Significance of Deepawali and post Deepawali celebrations

Bali Pratipada/ Deepawali Padwa / Govardhan Puja-

Ritual- This day celebrates the bond and devotion between a husband and wife. Husbands bestow thoughtful or elaborate gifts on their wives. Newly-wed couples are accorded a feast by the family of the bride in some regions.

Some people worship Lord Krishna. In some parts, the cow is also worshipped on this day. Some people worship King Bali on this day.

This day also marks the beginning of a new year in business communities. The old books of accounts are closed and new books are opened marking the start of a new fiscal year.

Some people gamble on this day and it is a custom to play cards with family and friends.

Story behind the celebration-

This day marks the killing of the demon King Bali by Lord Vishnu in his Vamana (dwarf) Avatar, by crushing him under his feet. But since Bali was a benevolent king, marred only by his arrogance, Lord Vishnu blessed him when king Bali begged for forgiveness and granted a boon that people would remember him on this day.

There’s another story about Lord Shiva losing to Goddess Parvati in a game of dice. Gambling is thus symbolic in some households, signifying the playfulness between spouses. Husbands also shower their wives with gifts as an acceptance of defeat.

The victory of Lord Krishna over Lord Indra and the puja offered by the people to the mountain Govardhan is celebrated as Govardhan puja.

Significance- The pardoning of Bali signifies that it is never too late to make a new beginning and that the Lord always pardons those who ask to be forgiven.

The ritual also signifies that the bond between couples should also include playfulness, apart from love and devotion.

Bhai Dooj / Bhau-beej / Yamadwiteya-

Bhai Dooj is the last day of Diwali.

Ritual- Sisters give gifts to their brothers and pray for their health and happiness. They also invite their brothers to a sumptuous meal including their favorite dishes. Women who do not have brothers, worship the moon god instead.

Story behind the celebration-

A popular legend has it that the god of Death Yama met his sister Yamuna (the river) on dwiteya or the second day after Deepawali.  There is another story about Lord Krishna, where he visited his sister Subhadra after slaying Narakasura and his sister prayed for his well being by applying a tilak on his forehead and treated him to a special dinner.

Significance- The day celebrates the undying love between a brother and sister. The ceremony signifies the duty of a brother to protect his sister as well the sister’s blessings for her brother.

Significance of the Pre-Deepawali rituals

Deepawali is the “festival of lights”, and is one of the biggest Hindu festivals that is celebrated not just all over India, but all over the world and by many religions too. Deepawali is derived from the Sanskrit words- “Deep” meaning light or lamp and “awali” meaning a row or series. Deepawali thus means “a series of lights.”

The festivities are spread over five days, starting with Dhanteras and ending with Bhai Dooj.

Dhanteras –

Dhanteras is dedicated to the universal Lord of health and wealth- Dhanvantari.

Rituals- People pray to Dhanvantari for good health and wealth, thanking him for all that he has blessed them with. In some parts of the country, people also buy gold or silver articles, as it is considered to be an auspicious day for buying new things.

Story behind the celebration- Dhanteras celebrates the churning of the cosmic ocean of milk (Samudra Manthan), between the Gods and the Demons. The purchasing of gold and silver is associated with the treasures that were obtained as a result of the Samudra Manthan, including the birth of Goddess Lakshmi and Dhanvantari.

Significance- The day signifies a war between the good and evil forces. Both forces reside in our hearts. The Samudra Manthan signifies the turbulence created when the good and evil thoughts clash. The birth of Goddess Lakshmi and Dhanvantari signifies the prosperity we can achieve when we let good rule over evil.

Naraka Chaturdashi  / Roop Chaturdashi-

The second day is celebrated as Naraka Chaturdashi or Choti Deepawali. In some parts it is also celebrated as Roop Chaturdashi.

Rituals- Some people indulge in special ritualistic bath with fragrant oils followed by minor pujas. Some women also decorate their hands with hennas.  Roop Chaturdashi is a day to take care of oneself and beautify the self not just from outside but also from within in preparation of the festival.

The story behind the celebration- Lord Krishna’s wife Satyabhama killed the evil demon Narakasura on this day. Narakasura the tyrant demon had a boon that he could be killed only at the hands of his mother, Bhudevi. Satyabhama, who was an incarnation of Bhudevi or Goddess Earth, slayed the demon and restored happiness to the people of his kingdom. Lord Krishna and Satyabhama are said to have taken a ritualistic bath with fragrant oils to rid themselves of the travails of the battle.

Significance- The significance of the story is that, parents must not hesitate to punish their children if they happen to stray on the path of wrong doing. The ritualistic bath signifies the purging the self of evil and the beautification signifies not just beutifying one self from outside but also from within.

The science behind chants

Vishnu Sahasranaama means the 1000 names of Maha Vishnu. It is one of the most powerful chants and for a lot of reasons. The Vishnu Sahasranaam is known to activate the 7 chakras of your body and the vibrations cause the stuck energy to be released. This reverses the diseased state of the body and return it to the natural state of resonance. So if someone has told you about miracles happening because of chanting, it has nothing to do with miracles per se, and everything to do with the balancing and alignment of the chakras in your body.  

When we listen to the Vishnu Sahasranaama, the sounds produced by the chants synchronise the left and right hemispheres of the brain and oxygenate the brain. The arrangement of words and the sounds produced by those words is so scientific, that the vocal harmonics stimulate and charge the cortex of the brain and the nervous system. Experiments have been conducted to prove all these changes and it has been realized that sound does affect cellular structure and energy.

