Festival of Lights - 7

                                                         Diwaali - The Festival of Lights

Fire crackers lighting up the night sky

Diwaali or Deepaavali is popularly known as the festival of lights. It is an important five-day festival in the Hindu religion. It is celebrated with great excitement and enthusiasm. It generally falls between mid-October and mid-November according to the lunar calendar followed by the people. It is the biggest,grandest and the last festival in the Hindu calendar.

For most of the Hindus, this is one of the big festivals and the day when they want to be with their families and perform the prayers together in their homes. It is a festival for joyous celebration of fireworks, of lighting of diyas or clay lamps and colourful lanterns outside the houses, of sharing sweets and snacks and of bonding with family and friends. The preparations for this festival starts weeks in advance with shopping sprees, huge discounts in the shopping malls to attract the crowds, families buying fireworks for their children who are excited with the thoughts of burning them, shops selling special sweets and savouries and for some people it means making the sweets and savouries at home to be enjoyed by their loved ones.


The whole country resembles a fairyland -- twinkling with numerous diyas and lanterns and colourful lights in all homes, shops and buildings.

Deeyas 

 The name Diwaali is itself a shortened word of  Deepaavali which translates into row of lamps (in Sanskrit).Diwaali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (deeyaa) (or Deep in Sanskrit) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.

               

                                       
To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is knowledge. Therefore, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction through knowledge of all negative forces- violence, anger, envy, greed, injustice, oppression and suffering, etc.

Colourful paper lanterns  
                                

So people celebrate by lighting a row of clay lamps called 'deeyaa' or hanging colourful paper lanterns lit up outside their house, pray in the temples, wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. Children have a nice time bursting fire crackers. Some Indian business communities begin the financial year on the first day of Diwali.





Deepaavali marks the return of Lord Raam to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating (the demon king) Raavan, the ruler of Lanka, in the epic Raamaayan. At that time,the people of Ayodhya welcomed him with deeyaas and flowers and there was much happiness in the kingdom to see him again. 

Fire crackers 

While Deepaavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light". Diwaali is the celebration of this inner light which removes ignorance or darkness.This  inner light brings in compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). And ..ultimately this brings Aanand (bliss and  peace).