Happy Diwali

Diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the important and widely spread holidays celebrated in India. It is a celebration of lights, and for many, it is truly a sensory experience; people decorate their houses with all sorts of lights and open up to the neighbors, sharing their love and their food. 

Those celebrating Diwali spend time with family and friends. They perform religious ceremonies to bring in wealth and prosperity for a new year, cook and eat delicious food, design rangolis, light up their lives by lighting diyas (small earthen lamps), candles and sometimes, by lighting fireworks.

Diwali for me:

Diwali for me is all about being positive and spreading the warmth, spending time with my family and doing my bit in adding to the significance of the festival. Diwali at home. Diwali with family. Diwali with those close to your heart, those who matter. There is a certain air of exclusivity about Diwali. Unlike other festivals like Holi, for instance, where one just bonds with one and all at a more democratic level, Diwali is about celebrating your clique and bonding with your family and ' close pals'.

Diwali in My culture (Jainism)

Diwali is a major Indian festival of the Hindus but Sikhs and Jains also celebrate the occasion according to their custom and religious beliefs. It is also one of the most keenly anticipated events in the Indian subcontinent. Business men together with business houses, regard it as a chance to improve their sales and augment profits, while individuals utilize the chance to rejoice life and fortify relationships. For children, it is an occasion to undergo the pleasures of growing up in the midst of fire crackers. Diwali takes place in the Hindu month of Ashwayuja, also referred to as Ashwin or Aippasi in accordance with the lunar calendar and coincides approximately with either October or November based on the progress of the sun and the moon and their comparative locations in space and time.

It is thought that the earliest scriptural mention of Diwali is present in the Jain scripture Harivamsha Purana, by Acharya Jinasena. None of the major Hindu scriptures state the festival specifically. This has given rise to the speculation that, Diwali was initially a Jain festival and afterwards embraced by Hindus as a festival of their own.

Nirvana

• Lord Mahavira, the final Jain Thirthankaras, is believed to have achieved Nirvana on this day at Pavapuri.
• According to Jain folklore, the first disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhar Gautam Swami, also achieved total knowledge on this very day. This makes Diwali a truly exceptional event for the Jains to commemorate.
  The manner in which Jains observe Diwali is different in several ways to the manner in which Diwali is celebrated by the Hindus. There is a suggestion of severity in what ever the Jains do and the festival of Diwali is no different in any way.
• The Jains observe Diwali during the month of Kartik for a period of three days. During this phase, committed Jains indulge in fasting and recite the Uttaradhyayan Sutra which has the last pravachans of Lord Mahavira and think upon him.

Diwali or Deepawali is the most significant festival in India. For the Jains, it is second in importance after the Paryusana Parva. For Jains Diwali commemorates the anniversary of Mahavir’s moksha. Mahavir achieved moksha on this day in 527 B.C. The Diwali celebration commences early in the morning of the preceding day, for it was at that time that Mahavira began his final discourse which continued till late in the night of Diwali. It is said that the eighteen kings of north India who were part of his audience concluded that the light of their master’s knowledge ought to be sustained symbolically by the lighting of the lamps. For this reason it is known as Dipawali since dipa means lamp, or Diwali.

On the day of the Niravana Kalyanaka of Lord Mahavir, the Jap or chanting of ‘Shri Mahavir Swami Sarvgnaya Namh’ is performed at night and at midnight the Jap of ‘Shri Mahavir Swami Parangataya Namh’ is performed by the people belonging to the Jain faith.

 

Diwali in the Modern World

A growing number of scholars and people debate the need and justification of using fire crackers to celebrate Diwali for a number of reasons. One is the amount of money that goes into flames every year in the name of celebrations towards the purchase of firecrackers . Secondly, many companies that are engaged in the manufacturing of these fire crackers said to employ child labor and hardly follow the safety rules or welfare measures. Thirdly, there is hardly any control on the quality of the fire crackers manufactured by these companies, which often results in injuries and deaths due to accidents or poor performance. Fourthly, it is not uncommon to see irresponsible youth in various parts of India using firecrackers to tease women and trouble helpless people in streets and public places. Fifthly, excessive use of fire crackers often lead to communal clashes and social tensions. It also exposes the children of poor families to a lot of despair and loss of self esteem when they see other children playing with them. Lastly the firecrackers are a source of pollution, although on the positive side people claim that the smoke and smell drive away the insects and clear the air. 

Some of the points mentioned above are worth examining because they are valid points and genuine concerns. For a moment if we can separate emotion and prejudice and take a closer look at this issue objectively, it makes sense to argue that by minimizing the money on firecrackers, or at least by avoiding the use of more dangerous, noisy and polluting ones, it is worth spending the amount so saved for some good cause that leads to some long term positive social or religious benefit to the community as a whole. For example, it may be a good idea to donate some money by every family during Diwali to some social or religious institution, which is engaged in some philanthropic activity or helping the poor Hindu brethren. 

Readers are requested to note that these observations are in reference to the use of all or certain fire crackers and not to the observation of Diwali as a festival. By all means Diwali is a festival of lights and deserves full scale ceremonial observation and celebration. The question is whether we should use fire crackers on this occasion on such massive scale and invite trouble to ourselves and our environment. 

The true celebration of Diwali is when we light a lamp in the life of some poor brethren or bring some cheer into the heart of an innocent child through our kindness and generosity. Goddess Lakshmi would be truly pleased if we share our wealth and happiness in some meaningful and selfless way, something that sets us apart from the nature of demons who try to use wealth like Bali for their own selfish and evil ends. Wealth is truly divine and remains in its purest divine aspect only when it is spent for a good cause that promotes the spiritual well beings oneself and others. 

Those who know the goddess well know that she is mighty pleased when her energies are in circulation for a right and just cause. In this modern world, let us therefore celebrate Diwali as an auspicious and God sent opportunity to bring cheer and happiness in a world oppressed by the darkness of egoism, greed, vanity and selfishness.

-- Pratik

Posted via email from Pratik's posterous