Deepawali

*DEAR ALL,*

*[image: Inline image 1]*

*Deepavali or the Festival of Lights is an important and popular festival
and one of the four main festivals celebrated In India. Deepavali.
“Deepavali” derived from Sanskrit Deepa = lamp, awali = row, line, when It
literally translated means “Row of Lights”. It means “row of lighted lamps”
or the Festival of lights. It celebrates the victory of goodness over evil,
light over darkness. During Deepavali people pray to Lakshmi, Goddess of
wealth, light, prosperity and wisdom, but also to God Ganesha, the 'Remover
of Obstacles' or the 'Lord of Beginnings'. Deepavali is associated with
many legends.*

*Legends of Deepavali:-*

*There are many festivals in India. Some festivals are celebrated in
certain regions, like Holi in Northern India, Onam in Kerala. However,
Deepavali is the only festival that is celebrated across the country, by
everyone without distinction of class and creed with slightly different set
of rituals and customs. This slight deviance in the set of rituals and
celebrations of this festival is due to the prevalent legends of the
specific regions and states. The reason for celebrating Diwali in North
India is based on the return of Lord Ram from exile to Ayodhya. But in
South India the legend is of Krishna defeating demon Naraka with the help
of Satyabhama.And an another legend says that Goddess lakshmi emerged from
Ksheera Sagara (Ocean of Milk).*

*CELEBRATIONS:*

*The festival is actually celebrated over a period of five days. First Day
- Dhanatrayodashi" or "Dhanvantari Trayodashi" in south and Dhan Teras in
North India. Second Day - Narak Chaturdashi, Third Day- Diwali, Fourth Day
- Govardhan Pooja in north India and Bali Padyami in south India, Fifth Day
- Bhai Dooj in north and Yama Dvitiya, or Yam Dwitiya in south India.*

*The first day is called the Dhanatrayodashi" or "Dhanvantari Trayodashi"
or Dhan Teras. The word Dhan means wealth and Tera means 13th day as per
Hindu calendar, wherein people buy a new utensil or gold or silver because
as it is considered auspicious to spend money (for goddess Lakshmi) on this
day. The day is also dedicated to Dhanavantri, the Hindu God of medicine,
and therefore special Dhanvantari Puja is held on the day. *

*The second day is called Narak Chaturdashi. Demon named Narakasur who had
managed to acquire such awesome powers that he began to terrorize the three
worlds. He was killed and defeated by Lord Krishna. As a symbol of that
victory Lord Krishna smeared his forehead with the demon king's blood.
Krishna returned home early morning on the day of Narakachaturdashi. The
womenfolk massaged scented oil on his body and gave him a bath to wash away
the demon’s blood. Since then the custom of taking an oil bath before dawn
on this day has become a traditional practice especially in Maharashtra and
in the South. Normally according to dharma shastram, one is not supposed to
take an oil bath before sunrise on any day. But on Deepavali, there is an
exemption. People get up early in the morning and have an oil bath in hot
water especially before sunrise. This is equated to having a bath in the
Ganges. On Deepavali chathurdashi day, Mahalakshmi resides in gingelly oil
and Ganges resides in water until sunrise. So we get the blessings of
Mahalakshmi as well by doing this.This is clearly mentioned in Tula
puranam.*

*The thrid day is called Diwali. On this day Mother Lakshmi emerged from
the ocean of milk called the Ksheer Sagar. She brought with Her wealth and
prosperity for mankind. On that day, Lakshmi Pooja was performed to honour
Her and as such, every year on Diwali day, Hindus perform Her prayer and
worship. On this day, Lakshmi Pooja was performed and the making and
distribution of various sweets and total vegetarian foods are the special
of the day. Many people believe that Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and
good fortune, visit the homes of devotees on this day. Worship of Lakshmi
is performed in the pradosha time of the deepavali which is considere as
very auspicious.*

The fourth day is called Govardhan Puja is dedicated to the Govardan Mountain
near Mathura, which was lifted by Lord Krishna to save the people of Braj
from heavy rains and flood created by Lord Indra. Apart from worship of
Lord Krishna and Govardhan Mountain, people perform Govardhan Pradakshina,
circumambulating the hill is an important event on the day.*Bali Padyami in
south India is the day when King Bali rules the world with blessings of Sri
Hari Vishnu. It is observed on the first day of the Kartik Maasa in the
traditional calendar followed in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. On the day
people remember King Bali and pray for the return of prosperity that
existed during his rule. Exchanging gifts on this day is a major highlight.
Bali Padyami is the half muhurta among the three and a half auspicious
muhurtas in a year. One need not look for auspicious time on the day. There
is a popular belief that what ever is gifted on the day will be returned
manifold with the blessings of Lord Vishnu.*

