Wishing Everyone Happy Diwali (Deepavali)

[Guest guest]

Namaste Friends,

 

Many across the world are celebrating soon. Many temples begin

Deepavali festivities on 1st November 2005. Meanwhile, the article

below may be of interest to some new friends.

 

Om Shreem MahaLakshmiye Namah Om,

Simone

----------------

 

Diwali

******

 

History:

........

 

Diwali is a five day Hindu festival which occurs on the fifteenth

day of Kartika. During this time, homes are thoroughly cleaned and

windows are opened to welcome Laksmi, Goddess of Wealth. Candles and

lamps are lit as a greeting to Goddess Lakshmi.

 

Gifts are exchanged and festive meals are prepared during Diwali.

Diwali, being the festival of lights, thousands of lamps are lit in

and outside every home on the day. Lamp or "Deep" is the symbol of

knowledge. Lighting the lamp of knowledge within us means to

understand and reflect upon the significant purpose of each of the

five days of festivities and to bring those thoughts in to our day

to day lives.

 

The first day of Diwali:

----------------------

The first day of Diwali is called Dhanvantari Triodasi or

Dhanwantari Triodasi also called Dhan Theras .It is in fact the

thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksh (the dark forthnight) of the

month of Kartik. On this day, Lord Dhanwantari came out of the ocean

with Ayurvedic medicine (medicine which promotes healthy long life)

for mankind.

 

This day marks the beginning of Diwali celebrations. On this day at

sunset,Hindus should bathe and offer a lighted deeya with Prasad

(sweets offered at worship time) to Yama Raj (the Lord of Death) and

pray for protection from untimely death.

This offering should be made near a Tulsie tree (the Holy Basil) or

any other sacred tree that one might have in their yard. If there is

no sacred tree, a clean place in the front yard will suffice.

 

The second day of Diwali:

------------------------

The second day of Diwali is called Narak Chaturdasi. It is the

fourteenth lunar day (thithi) of the dark forthnight of the month of

Kartik and the eve of Diwali. On this day Lord Krishna destroyed the

demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear. On this day, we

should massage our bodies with oil to relieve it of tiredness, bathe

and rest so that we can celebrate Diwali with vigour and devotion.

On this night, Yama Deeya should NOT be lit. The Shastras (Laws of

Dharma) declares that Yama Deeya should be offered on Triodasi night

with Prasad.

 

The misconception that Yama Deeya should be offered on the night

before Diwali came about some years ago when the fourteenth lunar

day (Chaturdasi) was of a very short duration and caused Triodasi to

extend into the night before Diwali. Some people mistook it to mean

that because Yama Deeya was lit on that night, that it should always

be lit on the night before Diwali.

This is absolutely not true. It is advisable that one consults with

a learned Pandit or Hindu Astrologer for proper guidance on this

matter.

 

The third day of Diwali

----------------------

Actual Diwali.......

This is the day when worship unto Mother Lakshmi is performed.

Hindus cleanse themselves and join with their families and their

Pandit (priest) and they worship the divine Goddess Lakshmi to

achieve the blessings of wealth and prosperity, the triumph of good

over evil and light over darkness.

 

The fourth day of Diwali

------------------------

On this day, Goverdhan Pooja is performed. Many thousands of years

ago, Lord Krishna caused the people of Vraja to perform Goverdhan

Pooja. From then on, every year Hindus worship Goverdhan to honour

that first Pooja done by the people of Vraja.

It is written in the Ramayan that when the bridge was being built by

the Vanar army, Hanuman (a divine loyal servant of Lord Rama

possessing enormous strength) was bringing a mountain as material to

help with the construction of the bridge. The call was given that

enough materials was already obtained. Hanuman placed the mountain

down before He could have reached the construction site. Due to lack

of time, He could not have returned the mountain to its original

place.

