ASIA SCENE: Festive rituals for peace, love and prosperity
These Diwali special lamps were lit to pray for love, peace and unity to prevail in Kenya. PHOTO| COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The tradition of gambling on the night of Diwali may be taken as part of merry making activity but is essentially a very subtle adherence to a sacred belief.
- On the domestic scene in households, a wife worships Goddess Lakshmi and adorns her husband’s forehead with a Red Tilak. She prays for his long and healthy life.
- Women purchase some gold or silver or at least one or two utensils to usher in prosperity.
Offering prayers to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, exchanging gifts, lighting lamps to ward off evil and welcome heavenly blessings for peace prosperity and merry making by bursting fire crackers and socialising is just one aspect of the festival of lights observed last Thursday by the Hindu faithful.
Diwali the festival marks the coronation of Lord Rama as King of Ayodhya on his return to the kingdom after fourteen years of exile and after defeating forces of evil. The festival is a unique observation.
The tradition of gambling on the night of Diwali may be taken as part of merry making activity but is essentially a very subtle adherence to a sacred belief. It is associated with a legend where the Goddess Parvathi played dice with her husband the Lord Shiva and decreed that whosoever gambles on the night of Diwali would prosper.
Diwali as we know is associated with wealth and prosperity in many more ways than gambling.
On the domestic scene in households, a wife worships Goddess Lakshmi and adorns her husband’s forehead with a Red Tilak. She prays for his long and healthy life. In appreciation the husband gives the wife a costly gift called “Gudi Padwa” which symbolises love and devotion between the couple.
In another ritual faithful take a special bath before sunrise with oil and Uptan- a paste of gram flour and fragrant powders to ward off evil.
Household entrance floors are made colourful with lovely traditional motifs drawn with powder colors to welcome Lakshami the heavenly forbearer of wealth.
Women purchase some gold or silver or at least one or two utensils to usher in prosperity.
A special prayer during this festivity is Govardan Pooja.
Here deities are given a milk bath and dressed in expensive ornaments. May the good always triumph over evil and peace, love, unity and prosperity showered over our land by heavenly powers.
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