Questions on Deepavali

[Guest guest]

Deepavali Greetings and Best Wishes, everyone!

 

Because of my western upbringing, I must admit to feeling a certain bit of

disconnection to what is certainly the most famous and lavish of all of

India's many holidays. My only childhood memories of this occasion are

lighting sparklers (a rather weak facsimile of what I hear goes on in India

at this time) with my parents in our backyard or kitchen, donning new

clothes, and of course, eating snacks and sweets. My only religious

connections to the holiday are the aradhanais to thayAr that my mother

performs regularly, a plethora of oil lamps in our home, and the

socio-cultural gatherings of Denver's various language based groups.

 

While I am familiar with the incidents regarding the demise of the evil

narakAsuran, I would very much appreciate some thoughts as to what the

traditional SriVaishnava view is, if there is such, on the Hindu Festival of

Lights. I would also be interested in hearing about some of the practices

of traditional SriVaishnavas on this day.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

 

Mohan