WHAT IS DEEPA-AVALI
‘DEEPA’ means light or lamp, and ‘AVALI’ means a row, a line of range; hence the world DEEPA + AVALI means lamps in rows and a line. It is the Festival of Light.
Diwali comes from the word Deepavali and is to the victory of Good over Evil. The Good is Light, and the Evil is darkness. It is one of the most famous festivals in the Sananta Dharma, known as Hinduism – a term coined by the Westerners.
WHY WE CELEBRATE DIWALI
Some of the most well-known reasons we celebrate Diwali are:
1. Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating and killing Ravana, the Lanka king, who abducted his wife, Sita.
2. Lord Krishna killed a demon called Narakasura, which is why we call that night – the 14th night of Krishna Paksha as ‘Naraka Chaturdashi.’
3. Goddess Lakshmi came out of the milky ocean when Devas and Asuras churned the ocean from Amrutha.
4. Pandavas came out of the forest after their 13 years of banishment, which is the 12 years + 1 year of banishment, refer to Mahabharat.
5. Diwali also happens on the darkest night of the year. Most of the celebrations happen on a full moon but being a day of such success mentioned above, people placed rows of light to welcome the good over evil, as it has been listed above.
LESSONS WE LEARN
1. Lord Rama returned after suffering for 14 years.
2. Lord Krishna had to travel from Dwarika in Gujarat to Kamaroop in Assam to kill Narakasura.
3. Goddess Lakshmi does not come easily; you will have to churn the ocean through hard work.
4. Pandavas finished their 12 years + 1 year, and then they overcome, and they were very perseverant.
5. To achieve success in anything, you have to struggle hard, but the final victory will be yours.
OTHER COMMUNITIES
1. Jains also celebrate Diwali because one of the greatest Tirthankaras, Mahavira, attained Niravana on the same day.
2. Sikhs celebrate Diwali because the foundation of Harminder Sahib, which we know as Golden Temple, the foundation stone was laid in Amritsar by Guru Amardas.
3. The Arya Samaj followers consider it holy as Dayananda Saraswati attained Samadhi on this day.
A general meaning is that light symbolizes all good things in the world. Darkness stands for evils, fear, and death – so we always need light.