You are here: SriPedia - RaamaBhakthi - Archives - Nov 2004

RaamaBhakthi List Archive: Message 00009 Nov 2004

Nov 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Dear Devotees,
Another Note to share, particularly with your children too.
Dasan,
Krishnaswamy M.K


DEEPAVALI

Deepavali is a festival which everyone enjoys. On that day we get up early
in the morning, bathe, wear new clothes and pray. We let off fireworks to
drive away evil. We greet friends and relatives and share with them a lot of
sweets. We decorate our houses with rows of lights.

Looks like a day of great celebration, isn't it? Yes, it is; for, the people
are celebrating a happy event which happened during the time of Lord
Krishna.

The modern State of Assam on the Eastern border of India was known as
Pragjyotisha in the olden days. In Sanskrit, Praak means light and Jyoti
means light. So, the name means the same as the Land of the Rising Sun; for,
the Sun rising in the east first sheds its Jyothi or Light on the land along
the Eastern border.

Once, the king of Pragjyothisha performed a severe tapas and obtained from
God a great power as his reward. But soon, he became very proud of his
strength, started to misuse this god-given power and oppress people
everywhere. He put in prison thousands of his people from different parts of
the country and even dishonored women. In this manner, he became a terror to
his people. He literally made the country a hell for them to live in and
therefore, they began to refer to him as Narakaasura, meaning the demon-king
of hell

In course of time, the people could not bear the sufferings any more. They
appealed to Lord Krishna to come, save them and punish the wicked
Narakasura. And Krishna who, as we all know, always comes to the rescue of
his devotees, decided to put an end to this evil king.

Krishna flew to Prag-jyotisha riding on His Garuda, the bird-king which is
the vehicle of Lord Vishnu; his wife Satyabhama also went with him. A great
fight ensued between Krishna and Narakasura. At last, Krishna slew the king
with his weapon known as Sudarshana Chakra. The people of the region all
rejoiced with great joy and thanked Lord Krishna for delivering them from
the evils of Narakasura. Some say that at the time of his death, the king
repented for his evil nature and obtained a boon from Krishna that his death
anniversary would be celebrated everywhere with joy by lighting lamps, since
he realized that the God had come to deliver him.

We celebrate this day every year as a day of deliverance from evil and call
it by its other name: Naraka-Chaturdasi; for, the day that the demon
Narakasura was killed was the day before the New Moon which is known as
Chaturdasi. To express of our gratitude to the Lord, we welcome him with
specially prepared sweets and decorate our houses with rows of brightly lit
lamps. For this reason, the day is also called Deepavali, which in Sanskrit
means "rows of light." Those who speak the Hindi language in North India
call it the Diwali.

For businessmen in many parts of India, Deepavali-day is also the start of
the new-year for their business accounting. They worship Goddess Lakshmi on
this day and seek her blessings for a prosperous new-year; for, this is the
day when the Lord Himself removed evil and made the country safe for the
people of the land. What better day to start an activity or a new year for
the old business than this auspicious day when Krishna had assured safety
and freedom to live our lives without fear from evil-doers?

The story of Narakasura tells us that the great power given to us by God
should not be misused to oppress others. One who becomes bad in this manner
becomes an Asura or demon, who will certainly be punished by God. Every
year, on Deepavali day, we remember with great faith that God is on the side
of good people like us everywhere and we celebrate with happiness the
destruction of Narakasura and all evil persons like him.

In the State of Kerala, Deepavali is celebrated as Mahabali-Deepa in honor
of the annual visit of the demon King Mahabali from the nether world. We may
recall the story of Vamana-avatara; Lord Vishnu appeared before King Bali as
a dwarf brahmin boy and begged for three steps of land. When it was granted,
he assumed his Vishwaroopa and measured in two steps the entire universe and
for the third, placed his noble feet on Bali's head, sending him to the
nether world. At that time, he granted Bali's request for an annual visit to
his country. The occasion of this visit is celebrated with welcoming lights
by the people of Kerala on Deepavali day.

In North India, many celebrate Diwali as the auspicious occasion of Lord Sri
Rama's coronation in Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana.

