Diwali
The light from one’s heart
The light from one’s heart
By Heidi M. Pascual
“Diwali is like the light emanating from your heart,” Rita Singh of the
American Hindu Association told me while I observed the AHA Diwali
celebration at Shorewood Community Center last fall. “It is the festival of
lights. Light represents the light in your heart. It removes darkness from your
heart and mind and brings more positive energy.”
Singh added that to Hindus, Diwali has a religious significance, similar
to the Christians’ Christmas. “This is the day of Lord Rama who comes back
after 14 years of exile,” Singh said. “It’s like welcoming him home. We
believe that the goddesses will come to our homes. We believe that
Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, will come to our house, so we
prepare our homes with lots of lights and we open our door.s. We believe
that she will bless us with prosperity. We clean our houses thoroughly, and
prepare lots of food. We expect visitors, friends and neighbors. Everybody
dresses up in their new clothes. We also exchange gifts.”
Diwali isn’t just a festive occasion, though. Hindus offer pujas or
prayers. Singh stressed that they have to finish all their rituals first before
they go into a festive mood. They also think of people with whom they have
differences and then visit them. “People try to forget the past, patch up
differences, and forgive and forget.” Singh added. “We pray for our wishes
too.”
“My wishes? for me to have good health; for my daughter to
concentrate in her studies, and for the country to solve the economic crisis,
so that people would get jobs soon and start taking care of their families. I
also wish to stop the wars; so many kids are dying in the wars.”
We say ‘Amen’ to that.
“Diwali is like the light emanating from your heart,” Rita Singh of the
American Hindu Association told me while I observed the AHA Diwali
celebration at Shorewood Community Center last fall. “It is the festival of
lights. Light represents the light in your heart. It removes darkness from your
heart and mind and brings more positive energy.”
Singh added that to Hindus, Diwali has a religious significance, similar
to the Christians’ Christmas. “This is the day of Lord Rama who comes back
after 14 years of exile,” Singh said. “It’s like welcoming him home. We
believe that the goddesses will come to our homes. We believe that
Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, will come to our house, so we
prepare our homes with lots of lights and we open our door.s. We believe
that she will bless us with prosperity. We clean our houses thoroughly, and
prepare lots of food. We expect visitors, friends and neighbors. Everybody
dresses up in their new clothes. We also exchange gifts.”
Diwali isn’t just a festive occasion, though. Hindus offer pujas or
prayers. Singh stressed that they have to finish all their rituals first before
they go into a festive mood. They also think of people with whom they have
differences and then visit them. “People try to forget the past, patch up
differences, and forgive and forget.” Singh added. “We pray for our wishes
too.”
“My wishes? for me to have good health; for my daughter to
concentrate in her studies, and for the country to solve the economic crisis,
so that people would get jobs soon and start taking care of their families. I
also wish to stop the wars; so many kids are dying in the wars.”
We say ‘Amen’ to that.
| Rita Singh |
Hindus gather to celebrate Diwali, the
festival of lights.
festival of lights.