 

The deity presiding over this mountain spoke to Hanuman asking of

His reason for leaving the mountain there. Hanuman replied that the

mountain should remain there until the age of Dwapar when Lord Rama

incarnates as Lord Krishna in the form of man. He, Lord Krishna will

shower His grace on the mountain and will instruct that the mountain

be worshiped not only in that age but but in ages to come. This

deity whom Hanuman spoke to was none other than Goverdhan (an

incarnation of Lord Krishna),who manifested Himself in the form of

the mountain.

 

To fulfill this decree, Goverdhan Pooja was performed and is

continued to be performed today.

 

The fifth day of Diwali

-----------------------

The fifth day of the diwali is called Bhratri Dooj. This is the day

after Goverdhan Pooja is performed and normally two days after

Diwali day.

 

It is a day dedicated to sisters. We have heard about Raksha Bandhan

(brothers day). Well this is sisters day.

 

Many moons ago,in the Vedic era, Yama (Yamraj, the Lord of death)

visited His sister Yamuna on this day. He gave his sister a Vardhan

(a boon) that whosoever visits her on this day shall be liberated

from all sins. They will achieve Moksha or final emancipation.

>From then on, brothers visit their sisters on this day to enquire of

their welfare.

 

This day marks the end of the five days of Diwali celebrations.

This is also known as Bhai fota among Bengalis. Bhai fota is an

event especially among Bengalis when the sister prays for her

brother's safety, success and well being.

 

The Origin of Diwali:

-------------------

Hindu Mythology:

 

According to Ramayana, Diwali commemorates the return of Ram, an

incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the eldest son of King Dasharath of

Ayodhya, from his 14-year exile with Sita and Lakshman after killing

the Ravan, a demon king. The people of Ayodhya illuminated the

kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and fireworks to celebration

of the return of their king.

 

In rural areas, Diwali signifies Harvest Festival. Diwali which

occurs at the end of a cropping season has along with the above

custom, a few others that reinforce the hypothesis of its having

originated as a harvest. Every harvest normally spelt prosperity.

The celebration was first started in India by farmers after they

reaped their harvests. They celebrated with joy and offered praises

to God for granting them a good crop.

 

During the reign of Emperor Prithu, there was a worldwide famine. He

ordered that all available cultivatable lands be ploughed.When the

rains came, the land became very fertile and grains were planted.

The harvest provided food not only to feed all of India, but for all

civilisation. This harvest was close to Diwali time and was a good

reason to celebrate Diwali with great joy and merriment by a wider

community.

 

When Lord Krishna destroyed Narakasur on the day before Diwali, the

news of it travelled very rapidly throught the land.It gave people

who were already in a joyful mood, another reason for celebrating

Diwali with greater pride and elaboration.

 

In the Adi Parva of the Mahabarat , the Pandavas returned from the

forest during Diwali time. Once more, the celebrations extended

beyond the boundaries of India to wherever Hindus lived.

It is on the same day of Amavasya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, that

leonine sanyasin who was one of the first to light the torch of

Hindu Renaissance during the last century, passed into Eternity.

Swami Ramatirtha who carried the fragrance of the spiritual message

of Hindu Dharma to the western world, also passed into eternity. The

lights kindled on this day also mark the attempt of their followers

to immortalize the sacred memories of those great men who lived to

brighten the lives of millions of their fellow beings. The passage

of these great men have indeed brought the national-cum-spiritual

tradition of Deepavali right up to modern times.

 

Sikh Festival Diwali

--------------------

In Sikh perspective, Diwali is celebrated as the return of the sixth

Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji from the captivity of the city, Gwalior.

History states two commonly known reasons for his imprisonment. One

is that the Muslim Raja approached Guru Hargobind Ji upon his

entering Gwalior and told the Guru to denounce his Sikh religion and

to join the Muslim faith. With the intention of utilizing the Guru's

great strength and fearlessness needed in battles. Being outraged by

this request, the Guru rejected his proposition. In retaliation he

captured the Guru and held him against his will. But eventually the

Guru managed to free himself of this unjust imprisonment and

returned to his beloved town of Amritsar. To commemorate his undying

love for Sikhism, the townspeople lit the way to, Harmandhir Sahib

(referred to as the Golden Temple), in his honour.

