Greetings

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and devotees,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY DIWALI

 

Some information on this festival of Lights!!

 

This Diwali which leads us into Truth and Light is celebrated on a

nation-wide scale on Naraka Chathurdasi day just on the dawn of

Amavaasya during the Hindu month of Aswiyuja in Telugu and ippasi in

Tamil (September/October) every year. It symbolises that age-old culture

of our country which teaches us to vanquish ignorance that subdues

humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge.

Diwali, the festival of lights even to-day in this modern world projects

the rich and glorious past of our country and teaches us to uphold the

true values of life. The word " Diwali " , is the degeneracy of Sanskrit

word " Deepavali " . Deepa means light and Avali, means a row. It means a

row of lights and indeed illumination forms its main attraction. Every

home - lowly or mightily - the hut of the poor or the mansion of the

rich - is alit with the orange glow of twinkling diyas-small earthen

lamps - to welcome Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity.

Multi-coloured Rangoli is also drawn with rice flour on the grounds into

their house, designs, floral decorations and fireworks lend picturesque

and grandeur to this festival which heralds joy, mirth and happiness in

the ensuing year.

 

This festival is celebrated on a grand scale in almost all the regions

of India and is looked upon mainly as the beginning of New Year. As such

the blessings of Lakshmi, the celestial consort of Lord Vishnu are

invoked with prayers. Even countries like Kenya, Thailand, Trinidad,

Siam and Malaya celebrate this festival but in their own ways.

 

This Diwali festival, it is surmised dates back to that period when

perhaps history was not written, and in its progress through centuries

it lighted path of thousands to attain the ultimate good and complete

ecstasy. Diwali or more aptly Deepavali is very enthusiastically

celebrated for five continuous days and each day has its significance

with a number of myths, legends and beliefs.

 

The First day is called DHANTERAS or DHANTRAYODASHI which falls on the

thirteenth day of the month. The word " Dhan " means wealth. As such this

day of the five-day Diwali festival has a great importance for the rich

mercantile community of Western India. Houses and Business premises are

renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colourful with lovely

traditional motifs of Rangoli designs to welcome the Goddess of wealth

and prosperity. To indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints

are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses.

Lamps are kept burning all through the nights. Believing this day to be

auspicious, women purchase some gold or silver or at least one or two

new utensils.

 

" Lakshmi-Puja " is performed in the evenings when tiny diyas of clay are

lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits. " Bhajans " -devotional

songs- in praise of Goddess Laxmi are sung and " Naivedya " of traditional

sweets is offered to the Goddess. There is a peculiar custom in

Maharashtra to lightly pound dry coriander seeds with jaggery and offer

as Naivedya.

 

In villages, cattle are adorned and worshipped by farmers as they form

the main source of their income. In south cows are offered special

veneration as they are supposed to be the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi

and therefore they are adorned and worshipped on this day.

 

A very interesting story about this day is of the sixteen year old son

of King Hima. As per his horoscope he was doomed to die by a snake-bite

on the fourth day of his marriage. On that particular fourth day of his

marriage his young wife did not allow him to sleep. She laid all the

ornaments and lots of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the

entrance of her husband's boudoir and lighted innumerable lamps all

over the place. And she went on telling stories and singing songs. When

Yama, the god of Death arrived there in the guise of a Serpent, his eyes

got blinded by that dazzle of those brilliant lights and he could not

enter the Prince's chamber. So he climbed on top of the heap of the

ornaments and coins and sat there whole night listening to the

melodious songs. In the morning he quietly went away. Thus the young

wife saved her husband from the clutches of death. Since then this day

of Dhanteras came to be known as the day of " YAMADEEPDAAN " and lamps are

kept burning throughout the night in reverential adoration to Yama, the

god of Death.

 

Another ancient story of how Diwali evolved into such a widely

celebrated festival is different in various regions and states of India.

In the north, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and

the surrounding areas, Diwali is the day when King Rama's coronation was

celebrated in Ayodhya after his epic war with Ravana, the demon king of

Lanka. By order of the royal families of Ayodhya and Mithila, the

kingdom of which Sita was princess, the cities and far-flung boundaries

of these kingdoms were lit up with rows of lamps, glittering on dark

nights to welcome home the divine king Rama and his queen Sita after 14

years of exile, ending with an across-the-seas war in which the whole of

the kingdom of Lanka was destroyed.

 

The SECOND day is called NARAKA-CHATURDASHI or CHOTI DIWAL which falls

on the fourteenth day of the month. The story goes that the demon king

Narakasura ruler of Pragjyotishapura ( a province to the South of Nepal)

after defeating Lord Indra had snatched away the magnificent earrings of

Aditi, the Mother Goddess and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of

the Gods and saints in his harem. On the day previous to

Narakachaturdashi, Lord Krishna killed the demon and liberated the

imprisoned damsels and also recovered those precious earrings of Aditi.

