Deepavali greetings

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Deepavali greetings to all. Please find an article on Deepavali, with best

regards, MG Prasad

 

DEEPAVALI

M.G. Prasad, <mgprasad mgprasad,

<http://www.taranga.us/> www.taranga.us

 

 

 

A Hindu festival is a celebration that integrates spiritual,

philosophical, religious and cultural aspects of human life. The spiritual

aspect is based on the basic human instincts of joy and happiness. The

philosophical aspect is based on the basic principle of the victory of good

over evil in the constant struggle between them. The victory of good is to

be celebrated. This is to remind ourselves and future generations that in

the constant fight between good and evil, the good shall win. The religious

aspect deals with the particular rituals of that festival. The mythological

stories that are related to the particular

 

manifestation of the God (Supreme Being) provide the religious strength for

the festival. The cultural aspect deals with the customs, activities, food,

dress, social interaction with family and friends etc. In the words of

Sriranga Sadguru, a yogi-seer, "The planetary positions are favorable to

spiritual development on these festivals and one should make use of these

special timings"

 

 

 

DEEPAVALI is a major Hindu festival that comes in early part of

November. Deepavali means "Row of Lamps". The festival is celebrated on New

moon day that is a day of darkness. Several stories are associated with this

festival. The major story is that of Lord Krishna killing the demon

Narakasura. Also, "Naraka" means "Hell". The demon Narakasura had kept

several good kings, citizens including thousands of women in dark prison. It

was the helpless cry of these innocent people as prisoners that brought the

Supreme Being in the manifestation of Lord Krishna to kill (through His

Sudarshana chakra) the demon Narakasura and free the prisoners. Thus

Deepavali is to celebrate the glory of Lord Krishna (Supreme Light) and the

end of tyranny (darkness. The lighting of lamps spiritually signify removal

of one's darkness. The day of Deepavali begins with special bath with oil,

wearing new dress, ritual of worship, special foods and in the night

lighting the lamps and firing crackers to celebrate through the sounds of

joy. The family and friends meet on this day to wish greetings and celebrate

together.

 

 

 

Also, on Deepavali day the merchants observe the beginning of

new yearly accounting. This signifies the review of the accounting both in

their business and also in life. The revision of accounting signifies the

"forget and forgive " principle and restarting our joyful relationship with

family and friends. Goddess Lakshmi represents the wealth both materialistic

and spiritual. On Deepavali, worship of Goddess Lakshmi is also carried out

for Her blessings on restarting our worldly and spiritual accounting.

 

 

 

Also, on the next day to Deepavali as part of the festival the

King Bali is also worshipped. The King Bali gave his entire kingdom and

surrendered himself by requesting the Lord Vishnu (as Vamana) to place His

(Lord's) foot on his (King Bali's) head. In some places, Rama's return to

Ayodhya after killing demon Ravana is celebrated

 

 

 

Thus we see that Deepavali encompasses all domains of human life namely

physical, emotional, philosophical and spiritual. The celebration includes

both the individual and societal levels. Thus the Hindu festivals provide

enlightenment, education and joy at the most basic levels of human

experience.