There are thus many reasons for the joyous celebration of the festival of
Deepavali. But one thing is common in its observance: it is celebrated as
the day of deliverance from evil forces and as a festival of light. Light
represents spiritual enlightenment and release from the bondage of ignorance
which is truly the demon which takes us to the darkness of Naraka, hell.
Whenever our mind is filled with the Light from God, we are delivered from
the darkness of false knowledge and ignorance into the bright kingdom of the
divine. We are reminded of this fact through the celebration of the festival
of lights, the Deepavali. The heroes of the day are the devotees of the Lord
who are assured of victory over the demon of darkness and ignorance. That is
why we recite at the end of every satsang the Asatho Maa sat gamaya slokam
and pray to the Lord to lead us from darkness to light:
tamaso' maa Jyothir Gamaya.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <RaamaBhakthi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <RaamaBhakthi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 11:42 PM
Subject: [RaamaBhakthi] Digest Number 167



> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 > From: Sadagopan <sgopan@xxxx>
> Subject: Fw: Saranagathi Happy DipAwaLi Celebrations !
>
> Dear all,
>
> Wish you all a very happy Deepawali.
> Thought I will share this note on the Deepawali festival.

> > DEEPAWALI
> > The festival of Lights
> >
> > Deepawali or Diwali means a row of lights. It is celebrated on the
> > New(No) Moon day of the month of Kartik (Nov. 12 for the year 2004).
> > Deepawali is actually a five day festival! It is connected with many
> > episodes from the Hindu holy books.
> >
> > Dhan Teras (Thrayodashi)
> > The Shopping day
> >
> > Two days prior to Deepawali is known as Dhan Teras. On this day a new
> > utensil is bought for the house. House is spotlessly cleaned, washed,
> > white washed. and decorated. The children are taken out to buy fire
works
> > (crackers), earthen diyas (lamps) and new clothes.
> >
> > Naraka Chaturdashi
> >
> > Lord Krishna killed a wicked demon by name Narakasura on the eve of
> > Deepawali. This day prior to Deepawali is called Naraka chaturdashi and
> > celebrated by lighting Fire crackers. This is the part children enjoy
the
> > most!
> >
> > Choti Diwali
> >
> > In some parts of India, the day prior to Diwali is celebrated as Choti
> > Diwali. This is to commemorate Hanuman coming to Ayodhya with the news
of
> > the arrival of Lord Rama & his party from Lanka.
> >
> > The Deepawali Day
> >
> > Deepawali day is believed to be the day on which Lord Rama, and his
party
> > returned to Ayodhya from Lanka. They are greeted by lighting hundreds
of
> > clay lamps. This gives the festival the name of Deepawali. Special puja
> > to Lakshmi are performed.
> >
> > On the main Diwali day, a morning bath is very essential. In Southern
> > India to bathe before Sunrise, after a good oil massage, is considered
> > very auspicious. Children finish this and start firing crackers in the
> > early dark minutes before the Sunrise.
> >
> > Goverdhan Puja
> > Anna Koot
> >
> > The day after Deepawali is celebrated as Goverdhana Puja. The sacred
hill
> > of Goverdhan, near Mathura and Kamadhenu (the cosmic cow) which are
> > connected with Lord Krishna are worshipped. Krishna lifted up the
> > Goverdhan mountain and held it like an umbrella, under which people and
> > animals took shelter from the relentless rain. Once the rain subdued,
the
> > people gathered around the hill and had a great feast (Anna Koot). This
> > festival is especially popular among the devotees of Srinath Ji (Bala
> > Krishna), as popularized by the 15th century CE philosopher, Sri
> > Vallabacharya (composer of Madhurashtakam). He founded Pushti
> > Marga(Pantha). There are about 30 million Hindus (mostly from Gujarat
and
> > Central India) belonging to this tradition.
> > In some other parts, this day is celebrated as Bali Padyami. On this
day
> > king Bali, who was humbled by Lord Vishnu as Vamana, pays a visit to
his
> > lost empire.
> >
> > Deepawali also is the New year day for the followers of Vikrama
calendar,
> > founded after the great king Vikramaditya.
> >
> > For Jains, Deepawali marks the day on which their founder Mahavira
> > attained Nirvana.
> >
> > Arya Samajis spend this day in memory of their founder guru Swami
> > Dayananda, who was killed on this day.
> >
> >
> > Deepawali is a great national festival in India. It is celebrated by
> > Hindus with extraordinary festivity. Houses are cleaned and painted.
> > People wear new clothes. Shops and offices are decorated with colored
> > lights. Businessmen close their old account books and open new ones.
> > People exchange gifts, cards and visit friends and relatives. Another
> > custom practiced on Deepawali day is the early Morning (5 am) oil bath.
> >
> > In short, you might as well call Deepawali as the Christmas of India,
> > because all communities participate at least in the secular aspects of
the
> > festival. It is also the July 4th, because of the fire works.
> >
> > WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY DEEPAWALI
________________________________________________________________________
> ________________________________________________________________________




[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
raamabhakthi-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list