'Festival of Lights' or Diwali is a festival of charisma and splendor. Diwali has been given the traditional name of 'festival of lights' because of the hundreds and thousands of small oil lamps or diyas lighted by many hearths, and many hearts.
The burning of these diyas are considered to be the lighted pathway of a person's expression of happiness and also a manner of paying obeisance to God, the Supreme power for attainment of health, prosperity, knowledge, financial security and peace in one's life.'
The festival of lights' is celebrated with much enthusiasm and zeal in all of north India. In fact the festival of Diwali is regarded to bring the supernatural joy and brightness in a person's life with the hope of discovering light amidst darkness, achieving knowledge in place of ignorance and spreading of love amidst hatred and violence.
The tradition of lighting the diyas on Diwali holds much importance as in Hindu mythology light signifies goodness and vitality. The idea behind the lighting of diyas and candles on the festival of lights comes from a number of stories as mentioned in the Hindu mythology. The most famous of these stories is the story revolving around Lord Ram and his family. Diwali celebrates the homecoming of Lord Ram, who according to a legend came home to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana and spending fourteen years in exile. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. Like in Gujarat, the festival is celebrated to honor goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and in Bengal, it is related to the goddess Kali.
Though, everywhere, it is finally celebrated with the same sprit and signifies the renewal of life.
A Very Happy Diwali to all of you. May the Light always lead us on……..and this Diwali, let us remember to ensure that the light in our heart is always alive.
M Kalipurayath
October 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment