A contemporary priest, complete with t-shirt, performs āratī to our global and cosmic God, indicated by Earth and stars. Lord Gaṇeśa’s reality is shown by the mūrtī’s transformation from inanimate bronze at the bottom to living flesh at the top.§
Dhārmika Saṁskṛiti§
धार्मिक संस्कृति§
Section Six§
Religious Culture
May Earth on which men offer to the Gods the sacrifice and decorous oblations, where dwells the human race on nourishment proper to the requirements of its nature—may this great Earth assure us life and breath, permitting us to come to ripe old age.§
Atharva Veda 12.1.22. VE§