Wishesh December Magazine 2015

Cover Story
58
Significance of Diwali for
Sikhs marks as the Bandi
Chhor Divas. On this day,
sixth guru of Sikhs “Guru Har
Gobind” freed himself and
some Hindu Rajahs, from the
Gwalior Fort, from the prison
of the Mughal emperor,
Jahangir, and arrived at the
Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Ever since, Sikhs celebrate
Bandi Choorh Divas, with the
annual lighting up of Golden
Temple, fireworks and other
festivities. In the Punjab, a
quote famous for this festival
prevailing is ”Daal Roti Ghar
di, Diwali Amrtisar di”.
In West Bengal, this festival
is celebrated as "Kali Puja",
and Kali, Shiva's associate, is
worshipped during Diwali.
Diwali also commemorates
Lord Krishna's victory over
the demon Narakaasura who
had kidnapped and terrorized
the gopis of Vrindavan. When
the evil Naraka was finally
killed by Lord Krishna and
Satyabhaama, he begged
pitifully for mercy. The day
of his death was celebrated
with great joy and festivity. It
is also celebrated as the day
Lord Vishnu married Maha
Lakshmi.
Diwali is a 5 day festival in
India. Dhanteras starts off
the five day festival. On this
day people buy gold or silver
in respect of Lord Laxmi.
Narak Chaturdasi is the
second day of festivities, and
is also called Choti Diwali,
followed by minor pujas.
The third day is the main
festive day. People wear new
clothes or their best outfits
as the evening approaches.
Then diyas are lit, pujas
are offered to Lakshmi, or
to more deities depending
on the region; typically
Ganesha, Saraswati, and
Kubera. The day after Diwali,
is celebrated as Padwa. This
day ritually celebrates the
love and mutual devotion
between the wife and
husband. In many regions,
newly married daughters with
their husbands are invited
for special meals. The last
day of the festival is called
Bhai dooj, where it is the
major day of the festival. It
celebrates the sister-brother
loving relationship, in a spirit
similar to Raksha Bandhan
but with different rituals.
The day ritually emphasizes
the love and lifelong bond
between siblings.
Diwali is the common festival,
which is celebrated all over
the India by everyone.
It is celebrated with full
enjoyment and spirituality.
Diwali is the new beginning
and a time for the real
contribution in our life. That
is the contributions to society
and the poor, our strengths
and weaknesses and making
plans for a new beginning
and a fresh start. Before
Diwali, people spend a lot of
time in cleaning their homes
and their environment. They
buy new clothes, utensils,
jewelry, decorative items, etc.
for their house to make their
homes and surroundings
more attractive. But what
is the actual significance
of cleaning and dusting of
houses? What about our
hearts? When is the last time
we swept out our hearts?
When did we last clear
them of all the dirt that has
accumulated throughout our
lives?
That is the real significance
WWW.WISHESH.COM | DECEMBER 2015