As a symbol of that victory Lord Krishna smeared his forehead with the

demon king's blood. Krishna returned home in the very early morning of

the Narakachaturdashi day. The womenfolk massaged scented oil to his

body and gave him a good bath to wash away the filth from his body.

Since then the custom of taking bath before sunrise on this day has

become a traditional practice especially in Maharashtra.

 

In South India that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated

in a very peculiar way. People wake up before sunrise prepare blood by

mixing Kumkum in oil and after breaking a bitter fruit that represents

the head of the demon King that was smashed by Krishna, apply that

mixture on their foreheads. Then they have an oil bath using sandalwood

paste.

 

In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths with oil and " Uptan "

(paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'. All through the

ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are there in

order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterwards steamed vermicelli

with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served. Another legend

is about King Bali of the nether world mighty power had become a threat

to the gods. In order to curb his powers Lord Vishnu in the guise of a

Vamana Vatuvu - a small boy- visited him and begged him to give him only

that much land which he could cover with his three steps. Known for his

philanthropy King Bali proudly granted him his wish. That very moment

that small boy transformed himself into the all-powerful Lord Vishnu.

With his first step Lord Vishnu covered the entire heaven and with the

second step the earth and asked Bali where to keep his third step. Bali

offered his head. Putting his foot on his head, Vishnu pushed him down

to the underworld. At the same time for his generosity Lord Vishnu gave

him the lamp of knowledge and allowed him to return to earth once a year

to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance and

spread the radiance of love and wisdom. This Narakachaturdashi day is

therefore dedicated to lights and prayers heralding a future full of joy

and laughter.

 

The THIRD day of the festival of Diwali is the most important day of

LAKSHMI-PUJA which is entirely devoted to the propitiation of Goddess

Lakshmi. This day is also known by the name of " CHOPADA-PUJA " . On this

very day sun enters his second course and passes Libra which is

represented by the balance or scale. Hence, this design of Libra is

believed to have suggested the balancing of account books and their

closing. Despite the fact that this day falls on an amavaasya day it is

regarded as the most auspicious.On this day, the Goddess of wealth and

prosperity, Lakshmi was incarnated. She appeared during the churning of

the ocean, which is known as 'Samudra Madhanam', by the `demons'

on one side and 'Devataas' on the other side. Therefore the worship of

Goddess Lakshmi, the Lakshmi Puja, on the day of Diwali became a

tradition. Hence, the day of Lakshmi-Puja falls on the dark night of

Amavaasya. The strains of joyous sounds of bells and drums float from

the temples as man is invoking Goddess Lakshmi in a wondrous holy

" pouring-in " of his heart. All of a sudden that impenetrable darkness is

pierced by innumerable rays of light for just a moment and the next

moment a blaze of light descends down to earth from heaven as

golden-footed Deepa-Lakshmi alights on earth in all her celestial glory

amidst chanting of Vedic hymns. A living luminance of Universal

Motherhood envelopes the entire world, in that blessed moment of

fulfillment of a long-awaited dream of the mortal. A sublime light of

knowledge dawns upon humanity and devotion of man finally conquers

ignorance. This self enlightenment is expressed through the twinkling

lamps that illuminate the palaces of the wealthy as well as the lowly

abodes of the poor. It is believed that on this day Lakshmi walks

through the green fields and loiters through the bye-lanes and showers

her blessings on man for plenty and prosperity. When the sun sets in

the evening and ceremonial worship is finished all the home-made sweets

are offered to the goddess as " NAIVEDYA " and distributed as " PRASAD " .

Feasts are arranged and gifts are exchanged on this day gaily dressed

men, women and children go to temples and fairs, visit friends and

relatives. Everything is gay, gold and glitter!

 

One of the most curious customs which characterizes this festival of

Diwali is the indulgence of gambling, especially on a large scale in

North India. It is believed that goddess Parvati played dice with her

husband, Lord Shiva on this day and she decreed that whosoever gambled

on Diwali night would prosper throughout the ensuing year. This

tradition of playing cards- flush and rummy with stakes on this

particular day continues even to-day.

 

On this auspicious day, Lord Shri Krishna around whom revolved the

entire story of our great epic Mahabharata and the philosopher who

preached Karmayoga through his Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of

Kurukshetra discarded his body.

 

Bhagwan, Mahavir, the Jain prophet also attained " Nirvana " on this day.

Swami Ramtirth, the beloved " Ram Badshah " of millions of Indians was not

only born on this day and took " Sanyas " but also took " Samadhi " on this

day.

 

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj in 1875 in Mumbai, with

his superb yogic powers greed his soul from his body and mingled with

divinity on this auspicious day of Diwali.

