Diwali-the Festival of Lights is the time when air speaks of goodness and prosperity and everyone cherishes the radiance of the joyous ambience. As we all know, the prime historical background of Diwali Celebrations is the victory of Lord Rama (the symbol of virtues) over the demon King Ravana (symbolic of vices). According to the epic 'Ramayana' ...It was after 14 long years when the people of Ayodhya were blessed to see their beloved Lord again in his kingdom. ...They expressed their joy by decorating the entire city and illuminating it with earthern lamps, to greet the return of divinity. That's why the festival was christened as Deepawali, meaning a series of earthern lamps shining bright to spread the light all over.
However, there are other associated facts as well related to Diwali, which too make this day truly auspicious-
- Goddess Lakshmi's manifestation- During the ocean-churning, the Goddess of wealth 'Lakshmi' incarnated on the new moon day of Kartik. That's why she is also worshipped on this day.
- Lord Vishnu rescued Goddess Lakshmi...
- Krishna killed demon Narakaasura...
- The return of the Pandavas...
- Coronation of Vikramaditya...
- The day of Goddess Kali...
- Special day for the Arya Samaj...
- ... for the Jains... Mahavira Tirthankara, considered to be the founder of Jainism, also attained his Nirvana on this day.
- ... for the Sikhs...
- The Pope's Diwali Speech...
... Not just this, since ages, on this festival we have been witnesing people-
1. Cleaning their houses and decorating them with lights and lightings
2. Burning fireworks to express the feeling of joy
3. Worshipping Goddess Mahalakshmi for prosperity
... What is the inherent message behind all these practices!! To grasp the inherent message behind them, to know the associated facts regarding Diwali in detail... Read the complete article in Nov'15 edition of Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine...
