple and settled into worship.

Morya’s bhakti was so pure, the story goes, that Ganesha himself gave him the boon: “Your name will always be remembered with mine, as a symbol for a bhakt’s longing for his God.” That’s why, to this day, we chant, “Ganpati Bappa Morya, Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya!”