Diwali or Deepavali is one of the biggest festivals in India, and celebrated by
some of the major religions in the country, mainly Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism.
While each of the religions have their own reasons for celebration, what unites them
together is that Diwali, The Festival of Lights, signifies the victory of good over
evil. The day of Diwali celebration is on lunar Kartika month, about in October,
or November.
The word Deepavali in itself means a row of lamps. While in North India it is
called Diwali, in Southern India the original word Deepavali still remains.
Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration
of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness
(removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual,
to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).
Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman).
The six days of Diwali :-
§ Vasu Baras
§ Dhanatrayodasi or Dhan teras
§ Naraka Chaturdashi
§ Lakshmi Puja
§ Govardhan Puja
§ Bhaiduj
o According to Ramayana, diwali :-
Ø Celebrates return of Lord Ram, from 14-years of exile. This after destroying Ravana the demon king. Legend has that the people of Ayodhya lit up the city with earthen diyas and fireworks to celebrate the return of the king.
Ø Rural areas celebrate this as the Harvest festival. As Diwali occurs at the end of the cropping season, it a cause for more joy and celebration. The prosperity felt at the end of Harvesting season, is celebrated with pomp and show, and offered praises to God for granting another year of good crops.
Ø In the Adi Parva of Mahabhart, the Pandavas returned from the forest during Diwali. This added to the overall mood of Diwali as well over time.
Ø Diwali is the same day when Lord Krishna destroyed Narakasur. The news of this great victory traveled far and fast, and another reason was thus added for a bigger celebration.
Ø According to the Skanda Purana, the goddess Shakti 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 Lord Shiva. This vrata (austerity) is known as kedhara vrata. Deepavali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Shakti into the left half of the form and appeared as Ardhanarishvara. The ardent devotees observe this 21 days vrata by making a kalasha with 21 threads on it and 21 types of offerings for 35 days. The final day is celebrated as kedhara gauri vrata.
o Amoung follower of Jainism, Diwali can be called the Christmas of Jainism.
On this very day Lord Mahavira, the last of the Jain Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana
or Moksha(by some record on 15th October, 527 BCE).
According to tradition, the chief disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhara Gautam Swami also attained complete knowledge (Kevalgyana) on this day, thus making Diwali one of the most important Jain festivals.
o The significance of Diwali for Sikhs is the vicory of Sikh struggle for freedom.
The Mughal Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned Guru Hargobind and 52 other kings,
from the Gwalior Fort in 1619.
The Emperor was asked to release Guru Hargobind which he agreed to do. However, Guru Hargobind asked that the princes be released also. The Emperor agreed, but said only those who could hold onto his cloak tail would be allowed to leave the prison. This was in order to limit the number of prisoners who could leave.
However, Guru Hargobind had made a large cloak with 52 pieces of string and so each prince was able to hold onto one string and leave prison.
To celebrate this victory and his love for Sikhism, the townspeople lit the way,
to Harmandhir Sahib(or the Golden Temple), in his honor.
Sikhs celebrated the return of Guru Hargobind Ji by lighting the Golden Temple and this tradition continues today.
Notably in Bengal, Kali Puja is light-up night for Kolkata, corresponding to the festival of Diwali (pronounced Dipabali in Bengali), where people light candles in memory of the souls of departed ancestors. The Goddess Kali is worshipped at night on one night during this festival. This is also a night of fireworks, with local youth burning sparklers and crackers throughout the night. Kolkata had to pass legislature a few years back to ban fireworks which break the 65 decibel sound limit, as ambient noise levels were going up to 90 decibels or more in parts of the city.
