History Of Diwali

One of the most joyful and beautiful festivals to be celebrated on the Indian subcontinent is Diwali, the festival of lights.  The very word Diwali conjures up the image of winking lights and flickering diyas. Not to forget the gorgeous array of sparkling colours emitted by the firecrackers that seem to awaken the night sky
Coming close on the heels of Dussehra, Diwali is celebrated on the last day of the Gujarati calendar year, and generally comes in the months of October or November, on the English calendar. It is one of the most important Indian festivals and is celebrated on a mass scale by Indians not only in India, but also all over the world.  
  
The Story Behind Diwali 
It is believed that on this day Lord Rama, along with his consort Sita and loyal brother Lakshman was returning to his hometown Ayodhya after 14 long years of exile in the forest. He had just finished battling and overcoming the fierce demon king of Ceylon, Ravana, who had abducted Sita. In this battle he was ably helped by Lord Hanuman and his army of monkeys as well as an army of courageous bears. 
The people of Ayodhya lit lamps in every home to welcome their true King as well as celebrate his victory over Ravana and also the safe return of their Queen Sita. They danced and made merry and lit firecrackers to express their joy over his return. And as a mark of respect and worship the festivities continue every year till this today.  
As another lesser-known story goes, Lord Krishna had battled a demon called Narakasura and emerged victorious. The people of the city were overjoyed and welcomed Krishna back with lamps in their hands. 
Since Rama and Krishna are two of the most popular gods in the Hindu lore, it is only logical that Diwali is celebrated with such pomp and glory.  
  
How is Diwali Celebrated? 
According to an ancient myth, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth travels through all our homes on Diwali night and stops to bless the homes that are shiny and sparkling clean. So as this festival approaches, all houses go through a thorough spring-cleaning in anticipation of her wealth and blessings. She will be greeted by a beautiful gaily painted Rangoli on the threshold of each home while inside too she is welcomed by an array of sparklers and little earthen lamps that light up and considerably brighten the atmosphere.   
The actual festivities start from Dhanteras, which is celebrated two days before Diwali. Everybody goes out of their way to make big purchases and buy new clothes and jewellery. This is because this day is considered auspicious for wealth, and it is said that if you buy any silver or gold on this day, you will be lucky throughout the year. The goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on this day through a Lakshmipujan, which is performed not only in the homes but in shops and offices as well.  
But what would Diwali be without a burst of firecrackers and lights? The sound and light show starts at least a week prior to the actual festival and continues way into the New Year. Of course it reaches a crescendo on the day of Diwali itself, a day when people dress up in their best new clothes and go visiting each other, their relatives and friends with boxes of dry fruits and sweets and loads of love in their huge generous hearts

Deepwali Celebrations

The festival of Diwali (also called as Deepavali) epitomizes prosperity, happiness and lights. This is the only day in the entire Hindu calendar when a new moon day is celebrated as a festival. On the day of Diwali though the sky is devoid of moon and its light but still the entire atmosphere is always enlighten and filled with lights of different colours and shades and filled with joy, crackers and sweet smell of foodstuffs.

Our P. P. Nandai is the Goddess that precides over this entire festival inform of Goddess Mahalaxmi. She has described to us the ways in which we should perform poojan on days of Padwa and Laxmi Poojan to make them more sactious and meaning. 
Poojan to be Performed on the Day of Padwa

Shraddhavans should get up early in the morning and in the wee hours should perform the below described ritual.


* We should clean our house with broom and collect the waste on a cardboard.


* After this we should enlighten a light made from dough in which we should use ghee as fuel.


*We should then place a sweet (foodstuff) on the cardboard.


* We should then take this cardboard (with all the stuffs on it) around our entire house.


* One person should follow this person who is carrying cardboard with a plate which should be beaten to produce sound.


* We should place our old broom outside our house in a corner.


* We should then place this cardboard besides this broom.


* We should then join our hands and pray saying the following words "ईडा, पीडा टलो, बळीचे राज्ययेवो" ("Let all the unholy come to end and let there be rule of King Bali").

Poojan to be Performed on the Day of Laxmi Poojan
* We should keep 5 fruits & a mixture of coriander seeds and jaggery as holy offering (Prasad).

* We should keep a new broom on the starting line of our house (उंबरठा) and offer kumkum and turmeric powder (haldi) to it  and offer the following prayer " हे लक्ष्मीमाते - नंदामाते, तू नेहमी माझ्या चुका दाखव. आईच्या मायेने माझ्या अंगावरून हात फिरव. बहिणीसारखे वाटेतील काटे काढ, पापणिच्या केसासारखा माझ्या मनातील व घरातील कचरा काढ आणि माझ्या घरात नंदामाते मते तू सतत वावरत रहा ही तुझ्या चरणी प्रार्थना." ("Oh Goddess Lakshmi i.e. my P. P. Nandai, You always bring my mistakes to my notice. Shower love on me like my mother. Be my sister and remove obstacles in my way. Remove dirt from my house and mind like an eyelid. And finally I pray and urge You to stay in my house for ever").


Finally wishing all the readers a very happy and prosperous new year and a happy diwali. May P.P. Bapu, P.P. Nandai and P.P. Suchitmama bless you all. 
One interesting fact about Diwali which not many of us know about is Diwali is an official holiday in 9 countries which includes India, Guyana, Mauritius, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago, Myanmar, Fiji, and Suriname).