 

Jain Festival Diwali:

--------------------

Among the Jain festivals, Diwali is one of the most important one.

For on this occasion we celebrate the Nirvana of Lord Mahavira who

established the dharma as we follow it. Lord Mahavira was born as

Vardhamana on Chaitra Shukla 13 in the Nata clan at Khattiya-

kundapura, near Vaishali. He obtained Kevala Gyana on Vishakha

Shukla 10 at the Jambhraka village on the banks of Rijukula river at

the age of 42. He initiated his shaashan (Jaina-shashana) on

Shravana KrashNa 1 at his first assembly at Rajgrah. After having

preached the dharma for 30 years, he attained Nirvana at Pava, at

the age of 71 years and 6 and half months.

 

Celebration:

-----------

In Punjab, the day following Diwali is known as tikka when sisters

make a paste with saffron and rice and place an auspicious mark on

their brother's foreheads as a symbolic gesture to ward off all

harm.

 

In North India on the day of the Diwali the children emerge,

scrubbed clean to get into their festive attire, and light up little

oil lamps, candles and agarbathis the wherewithal for setting alight

crackers and sparklers.

 

Likewise, on the second day of the month of Kartik, the people of

Maharashtra exchange gifts. In Maharashtra, it is the thirteenth day

of Ashwin, the trayodasi, that is observed as a festival

commemorating a young prince whom Yama, the God of Death, had

claimed four days after his marriage. Filled, however, with

compassion for the luckless youth, the legend goes, Yama promised

that those who observed the day would be spared untimely death—and

so the lamps that are lit to mark the festival are placed facing

south, unlike on other festive days, because south is the direction

mythologically assigned to Yama.

 

For the Bengalis

----------------

it is the time to worship Goddess Kali , yet another form of Durga,

the divine embodiment of supreme energy. KALI is the Goddess who

takes away darkness. She cuts down all impurities, consumes all

iniquities, purifies Her devotees with the sincerity of Her Love.

 

Tradition:

---------

Diwali is supposed to be a corruption of the word Deepavali, the

literal meaning of which in Sanskrit is `a row of lamps.' Filling

little clay lamps with oil and wick and lighting them in rows all

over the house is a tradition that is popular in most regions of the

country. In the north, most communities observe the custom of

lighting lamps. However, in the south, the custom of lighting baked

earthen lamps is not so much part of this festival as it is of the

Karthikai celebrations a fortnight later. The lights signify a

welcome to prosperity in the form of Lakshmi, and the fireworks are

supposed to scare away evil spirits.

 

For the grown-ups, there is also a custom of indulging in gambling

during Diwali. It is all in fun, though, in a spirit of light-

hearted revelry, and merrymaking.

 

The children can be seen bursting fire crackers and lighting candles

or earthen lamps. This is a time of generously exchanging sweets

with neighbors and friends. Puffed rice and sugar candy are the

favorite fares.

 

Diwali is a time for shopping, whether for gifts or for adding

durable items to one's own household. The market soars—everything

from saffron to silver and spices to silks. Yet, symbolic purchases

are to be made as part of tradition during Diwali.

 

Whatever may be the fables and legends behind the celebrations of

Diwali, all people in India exchange sweets, wear new clothes and

buy jewellery at this festive time. Card parties are held in many

homes. Diwali has become commercialised as the biggest annual

consumer spree because every family shops for sweets, gifts and

fireworks. However, in all this frenzy of shopping and eating, the

steady, burning lamp is a constant symbol of an illuminated mind .

 

http://www.rumela.com/events/festival_diwali.htm

[Guest guest]

Namaste and Happy Diwali to you Simone and to all my friends on the list.

Arjuna

 

 

 

 

 

FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click.