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A simple devotee’s unwavering faith was so powerful that Lord Ganpati chose to walk toward him, forever joining his own name with the call Ganpati Bappa Morya.
When people in Maharashtra chant “Ganpati Bappa Morya”, they’re not just calling out to Ganpati. They’re remembering a devotee whose love became part of Bappa’s name.
Long ago, near Pune, lived a saint named Morya Gosavi. He stayed in Chinchwad, but his heart lived far away in Morgaon, where one of the Ashtavinayak Ganpati temples stands.
Every month, on Sankashti Chaturthi*, Morya Gosavi would walk nearly a hundred kilometers. On foot. No matter the heat, the rain, or his age. He walked only for one reason: to see his Bappa.
*Sankashti Chaturthi comes on every fourth day after Pournami full moon (Krishna Paksha) of the Hindu lunar calendar month. On Sankashti Chaturthi, devotees observe a strict fast. They break the fast at night after having darshan (auspicious sight) of the moon preceded by prayers to Ganesha.
Years passed. His body grew weak. One day, he realized the truth he had been avoiding. He could no longer stand, let alone walk all the way to Morgaon.
That day, his heart broke.
He said to himself, “If I cannot meet Bappa, what is the meaning of my life?”
So he made a hard decision. He gave up food. He gave up water. People around him were scared.
“You will die,” they warned him.
He listened, but he did not stop.
That night, something extraordinary happened.
In his dream, Ganpati appeared before him. Not as an idol. Not as stone. But as Bappa himself, warm and alive.
Ganpati said, “You have come to me all your life. You have never missed a Chaturthi. If you cannot come to me now, then this time, I will come to you.”
When Morya Gosavi woke up, his eyes were filled with tears. He went to the nearby river for his morning prayers. As he stepped into the water, he noticed a rock beneath the surface.
There, on that rock, was Ganpati’s form.
Not carved by any human hand. A Swayambhu murti. Self-born.
With trembling hands and a full heart, Morya Gosavi brought the murti out and placed it right there. He began daily worship, just as he had done all his life. He served Bappa until his final breath.
Before leaving this world, Ganpati gave him one last boon.
“Your name,” Bappa said, “will always be spoken with mine.”
And that is why, even today, when devotion rises in the air and voices come together, we don’t just say Ganpati, we say: Ganpati Bappa Morya.
Morya’s devotion was so pure that distance disappeared, and God himself took the final steps.
That is why every chant of Ganpati Bappa Morya carries both the name of the Lord and the love of his devotee.
