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Diwali With Sumit

Adam Hunter 10/26/22 3:41 PM

Here at Qualzy, we love to celebrate things that are important to our team. After taking Monday to enjoy Diwali, Sumit has shared with us a personal insight into the festival's history and his family's celebrations.

Deepavali - The "Festival of Lights", also more popularly known as Diwali, has all the charm and grandeur that can illuminate our minds and hearts while also promoting the much needed peace, harmony and brotherhood in the society. It is a festival that unifies every religion, home and heart. It's a festival that illuminates the earth as well as the skies. On this day, the whole of India transcends into a land of myriad lamps. Diwali's essence lies in the Shanthi Mantra (from The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad which is one of the primary Upanishads in Hinduism) - 'तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय (Tamaso ma Jyotirgamaya)' which means "Lead me from darkness to light." Similarly, we have to light the lamp of happiness, the lamp of prosperity and the lamp of knowledge to dispel sorrow, poverty as well as disease. The festival of Diwali reminds each one of us to understand that life is much more than a mere journey and it s a continuous quest for truth and knowledge.


Diwali is a unique festival in India, as almost every religion has reasons to celebrate it. For e.g. - The Hindus celebrate Diwali because on this day, God Ram returned to his home in Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and people of Ayodhya welcomed him by decorating their homes with lights and diyas. During the exile, he had also defeated the daemon named Raavan to free the world from evil powers and also to bring back his wife Goddess Sita, who was abducted by the latter. The Sikhs celebrate Diwali as "Bandi Chhorh Divas (Prisoner Release Day)" and it is the celebration of the sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Sahib, being released from Gwalior Prison in India along with 52 princes in 1619. However, the festival of Diwali has a deep spiritual meaning and in a way, it is the celebration of the awakening and awareness of the inner light, which has the power to outshine darkness and clear all obstacles in life. As per the Vedanta, every devout Hindu has to fill his heart with the oil of love, light the wick with the knowledge of truth and ward off ignorance. Deepavali literally means a row or an array of lights. It is a celebration of light despite being the darkest night of the darkest period. As every festival in India, even the festival of Diwali has its own inner significance than mere lighting diyas, wearing new clothes, exchanging sweets and bursting crackers.

Sweet boxes are generously exchanged among friends and relatives, in a way contributing towards harmonious co-existence. We tend to deep clean our house and light it up with fairy lights. On the day of Diwali, we dress up in ethnic wear, greet each other with sweets, make Rangoli (designs made on the floor with powdered colour) and decorate the house with lights. In the evening, the entire family gathers for the Diwali prayer (Lakshmi Pooja). After the prayer, the young members of the family take blessings from their elders and then proceed to burst crackers and have some fun. Diwali brings packed with it a lot of fun and prosperity.

Let the "Lights of Happiness" spread across the globe.

 

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