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Deepavali – The festival of lights

Man has celebrated his joy and expressed his grief in one or the other way throughout the history. Indeed the ability to communicate his feelings in verbal form and articulate his gestures to convey the message to his fellow beings distinguishes the mankind from being an animal in spite of the phylogenetic lineage.

Life has changed with the ever changing time but especially Man’s life has changed immensely beyond imagination. Though the other species still dwell in their habitat and lead their life as they used to be millions of years ago during the early phase of evolution, man’s life is not the same anymore. He went through the Stone Age from being a caveman and now enjoys the privilege of modern sovereign.

During the course of evolution man learned many things but the most important among all those was language- the way to express inner feelings and communicate with each other. Language indeed led to information gathering (past was history and future was mystery) and thus started traditions, customs, faith and culture. Different clans, different tribes, different ethnicities lead to diverse practices. Most of the people were theists who strongly believe in God but some were atheists who do not believe in God. Theists always associated God with good and bad with evil or demons. It is a universal belief that good triumphs over bad no matter how intense the fight may be. Deepavali or Deewali is one such festival in India to mark the triumph of good over evil.

The festival is celebrated by lighting lamps which represent the good to dispel the darkness which represents the bad. Many mythological beliefs are associated with this festival but finally the message is one - good alone prevails. Good and bad may be relative for people from diverse backgrounds viz. marrying in the same gotra (siblings by lineage) may be sin for some communities but may not be for some who do not believe in the system. Eating habits may be restricted by the community but may not be for some. Nevertheless the universal ethics of good and evil are same throughout the world. Humanity, peace, multiculturalism, pluralistic, socialist, secular democratic principles are respected world wide and considered to be good by majority of the people. Thus following and maintaining these virtues will be the best way to celebrate the festival of lights.

“Raat taro bhari na mile to, dil ka Deepak jalana padega”

When the stars are not in the sky to dispel the darkness of life enlighten the lamp of your heart.

Comments

  1. Wishing you and your beloved family happy deepavali Sir!!!!Enjoy your Deepavali in the stranger's world.

    ReplyDelete

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