Celebrating Diwali the Festival of Lights
It is a period when little children hear ancient stories, legends, myths and battle between good and evil, light and darkness from their parents and elders
Diwali is one of the most joyful holidays for the Hindu, with significant preparations. People clean their homes and decorate them for the festivities. Diwali is one of the biggest shopping seasons for countries that celebrate Diwali; new clothing is purchased, gifts, appliances, and kitchen utensils, small to big-ticket items such as cars and gold jewellery. People also buy gifts for family members and friends, which usually includes sweets, dry fruits and seasonal specialities depending on customs.
It is also the period when little children hear ancient stories, legends, myths and battle between good and evil, light and darkness from their parents and elders. Young girls and women go shopping, and create rangoli and other creative patterns on floors, near doors and walkways. The youth and elderly help with lighting and the preparations for patakhe (fireworks).
Regional practices and rituals depend entirely on your region, prayers are offered before one or more deities, with most common being Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth and prosperity. On Diwali night, fireworks light up the skies. Later in the evening family members and invited friends celebrate the night over scrumptious foods and sweets in an atmosphere of delight.
Spiritual significance of Diwali
Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs to mark historical events and they all spiritually mark the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, hope over despair. In the Yoga, Vedanta, and Samkhya schools of Hindu philosophy, a central belief is that there is something beyond the physical body and mind, which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman.
The celebration of Diwali as the “victory of good over evil”, refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the awareness of the oneness of all things, and knowledge overcomes ignorance. Diwali is the celebration of this inner light over spiritual darkness, knowledge over ignorance, right over wrong, good over evil.
