Known as the festival of lights, people light deyas, or small clay pots with oil and a small wick, to symbolize the triumph of good over evil.
Diwali is celebrated for six days and is based on the lunar calendar (first new moon after the Harvest Moon).
The day Diwali begins, people generally wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks. Paper lanterns are lit, fireworks explode, and people take time out for a special pooja (prayer).
To say that fireworks explode is an understatement -- I've never seen nor heard so many firecrackers in my life. On Saturday night we watched the fireworks from our Yercaud hotel -- wonderful vantage point looking down at the city of Salem -- we saw hundreds of fireworks going off for several hours. Tonight, I'm watching them from my penthouse view point in Bangalore -- can see 7 different firework shows -- plus watching people light off sparklers and other firecrackers down in the courtyard.
Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains. Here is some background on the meaning to the Hindu holiday:
Central to the Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (inner joy or peace).
No comments:
Post a Comment