Diwali

 

An interesting festival in India is the festival of light which is called “Diwali”, it is considered one of the major festivals in India and Indians celebrate this festival starting at a varying date of November, always with a huge amount of enthusiasm. Diwali is celebrated over the course of 4 days.

Originally this festival was meant to celebrate a successful harvest, however, for others there are different legends and myths for this event. Some believe that it represents the marriage of Lakshmi with Vishnu, others believe that it is to honor the goddess Kali, another belief is that it is to celebrate the return of Rama after he left for 14 years to defeat the demon king Ravana. To celebrate this, the people of Ayodhya (capital of Rama) lit up the palace with lamps and lit firecrackers.

Each of the four days tell their own legend:

Day One

“Naraka Chaturdasi”: It marks the victory of Krishna and his wife Satyabhama over the demon Naraka.

Day Two

“Amayasya”: It marks the devotion to the Lakshmi goddess of riches, whom for the occasion grants the wishes of those that worship her. This day also tells of the victory of Vishnu that, in his dwarf form defeated the tyrant Bali and sent him to hell. Once a year Bali is allowed to walk the earth to light up millions of lamps to chase away darkness and ignorance, as well as spread love and wisdom.

Day Three

“Kartika Shudda Padyami” Bali leaves hell to come back to earth with the permission of Vishnu.

Day Four

 “Yama Dvitiya” On this day, sisters pray for their brother to have long healthy lives, while brothers offer gifts to their sisters.

Significance of the fireworks

The fireworks are believed to represent happiness, peace and wealth to the gods. According to beliefs the sound of fireworks and firecrackers tell the gods of the situation on earth. A rather funny fact regarding this festival is that, the smoke from the explosions kills large amounts of mosquitoes that appear right after the monsoon season.

Practical tip: If you wish to play with fire and join in to the fireworks display, you can purchase these at improvised shops on the side of the road.
Do not go into these shops with a cigarette, and remember that the later you go to buy these, the higher the discount will be, with nearly 80% discount before the end of the celebrations.

Ganesha Part 2

The broken tusk that Ganesha holds like a pen in his lower right hand is a symbol of sacrifice, which he broke for writing the Maharabhata. The rosary in his other hand suggests that the pursuit of knowledge should be continuous. The laddoo (sweet) he holds in his trunk indicates that one must discover the sweetness of the Atman. His fan-like ears convey that he is all ears to our petition. The snake that runs round his waist represents energy in all forms. And he is humble enough to ride the lowest of creatures, a mouse.

How Ganesha Got His Head

The story of the birth of this zoomorphic deity, as depicted in the Shiva Purana, goes like this: Once goddess Parvati, while bathing, created a boy out of the dirt of her body and assigned him the task of guarding the entrance to her bathroom. When Shiva, her husband returned, he was surprised to find a stranger denying him access, and struck off the boy's head in rage. Parvati broke down in utter grief and to soothe her, Shiva sent out his squad (gana) to fetch the head of any sleeping being who was facing the north. The company found a sleeping elephant and brought back its severed head, which was then attached to the body of the boy. Shiva restored its life and made him the leader (pati) of his troops. Hence his name 'Ganapati'. Shiva also bestowed a boon that people would worship him and invoke his name before undertaking any venture.

Ganesha

Hello again, it’s time for yet another article here on TBGTTH, and today is going to be a little more educational. Yes I know, you already need to remember enough stuff at school and all, but this might help you understand certain things about India. Like “Why are there people outside yelling and dancing?” or “Why does that statue have the head of an elephant?”

A big part of Indian culture is their deities and the festivals surrounding these Gods. Today, I’m going to talk about Ganesha, the elephant-headed Deity. The problem with talking about this sort of thing is that there is a lot to say, since each God in Hinduism has multiple roles and various stories associated to them. This means that this article will be made up of multiple parts. Each week I’ll upload more info on the God, and my brother is taking care of explaining the festivals of Ganesha.

The Lord of Success

The son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshiped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. In fact, Ganesha is one of the five prime Hindu deities (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Durga being the other four) whose idolatry is glorified as the panchayatana puja.

Significance of the Ganesha Form

Ganesha's head symbolizes the Atman or the soul, which is the ultimate supreme reality of human existence, and his human body signifies Maya or the earthly existence of human beings. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. In his upper right hand Ganesha holds a goad, which helps him propel mankind forward on the eternal path and remove obstacles from the way. The noose in Ganesha's left hand is a gentle implement to capture all difficulties.