The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Message of unity in Deepavali

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Thursday, Nov 11, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Message of unity in Deepavali

CHENNAI, NOV. 11. Scientific temperament and reasoning ability alone cannot take a man far in life. Intellectual pursuits may appear to be fulfilling, but in reality one needs divine grace. When a person is found wanting in divine thoughts, he exists in a foolish world of make believe. The inability to be receptive to spiritual thoughts, be it through pursuit of literature or listening to learned commentaries, signifies a fault in the recipient, and not in the message per se. Every move of the Supreme Being is meaningful, with the twin purpose of protecting those in distress and vanquishing the evil.

The celebration of Deepavali means many things to many people, but there is no dispute that it is a harbinger of prosperity. Some view this festival as fructification of praying to the goddess of wealth and being blessed by Her. Many others hail the day as the defeat of the demon Narakasura at the hands of Lord Krishna, who responded to the call of distress by the celestials. Kasiappa Sivachari, in his religious work Kandapuranam, is of the view that the worship with lights is closely connected with the "kethara Gowri vrath" popularly observed in south India. The legend goes that goddess Uma, slighted in Her Lord's presence by the sage Bringhi, left mount Kailash and undertook severe penance at the abode of another sage. Siva, deeply appreciative of her tapas, appeared before Her and took Her unto Him, thereby enjoying a permanent place in His left side, the resultant form worshipped as Ardhanareeswarar by devotees. Scholars hold that the lesson to be learnt from this story is the desirability of unison in thoughts words and deeds between a husband and wife. For only when they complement each other can they turn to leading a life as ordained by our superiors.The call for divine intervention is never left unheeded, said Sri. C.V. Sadanandan speaking on the occasion of Deepavali. This is the day when houses and places of worship are festooned, and the Almighty is worshipped with lamps lit sequentially. One may say that light is essential to human existence, and all creatures sentient and insentient need light in order to subsist. But the ritual of celebrating the annual event is neither a pagan custom nor a social event bespeaking a public holiday. Fire as a whole is symbiotic with God, and diyas are auspicious symbols. The scientific community too makes use of light rays for curing various diseases. At a deeper level the ritual of oil bath as well as the donning of new clothes is symbolic of purification and jettisoning of all that is unnecessary to spiritual fulfilment.

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