*The fifth day of Diwali celebrations is known as Yama Dvitiya, or Yam
Dwitiya - a symbol of love between brothers and sisters. The day is
observed as Bhai Dhooj or in North India and Yama Dvitiya is the name used
popularly in South India. The legend of Yam Dwitiya is associated with Lord
Yama, the Hindu god of Death, visiting his sister Yami.*

*What is the Message of the festival:-*

*All festivals of India have an inner divine significance. In Bharat the
festivals are celebrated to prove the immanent divinity in humanity. The
slaying of Naraka by Sathyabhama could also be taken to interpret that
parents should not hesitate to punish their children when they stray on to
the wrong path. The message of Naraka Chaturdasi is that the good of the
society should always prevail over one's own personal bonds. It is said
that before dying Naraka realized his mistakes and requested for a festival
in his name from his parents which will remind people what will happen when
they are overtook by inflated egos. Naraka Chaturdasi thus indicates that
good and evil rises from the same root. *

*Deepavali teaches a sacred inner meaning to humanity. During the night of
Deepavali the little clay lamps (diyas) silently send forth message of
Deepavali: "Come, let us remove darkness from the face of the earth." No
other element in this world is as significant as light. It is the light
that shows us the way dispelling the darkness. It is because of the light
that man is able to attend to his daily duties. The flame of a lamp has two
significant qualities. One is to banish darkness; the other is a continuous
upward movement. The flame always points upwards. Even if we keep the lamp
upside down, the flame will burn upwards. The message is that our mind
should be focused on the the Self wherever we are. *

*Thus the festival signifies the victory of good over evil – where the good
and the evil are present in us. The religions and cultures may be different
but they all share a universal principle of divine creation. *

*My Message:-*

*People celebrate this festival by bursting firecrackers signifying the
victory of good over evil. One way it is rainy season and it is good for
killing of insects and mosquitoes. And in another way it is very dangerous
to people which creates health problems also. Please don’t use hazardous
crackers which cause health problems. Moreover bursting firecrackers was
not part of our Deepavali tradition. In all festivals I like and love
Deepavali very much and I used to celebrate the festival with great pomp
and enthusiasm. But when I am pursuing LLB degree I studied a public
interest litigation case filed by Mr.M.C.Mehta which made me tear jerking
and from that time onwards I decided not to buy crackers because many kids
are made to work in the fire cracker factories by giving up their golden
life. So I decided I should not buy it to promote child Labour.*

*My appeal to all my fellow Indian’s is that on this holy day; Stop Buying
and bursting crackers. Save a few children their lives and save yourself.
Think about the children below 12 years and thousands of other Children
involved in child labor in our Fireworks factories. For those poor kids
this festival of light simply translates into more forced and hazardous
work. Think about them before buying and bursting crackers. Please do not
buy and burst crackers because if you do that then in a way you intend to
help an industry that unethically and inhumanely employs thousands of
children. Stop supporting child Labour. *

*If you still want to burst, make sure to buy low decibel ones from brands
which carry NCLE/NHLI (NO CHILD LABOUR EMPLOYED/INVOLVED) SEAL.*

*If you want to burst, make sure you don't cause trouble to neighbors,
pedestrians and traffic.*

*Don't burst high decibel, high sounding crackers to cause panic to sick &
elder people.*

*Don’t burst crackers from 10PM to 6AM - it is illegal as per Supreme Court
orders.*

*As you celebrate this Diwali, spare a thought for the people of Sivakasi
because they are the ones who make your Diwali sparkle. We all continuously
oscillate between happiness and sorrow. Instead of exaggerating and
thinking about our own happy and sad experiences, if our action can bring a
little bit of comfort and happiness to some one else we must pray and do
that work. This attitude alone is the best. This is the core meaning of
festivals like Deepavali. Instead of brooding that “I have problem, I have
sorrow” let us pray that entire universe should be happy. Let us celebrate
Deepavali keeping in view the underlying philosophy behind it and not
convert it into a huge extravaganza or display of wealth and luxury. *

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*Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah.(- RIG VEDA)"Let noble thoughts come to