Our ancestors were truly a knowledgeable lot! They knew how the chanting process benefits the body. They knew that chanting is not just spiritually but also scientifically beneficially. But it is not always possible to hand down scientific knowledge without dilution and exaggeration. I guess, that is how it acquired the form of superstition rather than convey the actual scientific benefit that could be derived from it.  

Reciting the Vishnu Sahasranaama is even more beneficial than just listening to it, because along with sound that your ears hear, you also use your mouth and tongue to recite it. There are about 72000 nerve endings in our mouth and each nerve ending connects to various parts of our body. 

The words in the chants of the Vishnu Sahasranaama are arranged in such a manner that they are not only meaningful but also touch most of the nerve endings in the mouth and stimulates the acupuncture meridians inside it. It thereby bestows a lot of health benefits to the person who chants it. The outcome of the chanting, therefore includes reduction of heart beat, relaxation and calming of mind, relief from stress and depression, and many other physiological, neurological and physical changes.

Here are a few stanzas from the Phalastuti of the Vishnu Sahasranaama which emphasise these very things-

ya idaṁ śṛṇuyānnityaṁ yaśchāpi parikīrtayet |

nāśhubhaṁ prāpnuyāt kiñcit sōmutreha cha mānavaḥ || 2 ||

He who hears or sings,

It all without fail,

In all days of the year,

Will never get in to ill being,

In this life and after.

rōgārtō muchyate rōgād baddhō muchyeta bandhanāt |

bhayān muchyeta bhītastu muchyet āpanna āpadaḥ || 8 ||

And he who is ill will get cured,

He who is bound will be free,

He who is afraid, will get rid of fear,

He who is in danger, will be safe.

durgāṇya titaratyāśu puruṣhaḥ puruṣhōttamam |

stuvan nāmasahasreṇa nityaṁ bhakti samanvitaḥ || 9 ||

He who chants these holy thousand names,

With devotion to Purushottama,

Will cross the miseries,

That cannot be crossed

Without fail.

Jai Shri Krishna!

Chants

We have all heard chants in some form or the other, we have heard priests chanting in temples and closer home we have heard our parents or grandparents chanting. It does not matter what religion you follow, which tradition or culture you belong to, each one of them have some kind of chanting as a spiritual practice. 

While some of us have picked up what was taught to us during our growing years, some of us have questioned the necessity or practicality of chanting. Some of us might have questioned our parents why is it important to chant, and in all probability we were told to do as was said and not question customs!

There is a huge difference between doing something because it imposed on us and doing something because you believe in it. This belief may be religious, spiritual, scientific or psychological- the means to strengthen your belief does not matter. When you chant because you believe that it will affect you in some positive manner only then does it make sense to take up chanting.

You might have often wondered if chanting and prayers are mere superstitions.  Well, all around the world studies and experiments have been conducted to probe into this very aspect. All of them have found that psychological, neurological, and physical changes do occur in the body as a result of chanting. More about this later.

So does that mean chanting is magic? Is it all hocus-pocus? Well, no, there is no magic in chanting! It is purely scientific.

 The Superstring theory of Physics supports the fact that everything in the universe is made up of sound and vibration including the human body. As long as the body is in a state of natural resonant vibration, we are healthy. Disease sets in when some part of our body vibrates at a counter frequency and blocks the energy to that part. Here is where the chants come into effect. Chants create vocal harmonics with a combination of sound and vibration and thus are known have a positive impact on our body.

Jai Shri Krishna!

To be cont…

Avatars

Lord Krishna and Maha Vishnu are interchangeably used to denote one and the same God. Maha Vishnu took the form of Krishna when he incarnated on earth to destroy evil and to liberate the devotees from the cycle of births and deaths.

In one of the shlokas of the Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna says,

“Pari-tra-naaya saadhu-naam vina-shaya cha dush-kritam,

Dharma-sanstha-panar-thaya sam-bha-vami yuge yuge”

It means,

To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I manifest myself, millennium after millennium.

-Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4 Shloka 8

Maha Vishnu is said to appear on earth in ten forms known as the Dashavatars – Dasha meaning Ten and Avatar meaning form. Before his avatar as Lord Krishna, Maha Vishnu also incarnated as :

A fish-  Matsya  Avatar who rescued the first man Manu from a great deluge.

A turtle – Kurma Avatar who bore the mount Mandara on his back during the Samudra manthan

A boar – Varaha Avatar who restored mother Earth after rescuing her from the demon Hiranyaksha

Half lion and half man- Narasimha Avatar who protected his devotees from Hiranyakashyapu

A Dwarf- Vamana Avatar who destroyed the pride of King Mahabali

A Rishi – Parashurama Avatar who is one of the saptarishis

A King – Rama Avatar who defeated the mighty Ravana

A cowherd – Krishna Avatar who destroyed the evil Kamsa and many other evil doers.

There are two more avatars of Maha Vishnu described after this-

A yogi- Buddha Avatar

Eternity- Kalki Avatar. This reincarnation is yet to appear and is foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga

These may just appear as stories to some, while to others these represent a sacred part of their religion. There may be debates on whether these incidents actually took place or were only a figment of someone’s elaborate imagination. We could never have definite answers!

But there are things beyond religion and beyond facts and that is what forms the basis of our life.

Scientist tell us about Darwin’s theory of evolution, where life that began from a fish, evolved to become a man over many many centuries. The Dashavatars of Maha Vishnu are said to mimic what scientist are telling us today. This means that our ancestors knew things that we are only discovering now.

That is precisely the reason I believe, these avatars tell us something beyond the stories, they teach us lessons beyond what is visible on the surface. We just need to scratch them and read the hidden meanings.

Jai Shri Krishna!