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Tagore has
elucidated the true significance of Deepavali in these beautiful lines:
The night is
black
Kindle the
lamp of Love
With thy life
and devotion….
If there is
one season, which is full of joy and jubilation for everyone – the young,
the old, rich poor, men and women – for the entire Indian community, it
is the festival of Lights, Deepawali. ‘Tis the season to be jolly and gay
(!) the festival of Deepawali holds a great significance to Hindus not
only in India but to the Indian community throughout the world. ‘Tis the
time of the year when we come together as a family and spend time with
one another. This is festival where people from all age groups participate
in the festivities to give expressions to their happiness.
The literal
meaning of Deepawali is “Array of lamps”. The light symbolizes the victory
of righteousness and lifting of the spiritual darkness. This festival commemorates
Lord Rama’s return to his kingdom, Ayodhya after his 14-year exile having
banished the demon king Ravana. The city of Ayodhya was lit up with lamps
and Lord Rama was welcomed amidst fireworks, pomp and splendor.
Another view
is that Deepawali is celebrated as a victory of Lord Krishna over the demon
king Narakasura. Lord Krishna killed the demon, rescued the imprisoned
damsels and also recovered Mother Goddess, Aditi’s earrings. Lord Krishna
returned home the next day and the womenfolk massaged his body with oil
and gave him a body bath (Ahem!) to wash the filth away. Since then this
custom of taking oil bath before sunrise has become a tradition.
Deepawali signifies
different things to Hindus across the country. In North India it celebrates
Rama’s homecoming to Ayodhya, In Gujrat it honors Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.
In Bengal, the festival is celebrated as Kali Puja. Basically, it insinuates
the triumph of good over evil. That is the essence of Deepawali.
- To
the Jains, Deepawali has an added significance because it is the day that
Mahaveera attained the eternal bliss of Nirvana.
- Swami
Dayanand Saraswati, the father of modern Hindu Renaissance passed into
eternity on this day.
- Swami Ramatirtha, who was instrumental in spreading the message of Hinduism to
the western world, took samadhi on this day.
Deepawali is
a time for fun and revelry. Deepawali is a time for tradition and celebration.
Deepawali is also a time to take a moment and immortalize the sacred memories
of our Gods and great men who lived to brighten our lives and made this
world a better place for us to live in. That is the essence of Deepawali.
Click
here for mouth watering Deepavali recipes.
Click
here if you would like to Contribute.
Click
here if you would like to send
Feedback.
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