Diwali's importance

Why and what is Diwali????

Leading us into Truth and Light, Diwali is celebrated on a nation-

wide scale on Naraka Chathurthasi day on the dawn of Ammavaasa

during the Hindu month of Aippasi (September/October) every

year. It symbolizes the 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 today in this modern world projects

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

the true values of life.

"Diwali" is the easy-to-pronounce form of Deepavalai. In Sanskrit

“Deepawali” is the marriage of two Sanskrit words- Deepa

meaning light and Avali, meaning a row. Indeed celebrating the

row of lights forms one of Diwali’s main attraction. Every home -

huts of the poor to the mansions of the rich are aglow with the

orange glow of twinkling diyas. Lighting these small earthen lamps

welcome Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Multi-

colored Rangoli designs, floral decorations and fireworks lend

vivid, colorful imagery and grandeur to this festival which heralds

joy, mirth and happiness in the ensuring year.

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

regions of India and is looked upon in some parts of India as the

beginning of New Calendar or Financial Year. For those who

believe Diwali begins a new financial year tidy up their accounts

and are much more apt to hold grand pujas and devotional displays

for Goddess Lakshmi. 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 is very enthusiastically celebrated

for five continuous days and each day has its significance with a

number of myths, legends and beliefs.

Day 1: Dhanteras

The first day is called Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi which falls

on the thirteenth day of the month of Kartik. 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 colorful 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"-devotiona l songs- in praise of

Goddess Lakshmi 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 cattles are adorned and worshipped by farmers as

they form the main source of their income. In South India 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 were suddenly

blinded by the 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.

Day 2: Nakra-Chaturdashi

The second day is called Nakra-Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali falls

on the fourteenth day of the month of Kartik. It is on this day

that Lord Krishna returns from Pragyotishpur (Nepal) completing

a journey where he killed the demon king Narakasur, freed

16,000 daughters of the gods in the king’s harem and reclaimed

the Mother Goddess, Aditi’s earrings. To prove he was victorious

in killing the demon, Lord Krishna returned home with the king’s

blood smeared on his forehead. To cleanse the blood and restore

overall cleanliness, the womenfolk bathed the Lord in scented

oils. Since then, the custom of taking bath before sunrise is

customary in various parts of India, including Maharashtra and

Tamil Nadu.
Many people would wake up very early on the morning of Diwali to

start preparations, pujas and bathing rituals. It is common to

wake up as early as 4:30 am. There is a very interesting story

associated with why it is required to wake up at this time. When

I asked why people wake up so early, this is the following Diwali

story that was related to me:

"There was an evil person roaming a forest who needed to be

destroyed, but could only be destroyed by the powerful God,

Krishna. These evil beings were preventing all the people from

worshiping God (especially Shiva and Vishnu). So, Krishna was

asked to destroy this being named Nagaswaram. This being has

many powers. He can change his shape and size at will to trick all

the people. It is said that Krishna battled and finally killed

Nagaswaram at 4:30 the morning of Diwali, hence it is auspicious

to celebrate the 'new life' and the free life to worship God at

this time. It also brings very good luck to people to be dressed

and ready by sunrise. Some relate taking an oil bath to cleasing

yourself of the 'evil Nagaswaram'. After bathing with water, and

cleasing yourself of the evil Nagaswaram, you are free to pray to

God and live happily.
Immediately after Nagaswaram was destroyed, a new

troublesome beast was found roaming the forest. He was

Surabathman. He also had the power to change his shape and size.

Murugan, the son of Shiva and Parvathi and the brother of

Ganesha, was called to destroy this annoyance to mankind.

Murugan was very brave and strong, but Surabathman was not an

easy beast to beat. As Muragan chops of his head, a new head of

another beast will appear. Like this, six beastly heads appear and

are removed by Murugan until Surabathman' s "human" head is

seen and also destroyed. After this head is destroyed, Murugan is

victorious. It is said, it took six days from the day of Diwali for

Murugan to win this battle, one day for each head to be

decapitated. It is also for these six days that devotees of

Murugan will fast by either only drinking beverages (no alcohol) or

eating only tiffens for lunch and dinner (no non-vegetarian food

allowed). On the sixth day, Murugan devotees
will circle the temple 108 times and break their fast by having a

grand meal. Also, on the day immediately following the death of

Surabathman, Murugan marries his bride, Deivayannai. All these

festivities take place in temples or street processions. I actually

seen this re-enacted on the streets of Kanchipuram. It was a

spectacular sight!"

