Diwali… From Darkness to light…
Diwali, a.k.a Deepavali is a major Indian festival spread over 5 days that is very significant in Hinduism known as the "Festival of Lights," it symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and lamps (diyas) are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for humankind.
"Regardless of the explanations one prefers, what the festival of lights really stands for today is a reaffirmation of hope, a renewed commitment to friendship and goodwill, and a religiously sanctioned celebration of the simple — and some not so simple — joys of life."
Before we continue with this most humble rendition of Deepavali by the mercy of our most loving and merciful Mother Sarasvati we yet again read in the papers and we have received so many calls and emails on “When are we supposed to celebrate Diwali this year”. I am sure you have heard of this and we in this article are going to explain it in a rather simple yet dignified manner. Please note as you have read from the many articles that we send out we are totally against segregation we are fully for congregation regardless of ones color, creed, dialect, race and whatever else that is distasteful.
Ok to cut a rather long and tedious story short let’s get to the bottom of the Diwali issue. Please hold on to your seats because the information that you are going to read is going to be rather shocking to say the least. Firstly there is no such word as Hindu (Hinduism). In the Vedic sastras there is no mention of the word Hinduism. The proper term is Sanathan Dharma (the Eternal way of life). Note I didn’t say religion because Sanathan Dharma not a religion it’s an exact science. There where two different cultures approximately 1500 years ago that was residing on the opposite sides of the INDUS River. Indus River if you don’t know cuts right through the middle of “modern” Pakistan. How the word Hindu came about is that the Muslim people from the west side of the INDUS River could not pronounce the word “indus” they said “hindus”. What I mean is that when they called the people that stayed across of the Indus River they called them Hindus and thus the name stuck. Hence from about 1500 years ago you would notice the word Hindu being mentioned rather often.
(Stay with me I am getting to the point). We Sanathanists have adapted a lot of things the Muslims do which is not really Sanathan. So Sanathan Dharma encompasses those of who speak Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Telegu etc. Now what really upset me is when the so called “elders” of the societies started using the term Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati for their own propagation. These are just dialects that’s all and these days it has become a platform to promote one’s ego. And mind you a really megaginomous ego. Oh “I am Tamil or Hindi”… where did “aham brahmaasmi (from the Brhad –aranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10) –“I am not this body I am spirit soul” – (The Soul b.t.w has no creed, caste, dialect, race etc attached to it) go to? It’s so frustrating to see the elders fight amongst themselves when they should be promoting peace, harmony and congregation amongst fellow Sanathanists rather than confusion, instability and segregation. So you see there is no Tamil Diwali or Hindu Diwali. Diwali is celebrated over 5 days. I am sure you are shocked now aren’t you. Well we shall further discuss this below… To avoid confusion for now we shall for the time being call ourselves Hindus.
This year Deepavali is celebrated over a period of 5 days beginning from the 16th October to the 20th October. I have been reading in the papers saying that the Diwali is on the 17th October. Well this is correct to a certain point as Diwali falls over 5 days. So one should now know that one is free to observe Diwali on any of the 5 days depending on which of the significance one attaches to it, or one may observe all five days. The more the better I say. ?
Diwali is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited Hindus festivals around the world. Hindus regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. For Hindus it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the year in some Hindu calendars.
The Deepavali lights represent the time when Shree Raam came back from the forest, and all in Ayodhya lit lamps to welcome their most beloved Lord back home after fourteen years of exile. Many do believe that when the lamps are lit this helps Mother Lakshmi find her way into people's homes. Celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional dipa or deeya (earthen lamp). Diwali is a colloquial name used in North India, while the festival is formally called Deepavali in South India. The Sanskrit word Deepavali means an array of lights that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. As the knowledge of Sanskrit diminished, the name was popularly modified to Diwali, especially in northern India. In South India, Diwali does not coincide with the beginning of a new year as South Indians Hindus follow a different calendar, the Shalivahana calendar while on North India Hindus follow the Vikrama calendar, where it falls on the night of the new moon in the month of Kartik (this year this day falls on the 17/18th October).
