WHAT MAKES DIWALI SPECIAL IN INDIA?

    

 

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths by over a billion people in the world's most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people participate in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts, and prayer.

Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India, offers a soul-stirring Diwali experience. The ghats along the holy Ganges River are illuminated with thousands of diyas, creating a breathtaking sight. One can attend the enchanting Ganga Aarti ceremony and release floating Diyas into the river.

But this year the special attention and attraction is at AYODHYA after 500 years, Diwali is being celebrated in the Ram Mandir and this is the first time after the consecration of RAMLALLA

Diwali is a significant festival in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. In a multicultural and diverse country like India, everyone has their own way of celebrating this festival.

While Diwali is a major religious festival for Hindus, it is also observed by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The origin story of Diwali varies depending on the region. All these stories have one underlying theme — the victory of good over evil.

 The Sikhs celebrate Diwali as the Bandhi Chor Diwas with great fervor.  It celebrates the release of Guru Hargobind and 52 Hindu kings from imprisonment.  Muslims, Christians, Parsis, and every other religion celebrate this festival along with the Hindus in India and abroad. It is a festival of lights, and so symbolises good overcoming evil.

Although not a primary festival of Buddhism, Diwali is celebrated by some Buddhists as a commemoration of the day when Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism in the 3rd century BC. It is observed by the Vajrayana Buddhist minority among the Newar people of Nepal.

According to the tradition of Jainism, the chief disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhara Gautam Swami also attained omniscience i.e. absolute or complete knowledge (Kevala Jñāna) on this day, thus making Diwali one of the most important Jain festivals.

Christians and Muslims celebrate Diwali in different ways, but some Christians and Muslims do celebrate together.

Festivals in India are about celebration, spreading cheer, joy, and happiness. So yes, Muslims, a lot of them celebrate Diwali. They light diyas, eat sweets, wish friends and relatives (who are Muslims too), and burn crackers.

In contemporary India, we see these traditions live on in the form of syncretic celebrations of Diwali by Muslims.

Muslims celebrate Diwali by lighting diyas and decorating Dargahs. For example, the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai and the Hazrat Nizammudin Dargah in Delhi are decorated with diyas. Some Muslims and Hindus also light diyas and fireworks together at the Kammruddin Shah's Dargah in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan to honor the friendship between the Sufi saint Kammruddin Shah and the Hindu saint Chanchalnathji.  Muslims are very much a part of the Diwali celebrations of this nation.

Some Christians also celebrate Diwali by engaging with Hindu friends and showing God's love. They may visit Hindu friends, eat with them, and invite them to their church services. 

Many treat this as a part of Catholic culture. Catholics would celebrate Diwali amongst themselves even if there were no Hindus around. Buying crackers, maybe even going to church, wearing new clothes, sharing sweets.

 Diwali is a festival that transcends religious boundaries and is celebrated by people of many faiths and backgrounds. It is a time for joy, unity, and renewal of relationships. People celebrate Diwali by sharing sweets, fireworks, lights, and creating patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand. 

Celebrate Diwali and spread joy and peace.