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

celebrated in a very peculiar way. To re-enact the victory of Lord

Krishna some believers will break melons on the door step of their

homes, representing the head of the demon King. After smashing

the melon, people will smear their foreheads with a mixture of

kumkum powder and oil, which represents the blood Lord Krishna

smeared on his head. Continuing this ritual, many more, including

those who do not break melons, will take an oil bath using sesame

(gingerly) oil with cumin seeds and peppercorns, following up with

a more modern water and soap bath to restore moisture and a

sweet smell to the body.

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.

On Nakra-Chaturdashi day, people dedicate themselves to lighting

lamps and praying. On this day, people believe that the lighting of

lamps expels ignorance and heralds a future full of joy and

laughter. The story behind this holiday tradition revolves around

King Bali of the nether world. His mighty power had become a

threat to the gods. In order to curb his powers Lord Vishnu in

the guise of a small boy (batu waman) visited him and begged him

to give him as much land as 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 he covered the earth.

Before taking the third and final step, Lord Vishnu asked Bali

where he should make 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.

Day 3: Lakshmi Puja

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 the 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 amavasya day it is regarded as the most auspicious.

The day of Lakshmi Puja falls on the dark night of Amavasya. 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 Deep-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 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 homemade

sweets are offered to the goddess as naivedya and distributed as

prasad (prasadam). 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.

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 Shiv on this day and she

decreed that whosoever gambled on Diwali night would prosper

throughout the ensuring year. This tradition of playing cards-

flush and rummy with stakes on this particular day continues even

today.

On this Diwali day, we light lamps to commemorate the sacred

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

millions of their fellow beings:
● Lord Shri Krishna around whom revolved the entire story of our

great epic Mahabharat and the philosopher, who preached

Karmayog through his Geeta to Arjun 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 both sanyas and

samadhi on this day.
● Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj in 1875 in

Mumbai, with his superb yogic powers freed his soul from his

body and mingled with divinity on this auspicious day of Diwali.

Another very interesting story about this Diwali day is from the

Kathopanishad. In this story, a small boy called Nichiketa believed

that Yam, the god of Death was as black as the dark night of

amavasya. But when he met Yam in person he was puzzled seeing

Yam's calm countenance and dignified stature. Yam explained to

Nichiketa on this Diwali day of amavasya that by only passing

through the darkness of death, man sees the light of highest

wisdom. It is only then only his soul can escape from the bondage

of his mortal frame to mingle with the Supreme Power. It was

then that Nichiketa realized the importance of worldly life and

significance of death. All of Nichiketa's doubts were set to rest

and he whole-heartedly participated in Diwali celebrations.

Day 4: Padwa or Varshapratipada

It is the fourth day that marks the coronation of King

Vikramaditya, initiating Vikram-Samvat from this Padwa day.

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

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

honor of Lord Indira, worshiping him after the end of every

monsoon season. However, one particular year the young Krishna

stopped them from offering prayers to Lord Indira. This angered

Lord Indira, who responded by submerging Gokul underwater.

Krishna saved Gokul by lifting up the Govardhan Mountain and

holding it over the people as an umbrella. To commemorate this

day, people of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar build cow

dung hillocks, decorate them with flowers and then worship them.

On this day in the temples of 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 are offered, the innumerable varieties

of delicious sweets are ceremoniously raised in the form of a

mountain (known as Annakoot) before the deities as bhog. Only

after this offering, devotees take prasad from the bhog.

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 his aarthi 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.
Day 5: Bhayya- Duj

The fifth and final day of Diwali is known as Bhayya-Duj. It is

also known in Hindi as Bhav-Bij and in Marathi and Nepalese as

Bhai Tika.
Legend says Yamraj, the God of Death visited his sister Yami on

this particular day. She put the auspicious tilak on his forehead,

garlanded him and fed him with special dishes. Together, they ate

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

content. While parting Yamraj 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 Yamraj 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.