Hindus find cause to celebrate this festival for different reasons:
It commemorates the killing of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc and was killed by Lord Krishna Himself. Before Narakasura's death, he requested a boon from his mother (Mother Earth), that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light.
According to the Skanda Purana, Mother Parvati observed 21 days of austerity starting from ashtami of shukla paksha (eighth day of the waxing period of moon) to get half of the body of her dear husband Lord Shiva. This vrat (austerity) is known as Kedhara Vrata. Deepavali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Mother Parvati into the left half of his form and appeared as Ardharishvara.
Diwali also celebrates the return of Shree Ramachandra, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Shree Lakshmanji to Ayodhya from a war in which He killed the demon king Ravana. People light oil lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness.
In Bhavishyottara and Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Diwali is associated with Bali Maharaja, who is allowed to return to earth once a year.
Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of India. All the days except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian calendar. A lunar half-month is 15 days. Diwali as a new-moon day marks the last day of a 15-day period.
Diwali being festival of lights, across India people celebrate it via symbolic diyas or kandils (colorful paper lanterns) as an integral part of Diwali decorations.
1) Dhan-trayodashi or dhan teras (16th October): Dhan means "wealth" and Trayodashi means "13th day". Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the second half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping. This day is of special importance for traders and business people.
2) Naraka Chaturdasi (17th October): Chaturdasi is the fourteenth day on which demon Narakasura was killed. (The katha is given below). It signifies the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. In South India, this is the actual day of festivities.
3) Diwali-Amavasya (17th -18th October) : The actual day of Diwali, is celebrated on the third day of the festival, when the moon completely wanes and total darkness sets in the night sky. ***There always seem to be some conflicting festival dates whenever the Hindu calendars are published… I don’t want to cause any more confusion and thus although previously I have stated that Diwali is on the 18th October this year just not to cause even more controversy I have altered it to the 17th October. Let me explain why. Vedic times are totally different from the Gregorian times, which are followed by the westerners. The Vedic day starts at sunrise and ends sunrise the next morning. But the Gregorian day starts at midnight and ends the following midnight. Now Diwali is celebrated on the 15th day (Amavasya) of the dark moon in October. This year the 15th day (Amavasya) starts at 09h07 on the 17th of October and ends the following morning of the 18th of October at 07h33. The sunrise time for Durban on the 17th October is 05h16 and the 18th October at 05h15. According to the Vedic calendar whichever tithi (day) is transiting at the time of sunrise is the tithi (day). So on the 17th of October at 05h16 (sunrise) Chaturdasi (i.e. the 14th day) is transiting. So the ruling day for the 17th is Naraka Chaturdasi. But soon after that Naraka Chaturdasi ends at 09h06 and Amavasya (Diwali starts). But as I have mentioned that the 17th is ruled by Chaturdasi even though it ended a short while after sunrise. Then Diwali continues until the next morning 07h33. So Amavasya transits the sunrise of the 18th and thus this day becomes Diwali Amavasya. But soon after sunrise of the 18th Diwali ends at 07h33. This is the reason why so many calendars state that Diwali should be on the 17th of October because most the New Moon (Amavasya) is on the 17th. But strictly speaking it’s on the 18th.
Hindus wake up way before dawn as early as 4h00 in the morning, have a fragrant oil bath and wear new clothes. They light small lamps all around the house and draw elaborate rangolis (patterns) outside their homes. They perform pujas with offerings to Shree Sita-Raam/Radha-Krishna/Lakshmi-Narayana, as He liberated the world from the demon Narakasura on this day. Taking a bath before sunrise, when the stars are still visible in the sky is equivalent to taking a bath in the Ganga River. Hence, when people greet each other in the morning, they ask "Have you performed your Ganga Snaanam?” (Well most of us are not in India so what you can do in this case purchase Ganga Water from your nearest puja shop and in a bucket pour a cap of Ganga water from the bottle and fill the bucket with normal water and have a bath… it’s the same thing as bathing in Mother Ganga herself). As this is a day of rejoicement, many will have very elaborate breakfasts and lunches and meet family and friends. In the evening, lamps are again lit and Mother Lakshmi is worshipped and offered special dishes. This being a no moon day (New moon/Amavasya), many will offer tarpana (offerings of water and sesame seeds) to their ancestors. This is from the Garuda Purana. Like Christmas in the West, Diwali is very much a time for buying and exchanging gifts.
