Hello Everybody,I’m back again with yet another post for you…well, I’d apologise for a moment….firstly, today as I returned home I was just caught up in the hullabaloo and festivities around me since Diwali’s tomorrow that I’d almost forgotten that today was a Monday….and like every Monday I have a date with my readers!! After all that’s the least I can do for you all who take five minutes of their time to ready my blog….indeed I’m grateful to each one of you….so lets start right away! And what more...I thought I’d acquaint all my readers with this colourful Indian festival, also called the ‘festival of lights’ and the history behind it.
Diwali or Deepavali (“deep" = lamp and "avalii" = row, i.e. row of lamps) is one of the very important Hindu festivals celebrated in India, but people regardless of their nationalities and religion come together to join in the celebrations where people perform pujas (prayer) at the homes and temples, new clothes, artefacts are bought, gifts, sweetmeats are exchanged, rangolis (designs made by use of colourful powder) are made outside houses, business communities start their financial year and new account books are opened on this day, in the evenings lanterns and diyas (earthen oil lamps) are lit and fireworks are set off that sets the sky with a thousand of stars making it all a wonderful spectacle!!
The coming of Diwali also marks the new year of luck and wealth where it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi visits the house of every Hindu on Diwali and showers her blessings and wealth to those who have welcomed her with well lit and clean houses.
The coming of Diwali, according to our famous Indian mythology namely the Ramayana, celebrates the return of Lord Rama, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a fourteen year exile, and a war in which he killed the demon king Ravana. It is believed that on his return the people of Ayodhya welcomed him with lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness. Since Lord Rama traveled from Lanka (South of India) to his kingdom in North India, he passed through the south earlier. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated a day earlier in South India.
The festival marks the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness. Symbolically it marks the homecoming of goodwill and faith after an absence. So, dear all let us begin this Diwali by spreading light in everyone’s lives, let Diwali exemplify a message for all humanity that religion does not practice hatred or violence against one another but just love and brotherhood.
And what I’m saying is not just for the heck of it, I can’t help but mentioning about what I once happened to hear on national integration which was very beautifully said(I don’t remember who it was….but I took home this one!) She said we didn’t have to go too far to preach the doctrine of love and brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims.
Take their festivals both Diwali (celebrated by Hindus) and Ramzan (celebrated by Muslims) and you’ll find the answers within the names of their festivals. DiwALI has the name of ALI, the Muslim prophet in it while RAMzan has Lord RAM from the Ramayana (Hindu mythology) inscribed within the name, so see….where’s the question of any differences or barriers within the two religions when the names of their religion binds them in eternity….and I pray you take home this message too!
Hope you enjoyed reading our post, then do not forget to share your views/ inputs with us all, we shall be happy to receive them.
Here’s wishing all our readers a very HAPPY DIWALI!
Love,
1 comment:
Hello Sonyaa,
Thanks for your lovely post. While Diwali comes & goes never realised how it can integrate us...Diwali a Hindu festival has "ALI" in it and Ramzan celebrated by Muslims is with Ram. Vow thats great observation...Thus there are more things integrating us then dividing us. Keep up your good work
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