WUNRN
Diwali Hindu Festival
of Lights
Diwali
2009 is on Saturday, the 17th of October.
The
Tradition of Lights
The
Diwali illuminations with lighted diyas bring the supernatural brightness and
joy with the hope of finding light in darkness, achieving knowledge where there
is ignorance, and spreading love amidst hatred. Diwali is also known as the Festival
of Lights. Light is significant in Hinduism because it signifies
goodness. So, during the Festival of Lights, 'deeps', or oil lamps, are burned
throughout the day and into the night to ward off darkness and evil.
Diwali
Traditions & Customs
Deepavali,
the literal meaning of which in Sanskrit is 'a row of lamps.' Filling little
clay lamps with oil and wick and lighting them in rows all over the house is a
tradition that is popular in most regions of the country. Even today in this
modern world it projects the rich and glorious past of our country and teaches
us to uphold the true values of life. It is associated with many customs and
traditions. One of the most curious customs, which characterizes this festival
of Diwali, is the indulgence of gambling, especially on a large scale in North
India.
The first day of five day long Diwali celebrations is of great
importance to the rich community of western India. Houses and business premises
are renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colorful with lovely
traditional motifs of Rangoli designs to welcome Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth
and prosperity. To indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints are
drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses. Lamps are kept
burning all through the night. Believing this day to be auspicious women
purchase some gold or silver or at least one or two new utensils.
Lakshmi-Puja is performed in the evenings when tiny diyas of
clay are lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits, devotional songs-
in praise of Goddess Laxmi are sung and Naivedya of traditional sweets is
offered to the Goddess. There is a peculiar custom in Maharashtra to lightly
pound dry coriander seeds with jaggery and offer as Naivedya In villages cattle
are adorned and worshiped by farmers as they form the main source of their
income. In south cows are offered special veneration as they are supposed to be
the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and therefore they are adorned and worshiped
on this day .
On second day there is a traditional practice specially in
Maharashtra of taking bath before sunrise with oil and "Uptan"
(paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders. In northern India, especially in
places like Punjab, Diwali is dedicated to the worship of Lord Rama. While in
Bengal, Kali/Durga, the goddess of strength, is worshiped. Diwali is one of the
few Hindu festivals, which is celebrated in every part of the country, even in
states like Kerala that has Onam as its main festival. To the Jains, Deepavali
has an added significance to the great event of Mahaveera attaining the Eternal
Bliss of Nirvaana.
Govardhan-Puja is also performed in the North on the fourth
day. This day is also observed as Annakoot meaning 'mountain of food'. In
temples especially in Mathura and Nathadwara, the deities are given milk bath
and dressed in shining attires with ornaments of dazzling diamonds, pearls,
rubies and other precious stones. After the prayers and traditional worship
innumerable varieties of delicious sweets are offered to the deities as
"Bhog" and then the devotees approach and take Prasad.
Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped in every Hindu household. In many
Hindu homes it is a custom for the wife to put the red tilak on the forehead of
her husband, garland him and do his "Aarti" with a prayer for his
long life. In appreciation of all the tender care that the wife showers on him,
the husband gives her a costly gift. This Gudi Padwa is symbolic of love and
devotion between the wife and husband. On this day newly married daughters with
their husbands are invited for special meals and given presents. Diwali
celebration is a very happy occasion for all..
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DIWALI, A THERAPY FOR TRAUMATISED
WOMEN INDIA-ORISSA WOMEN
Jajati
Karan
CNN-IBN
Khurda: Diwali is not just a celebration for over a hundred women and girls in Bhubaneswar, who have lived through severe trauma, but it is also a therapy to recover from their trauma.
THERAPY AMID CELEBRATION:
Diwali celebrations help these girls and women in curing their pain and
reuniting with their families.
Twenty-eight-year old Abhagini is celebrating
Diwali for the first time in five years. Originally from Bolangir district of
Orissa, Abhagini was sold off in Agra after a middleman promised her parents of
getting her a job.
Since then Abhagini has been physically and
sexually assaulted several times that has affected her mental faculties. But
since she was brought to ‘Mission Ashra' a shelter home last year, she is
seeing the brighter side of life. She is lighting diyas after a long time.
“On Diwali I am remembering my parents a lot. I
wish I could go back to my house and celebrate Diwali with them,” says
Abhagini.
Bursting cracker, lighting diyas, making rangolis,
playing music and dancing to the tune of Diwali – for these 135 odd women and
their children at Mission Ashra, Diwali is an occasion that brings in a ray of
hope that over shadows their traumatic past for some time; often acting as
therapy for them.
“Most of the women who come here do remember their past. During celebrations like Diwali many of them remember how they used to celebrate such festivals at their home. This helps us in curing them and reuniting them with their families,” says Director Mission Ashra Gobind Pattanik.
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