DIPAVALI
तमसो मा ज्योतिर् गमय
From the Darkness of
Ignorance towards the Light of Spiritual Knowledge
Dipavali, a Sanskrit fusion word from dīpa (दीप, "light" or "lamp") and āvalī (आवली, "series, line, row”), means a "series of
lights." It is also a festival of lights: Deepotsava (दीपोत्सव).
It is the celebration of the victory of the inner light of
‘Atma’ over spiritual darkness, knowledge
over ignorance, right over wrong, good over evil; a celebration of the awareness
of the oneness of all things, an awakening of compassion and tolerance.
In ancient times Dipavali perhaps marked
the summer harvest in the Hindu calendar month of Kartika.
But later many legends became associated with it. The best known is the one
about Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya after vanquishing demon king Ravana. It
was on the darkest of all nights, “Amavsya,” and to celebrate their return and
to illuminate their path, villagers lit Diyas.
But ten other mythical/historical events happened on the Dipavali Day:
1. Goddess
Lakshmi. The Goddess of
wealth, incarnated on Dipavali from the churning of
cosmic ocean of milk (samudra-manthan) by the gods and the
demons; also the day Lakshmi chose Vishnu as her husband and they were married.
2. Vishnu
Rescued Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu, in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara, rescued Lakshmi
from the prison of King Bali.
3. Krishna
Killed Narakaasur. On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed
the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity.
4. The Return
of the Pandavas. People loved the Pandavas and celebrated their return from exile by
lighting diyas.
5. Coronation
of Vikramaditya. One of the greatest Hindu Kings, Vikramaditya, was coroneted.
6. Yama and Nachiketa. Yama, the
Lord of Death, taught Nachiketa Self-knowledge,
the separation of soul (the supreme Self) from the body.
7. Special
Day for the Buddhist. Emperor Asoka converted to Buddhism.
8. Special
Day for the Arya Samaj. Maharshi Dayananda, one of the
greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Semaj, attained nirvana.
9. Special
Day for the Jains. Mahavir Tirthankar, the founder of modern Jainism, attained nirvana.
10. Special
Day for the Sikhs. The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Dipavali as the day when
all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. Foundation stone of the
Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Dipavali in 1577. In 1619, the sixth Sikh
Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was released from
the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.
Dipavali is 2-3000 years old festival. Lord Yama and Nachiketa’s
story is in the Katha Upanishad composed in 1st millennium BCE. Dipavali
is mentioned in the Padma Purana
and the Skanda Purana the Sanskrit scriptures that were completed
in second half of 1st millennium AD but are believed to have been expanded from
a core text from an earlier era. King Harsha in the 7th century
Sanskrit play Nagananda mentions Deepavali as Deepapratipadutsava, where
lamps were lit and newly engaged brides and grooms were given gifts. Rajasekhara referred
to Deepavali as Dipamalika in his 9th century Kavyamimamsa, wherein he
mentions the tradition of homes being whitewashed and oil lamps decorating
homes, streets and markets in the night. The
Persian traveller and historian Al Biruni,
in his 11th century memoir on India, wrote that Deepavali was celebrated by
Hindus on New Moon day of the month of Kartika.
Let the Dipavali be a festival of spiritual enlightenment,
and awakening of compassion and tolerance.
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