Tomorrow will be the celebration of “Diwali” or “Deepavali”, which means “a row of light”. Divali has gained wide acceptance in our multicultural, multireligious and multiracial nation. Unfortunately, apart from a perfunctory and stereotypical “good over evil” motif, even many Hindus do not appreciate the significance of the event commemorated.
The Hindu calendar is punctuated by “Parvas” – pronounced “Parbs” by our Bhojpuri ancestors – which means “part”. It is translated into English as “festivals” but as with all concepts, there are aspects that may be lost or added in translation. Hindu Parbs emphasize that events commemorated should help integrate individuals into the social institutions they are part of – family, community, nation, etc – by stressing particular moral values that should be inculcated into their lives. Hindu festivals are thus always concerned with transmitting moral behavioral rules. The celebratory aspects are secondary and are only meant to highlight the victory of morality over immorality.
Hindus have four goals of life – one of them being “Dharma”, which is to live a righteous life even as they pursue pleasures (“Kama”), economic and social success (“Artha”) so that they can finally achieve liberation (“Moksha”) from the cycle of life and death (samsara). The Parbs are reminders of the need to live in accordance with Dharma.
Divali is one of the most ancient and sacred of the Hindu Parbs and arose out of their early lived experience of lengthening darkness at this time of the year. This seemingly threatened to permanently dispel the sun’s lifegiving rays and they mimetically acted to reverse the threat by burning lights and offering prayers during the darkest night of the year. This use of light to dispel encroaching darkness was later used metaphorically to convey the message that when evil increases, (symbolized by the increasing darkness) it must be confronted by the forces of righteousness (light) if the implicate order of in all creation (Dharma) is to prevail. This use of narratives to convey lessons of life to generally illiterate members of society through symbolic language has become characteristic of Hindu pedagogy.
Over the millennia, several narratives have become attached to Divali because they occurred at this propitious time. One of them is the Samudra Mantan – the great churning of an Ocean of Milk (Kshirsagar) by the Devas to regain their powers through the Amrit or nectar that would be produced. It is important to remember that this churning was performed by all of the celestial beings coming together – even those who opposed the Devas. During the churning, several wonderous creations were manifested in addition to the Amrit. Among them was Mother Lakshmi, who represents fortune, prosperity, wealth, good luck, success, accomplishment, beauty, grace, etc. In a word, all that our worldly desires. Hindu Dharma covers actions in all aspects of life so that Mother Lakshmi’s light can emanate from churning of our own minds to do what is right by our own Dharma (Svadharma) to dispel whatever darkness that envelopes us in the here and now. By our own actions, we achieve.
On Divali night, every Hindu would have cleansed their home and performed worship (puja) with their front door open to welcome Mother Lakshmi. They would churn their minds over specific challenges they, the community, and the nation confront and vow to play their part in addressing those challenges in a Dharmic manner. The universal ground for Hindus is Dharma – there is the dharma of all man (Manav dharma), the rulers (Raj dharma) individuals (Sva Dharma and for each position one occupies – father, mother, child etc. citizen. And what is Dharma?? That which sustains, that which upholds whatever institution we are talking about – our family, community or country.
Over the millennia several other auspicious occasions have become linked with Divali and also commemorated. The most noteworthy for Guyanese Hindus, the overwhelming majority who originated in North India, is the return of Sri Ram to his home on Divali night. He was the SEVENTH incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu whose consort is Lakshmi, and who always incarnates with him – then, as Mother Sita
The significance of His nexus with Divali should be obvious. When his consort was kidnapped, his Dharma led him not to wring his hand and moan, but to assemble an army, confront his enemy and cut his ten heads off.
