Ganesha’s love of sweets is evident in this vandana and all devotees offer a variety of ladoos to him to have their desires fulfilled. Worship is incomplete without offering of modak.

"Gaiye ganpati jagvandan, Shankar suvan bhavani nandan
Siddhi sadan gajvandan vinayak, Krupa sindhu sundar sab layak
Modak priya mrud mangal data, Vidhya baaridhi buddhi vidhata
Mangat tulsidas kar jore, Bashi ramsiya manas more." ~ Tulsidas

Ganesha’s love of sweets is evident in this vandana and all devotees offer a variety of ladoos to him to have their desires fulfilled. Worship is incomplete without offering of modak. Modak is derived from two words: “mode” which means pleasure and “k” symbolising a small amount. This literally means something that gives pleasure even when it is in a small quantity or when seen. Offering of sweets is reciprocated by Ganesha by giving his devotee great pleasure and happiness. One narration says that just as knowledge is symbolic of a modak, which is sweet, so is the blessing of knowledge sweet too.

In Ganapati Athvarshirsh it is said ~ "यो दूर्वाङ्कुरैर्यजति स वैश्रवणोपमो भवति । यो लाजैर्यजति स यशोवान् भवति स मेधावान् भवति । यो मोदकसहस्त्रेण यजति स वांछितफलमवाप्नोति ।"

"He who worships with dhurva grass chanting this achieves riches,
He who worships with puffed rice chanting this achieves success and fame,
He who worships with thousand modhakas finds fulfillment of personal desires."

Ganesha, As the eater of various forms of food, he symbolizes Brahman, the ultimate recipient of all sacrificial offerings, In the body he symbolizes the individual Self, which is described in the Vedas as the enjoyer and the witness consciousness. Ganesha is the lord of Shiva ganas. In the body, the ganas symbolise desires, thoughts and impulses. They are responsible for the instability and the modifications of the mind. They are also responsible for our distractions and failures in life. As their lord, Ganesha helps us in stabilising our minds and experiencing peace and sameness. He is our friend and benefactor in the fulfilment of the four aims of human life, namely duty (dharma), wealth (artha), enjoyment (kama) and liberation (moksha).