4) Govardhan Puja or also called Annakut (19th October), is celebrated as the day Shree Krishna defeated Lord Indradev. For Annakut a mountain of food (normally halva) is decorated symbolizing Govardhan Mountain lifted by Lord Krishna. On this day men present gifts to their wives.
5) Bhayiduj (20th October) — on this day, brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for each other. Most Indian festivals bring together families; Bhaiduj brings together sisters and brothers, and is a significant festive day for them. This festival is ancient, and pre-dates 'Raksha Bandhan' another brother-sister festival being celebrated today.
The celebrations vary in different regions:
In South India, Naraka Chaturdashi is the main day.
The main festival in North India is on Amavasya evening with Lakshmi Puja which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house.
Three of the Kathas (stories) of Diwali show the triumph of Good over Evil, and tell of the destruction of two monsters that preyed on humanity.
The killing of Narakaasura: - Narakasura was the evil king of Pragjyotishpur, near Nepal. He ruled with a reign of terror, abducted 16,000 daughters of the deva, and stole the earrings of Aditi, mother of the devas. The devas asked Lord Krishna for help, and after a mighty battle He killed the demon, freed the girls, and recovered the earrings. The rescue of the 16,000 girls is the origin of the story that Shree Krishna had 16,000 wives. After His victory Lord Krishna returned very early in the morning and was bathed and massaged with scented oils. Taking an early morning bath with oil is still a Diwali tradition. To read the full katha of the killing of Narakaasura plz do go onto his link (plz copy and paste the link).
The killing of the demon Ravana: - Ravana, who had ten arms and ten heads, was the wicked king of the island of Shree Lanka, who kidnapped the wife of Shree Raam. Shree Raam had been in exile for 14 years because of a disagreement as to whether He or His brother should be the next king in Ayodhya. After a great battle Shree Raam killed Ravana demon and recovered Mother Sita. Shree Raam's return with Mother Sita to Ayodhya and His subsequent coronation as king is celebrated at Diwali. When Shree Raam and Mother Sita first returned to Ayodhya it was a dark moonless night and they couldn't see where they were going. Their people put little lamps outside their houses so that the new king and queen could find Their way, thus beginning the tradition of the festival of lights.
The Katha of Bali Maharaj: - In the Srimad Bhagavatam 8th canto chapters 15-23 narrates the katha of Bali Maharaj and Lord Vamanadeva…. You can view/read the entire katha on Lord Vamanadev in detail on this link http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto8/c8-contents.html. But FYI we shall briefly narrate the story…Bali Maharaj was born in a demon family and due to his penance he ruled over material creation including Mother Lakshmi. In the absence of Lakshmi Mata the world was deprived of their basic needs and suffered immensely. The devas approached Lord Vishnu who didn’t need much coaxing to incarnate to save the world… the Lord incarnated as the son of Aditi-devi and the great sage Kashyapa Muni. Then the Lord known as Vamana (dwarf) deva approached Bali maharaja for three steps of land which Bali Maharaja immediately agreed despite being asked not to do so by his Guru. The Lord first step covered the entire surface of the world, and by extending His body He covered the entire sky. With His hands He covered all directions, and with His second footstep He covered the entire upper planetary system. Therefore there was no vacant place where He could take His third footstep. The Lord accepted Bali Maharaja’s defeat because he couldn’t deliver on his promise and was sent to planet Sutala. When this happened Mother Lakshmi and all the Devi’s and Deva’s were released and order restored. This happened on Diwali day.