 

We kindle innumerable lights on this day to immortalize the sacred

memories of those great men who lived to brighten the lives of millions

of their fellow beings.

 

One very interesting story about this Diwali day is from Kathopanishad

of a small boy called Nichiketa who believed that Yama, the god of Death

was as black as the dark night of amavaasya. But when he met Yama in

person he was puzzled seeing Yama's calm countenance and dignified

stature. Yama explained to Nichiketa on this Diwali day of amavaasya

that by only passing through the darkness of death, man sees the light

of highest wisdom and then only his soul can escape from the bondage of

his mortal frame to mingle with the Supreme Power without whose will,

not an atom moves in the world. And then Nichiketa realized the

importance of worldly life and significance of death. Nichiketa's all

doubts were set at rest and he whole-heartedly participated in Diwali

celebrations.

 

The FOURTH day is PADWA or VARSHAPRATIPADA which marks the coronation of

King Vikramaditya and Vikaram-Samvatsara was started from this Padwa

day.

 

Govardhan-Puja is also performed in the North on this day. As per

Vishnu-Purana the people of Gokul used to celebrate a festival in honour

of Lord Indira and worshipped him after the end of every monsoon season

but one particular year the young Krishna stopped them from offering

prayers to Lord Indra who in terrific anger sent a deluge to submerge

Gokul. But Krishna saved his Gokul by lifting up the Govardhan Mountain

and holding it over the people as an umbrella. Govardhan is a small

hillock in Braj, near Mathura and on this day of Diwali people of

Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar build cow dung, hillocks,

decorate them with flowers and then worship them.

 

This day is also observed as Annakoot meaning mountain of food. In

temples especially in Mathura and Nathadwara, the deities are given milk

bath, dressed in shining attires with ornaments of dazzling diamonds,

pearls, rubies and other precious stones. After the prayers and

traditional worship, innumerable varieties of delicious sweets are

ceremoniously raised in the form of a mountain before the deities as

" Bhog " and then the devotees approach the Mountain of Food and take

Prasad from it.

 

Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in every Hindu household and her blessings

sought for success and happiness. This day is looked upon as the most

auspicious day to start any new venture. In many Hindu homes it is a

custom for the wife to put the red tilak on the forehead of her husband,

garland him and do " Harathi " with a prayer for his long life. In

appreciation of all the tender care that the wife showers on him, the

husband gives her a costly gift. This Gudi Padwa is symbolic of love and

devotion between the wife and husband. On this day newly-married

daughters with their husbands are invited for special meals and given

presents. In olden days brothers went to fetch their sisters from their

in-laws home for this important day.

 

The FIFTH and final day of Diwali Festival is known by the name of

" BHAYYA-DUJ " in the Hindi-speaking belt " BHAV-BIJ " in the

Marathi-speaking communities and in Nepal by the name of " BHAI-TIKA " . As

the legend goes, Yamadharmaraja, the God of Death visited his sister

Yami on this particular day. She put the auspicious tilak on his

forehead, garlanded him and led him with special dishes and both of them

together ate the sweets, talked and enjoyed themselves to their heart's

content, while parting Yamadharmaraja gave her a special gift as a token

of his love and in return Yami also gave him a lovely gift which she had

made with her own hands. That day Yamadharmaraja announced that anyone

who receives tilak from his sister will never be thrown. That is why

this day of Bhayyaduj is also known by the name of " YAMA-DWITIYA " Since

then this day is being observed as a symbol of love between sisters and

brothers. It became also imperative for the brother to go to his

sister's house to celebrate Bhayyaduj.

 

In today's world when pressing everyday problems are teaming as under

all the tender words of personal relationships, the celebrating of this

day has its own importance in continuing to maintain the love between

brothers and sisters for it is the day of food-sharing, gift-giving and

reaching out to the inner most depths of the hearts.

 

Diwali on the whole has always been the festival with more social than

religious connotations. It is a personal, people-oriented festival when

enmities are forgotten; families and friends meet, enjoy and establish a

word of closeness.

 

As a festival of light and beauty, it encourages artistic expressions

through home-decorations stage-plays, elocution competitions singing and

dancing programmes, making gift items and making delectable sweets

thereby discovering new talents of younger people. As a result,

innumerable communities with varying cultures and customs mingle

together to make Diwali celebrations a very happy occasion for all.

Gurudev Ravindranatha Tagore has so aptly put forth the true

significance of Diwali in these beautiful lines

 

The night is black. Kindle the lamp of LOVE with thy life and devotion.

 

God Bless you all.

 

May this Diwali bring you happiness and may all your wishes come true

 

A humble suggestion....please don't burst crackers, instead, donate the

money to the poor and make them to enjoy Diwali this year.

 

(From my friend Mr.K.Raman)

 

With love and regards,

 

Yagnanarayana Sastry & Family.