‘Deep’ is the ‘light’ and vali is the ‘rows’, thus the “rows of light or the festival of light” is known as Deepavali or Diwali which spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. This is perhaps the most well-known of the Indian festivals. It is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the diaspora. It usually takes place eighteen days after Dusshera.
“Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya”- (Remove Darkness & Bring lightness everywhere).
It is colloquially known as the “festival of lights”, for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls.
The Five Auspicious Day and its Significant History:
The first day of Diwali: Dhanteras
The first day of Diwali is called Dhanvantari Triodasi also called Dhan Theras. On this day, Lord Dhanwantari the “God of Health”, came out of the ocean with Ayurveda for mankind. So Dhanvantari pooja is done on this day. This day marks the beginning of deepavali celebrations.
The second day of Diwali: Choti Diwali
The second day of dipavali is called Narak Chaturdasi. On this day Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear. On this day, one should massage the body with oil to relieve it of tiredness, bathe and rest so that Diwali can be celebrated with vigour and devotion.
The third day of Diwali: Lakshmi Puja on Diwali
This is the day when worship unto Mother Lakshmi is performed. Hindus cleanse themselves and join with their families and their Pandit (priest) and they worship the divine Goddess Lakshmi to achieve the blessings of wealth and prosperity, the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.
The fourth day of Diwali: Padwa & Govardhan Puja
On this day, Govardhan Pooja is performed. Many thousands of years ago, Lord Krishna caused the people of Vraja to perform Govardhan Pooja. From then on, every year Hindus worship Govardhan to honour that first Pooja of Go(Cow). Cow is considered as sacred and also the milk, ghee(butter) obtained known to be medicinally rich properties.
The fifth day of Diwali: Bhai Duj
The fifth day of the Diwali is called Bhai teeka. It is a day dedicated to sisters. Brothers visit their sisters on this day to enquire of their welfare. This builds the stronger bond of relationship between the brother and sister.
Ayurveda Says:
As the lamp ignite the fire with the help of the oil and spread the light everywhere in same way we have the ‘Agni’ known as the digestive fire which should be always kindle for being in Healthy state. So Acharya charak an ancient Ayurveda author says that Proper “Agni’ is the health of an individual. In our fast, workaholic lives, we often forget to clean our body and senses. Our minds too are perpetually over-stimulated with stress, worries and negative thoughts. With the body, mind and senses unclean, we are unable to realize our inner light. That’s why, even though many of us are trying to find the peace by mediating or chanting mantras, we still do not feel that joy in our lives.
This Diwali, let’s not only clean, decorate and light our houses, but learn this simple method of cleansing with the help of various purificatory procedure and realize our inner light.
Diwali and Ritu (Season):
Sweets are hard to resist and during Diwali, when there is plenty of colorful sweets everywhere, it becomes even harder to resist. Diwali is the festival which arrives in the end of the Sharad Ritu (autumn season) and beginning of Hemant rutu i.e. from mid September to mid November. In Sharad ritu the Pitta dosha prakopa takes place. As the sweet taste is known to decrease the pitta so usually the more of sweet is being prepared and distributed in diwali. But the care should be taken by the kapha prakruti people who are prone to get the vitiation of the kapha doshas.
The diwali arrives in the Visarga kala (Period where the winter becomes the stronger). In this season the Agni ‘digestive fire’ starts becoming stronger in Hemant rutu. So the heavy diet is digestable in this season. So we see lots of different varieties of dishes are being prepared in Diwali.
In this occassion where winters receives, the skin becomes more dry and rough due to the cold attribute of the winter. In diwali traditionally people do the Abhyang snan(Holy bath). It helps to boost blood circulation, it removes dead cells from the surface of the skin, it makes skin smooth and soft to touch, it cleans body thoroughly, and finally aromas used while performing this ritual calms the mind. Ubtan is the king of natural scrub which is made with the use of all natural ingredients. All the ingredients in this natural scrub have ayurvedic properties. It leaves skin smooth and baby soft. The granules in the scrub help to get rid of dead skin. The natural scrub contains ingredients like chandan (sandalwood), kapoor (camphor), manjistha, rose petals extracts, orange skin and haldi called turmeric. |
| Stay away from sweets that use chemical preservatives, because the intake of such preservatives can cause damage to our kidneys and liver.Avoid sweets that have ‘silver’ coating. Such foils are often adulterated by aluminum and aluminum being a hazardous metal can accumulate in our body tissues and can also enter the brain. It can also cause asthma attacks and can be one of carcinogen. so one can enjoy homemade sweet which is free of chemical preservatives and the healthier ones.
In times of increasing air and noise pollution that we are witnessing today, it is important that we be responsible while using firecrackers. It is good to buy as little firecrackers as possible, because that can help us spend less and can also stop us from polluting our environment. Researches says that burning ghee or any oil release 10 times oxygen in the environment thus harmful effect of the pollution due to fire cracker etc can be prevent by burning the ghee or oil diyas to make diwali more healthier.
Diwali is also the festival of joy so make it special especially if there has been any unpleasantness with your family or friends in your past. Shed all your inhibitions and misgivings and make a fresh start. Wish them a ‘Happy Diwali’ and embrace them in joy.
“Wish you Happy, prosperous and Healthy Diwali from Chakrapani Family” |