How to observe this extremely auspicious day: - After you have taken a bath early in the morning and wearing clean clothes go to your prayer place and offer incense, lamp and flowers (all seven times in a clockwise around the picture of Shree Sita-Raam. After that all the food that has been prepared should be offered first to Shree Sita-Raam. Leave the unoffered food before Their Lordships to bless and after about 10 minutes remove from the prayer place and then that prashad (blessed food) is for all to eat. Many perform Lakshmi Puja on this day. If one likes to perform this puja plz visit out website and in the ARTILCES block under Vara Lakshmi Puja we have the full puja method explained. But most importantly enjoy these 5 days. These five days one should not consume any meat.
Yama-deepa-daan: - Dhanteras is also known as Yamadeepdaan and lamps are kept burning through the night in reverential adoration to Lord Yamaraj (the Lord Of Death) - and prayers offered to him to keep away death and despair. A very interesting Katha/story about this day is attached to the sixteen year old son of King Hima. As per his janma-kundali (birth horoscope) he was doomed to die by a snake-bite on the fourth day of his marriage. On that fateful 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 palatial room and lighted infinite numbers of lamps all over the place. After all these, she went on telling stories and singing songs so that her husband is not able to sleep. When Shree Yamaraj, arrived there appearing in form of a Serpent his eyes got 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 "Yama-deepa-daan" and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in remembering Lord Yamaraj, the presiding deity of Death. Thirteen lamps made of wheat flour or clay lamps and lit with oil are placed outside the house, facing southwards (the direction of Lord Yamaraja’s abode), in the evening. A lamp is never kept facing southwards except on this day. Then, reciting the following mantra one should offer obeisance: "I offer these thirteen lamps to the son (Lord Yama) of the Sun deity (Surya), so that He liberates me from the clutches of death and bestows His blessings upon me."
Finally I would like to express my humble views on the current Tamil-Hindi issues. I just don’t seem to understand the Hindi-Tamil issue that seems to be going for what seems an eternity. People we are living in 2009 and not in the 1900’s. Our ancestors seemed to be obsessed with the Tamil-Hindi issue. Statements like “I would never let my daughter marry that Tamil boy” or “My son will never marry that Roti girl” still seem to reverberate in Indian homes. I am so happy with Broken Promises the Movie and the Series by our very own South African born Kumaran Naidoo. (I highly recommend people to watch the DVD movie and the series currently on DSTV). Kumaran Naidoo has hit the perfect chord and deals with the Tamil-Hindi issues really brilliantly. By the “spiritual elders” fighting to see who gets more brownie points over each other for something like on which day to celebrate Diwali the “VULTURES” from the other religions (I wont bother to mention those religions) are evilly smiling and licking their lips because the so confused and frustrated Hindu will just be ripe for the taking after this Diwali. It’s such a shame that this is happening. And if, as Hindus we are not going to change our foolish and limited way of thinking then were are going to only see a Hindu in the very near future in a museum… Scary thought aren’t it… Well this is reality not fantasy any more.
A bit of controversy to end. Many will email us asking but we cannot take 5 days off from work. Yes we are aware of that. I cannot understand why this is such a big issue. You can choose any of the 5 days. Yes many will choose the 28th but we got to look at the bigger picture and that this is a time for joy and celebrations. We should be proud other religions have one main day we have 5 main days to celebrate Diwali. Wow its makes you feel great to be a Hindu now. ?
Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are trying to reach out not only to Hindus but to others of other faiths as well. By compiling and publishing these articles we hope that others will understand what a beautiful and diversified way of life Hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) really is. Please alert your friends and family of this website. You may pass these articles to friends and family who do not have access to the Internet or even print them and keep them in a file. These articles are published so that it will be a reference to you and your family when you need clarification of certain topics. Jai Shree Krishna.