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| Facts and science behind deepavali |
The word Deepavali is a combination of two words, deep (lamp) + avali (row). Thus deepavali is a line or a row of lamps so during the festival of Deepavali (also known as Diwali), lamps are lit everywhere. It is celebrated on four consecutive days - the thirteenth, the fourteenth and the new moon day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu lunar month Ashvin and the first day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month Kartik. These days are celebrated as Dhanatrayodashi, Narakchaturdashi, Lakshmipujan and Balipratipada respectively.
The first story is from Ramayan, which describes Diwali as the day when Lord Ram returned victoriously to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravan of Lanka. Lord Ram was given an arousing welcome, and the entire city dazzled with Diyas. This was later celebrated as an annual festival called Deepavali or Diwali.
The second reference is related to Lord Krishna. Once there was an evil demon called Narakasura, who was a tyrant and was forever oppressing the common people. All of them prayed to Lord Krishna to relieve them from his clutches. Thus, Lord Krishna came and after an intense battle, he killed Narakasura using his Sudarshan Chakra. The people rejoinced, lit the city with lamps, and this incident came to be annually celebrated as Diwali.
If you look at the common thread between these 2 legends, it portrays the victory of good over evil, of light eclipsing the darkness, and of righteousness holding forth against all odds. Thus, the Diwali festival is a very symbolic one that extols us to kill our inner demons (negativities) and purify our soul by lighting it up with goodness.
Some exclude the thirteenth day and consider only the remaining three days as Deepavali. Since the festival of Vasubaras (a celebration held in the honour of cows) and Bhaubij (a festival honouring the bond between brother and sister) respectively precede and follow Deepavali they are included as a part of Deepavali. However, in reality, these are separate holy festivals.
The science behind celebrating Deepavali
1. During the four months preceding Deepavali, the absolute fire principle (tej tattva) is almost absent in the atmosphere. As a result of this, in earlier times, mighty demons used to dominate and trouble the masses. To be able to counter their threat effectively, Deepavali, which is the worship based on the absolute fire principle, was celebrated. So Deepavali stands for destroying the distressing elements that dominate the environment, with the absolute fire principle.
2. Science behind Abhynga Snan
The tradition of abhyang snan' or the ritualistic bath, is as much a beauty regimen as part of the festivities. The idea is to nourish the skin with a layer of Ayurvedic oil and fragrant utana or powdered herbs. This traditional Diwali-morning bath ushers in the most important day of the festival Laxmi Puja, which will be observed this year on Friday.
It's not all about rituals; there is a lot of Ayurvedic science behind the abhyang snan. Keeping the winter in mind, the special abhyang oils contain elements that repair cracked skin.
"It has been seen that abhyang oils curtail problems arising due to cracking of the skin and curb the ageing process. These oil are known to control obesity, and also enhance the fat element in extremely thin people," says perfumer Prasad Gaanu of Manohar Sugandhi.
3. Science behind Crackers. After rainy seasons lot of creatures like mosquito are born the smell of of sulpher drives away from the residential areas. The Sulpher acts anti biotic for the skin diseases which are expected due to dry skin.
On the day of Lakshmipujan (worshipping the Goddess Lakshmi), rituals are undertaken to drive off poverty (Alakshmi).
The first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik (Balipratipada) is celebrated to symbolise Lord Vishnu's conquest over the demon king, Bali.
Bhaubij celebrates the slaying of the evil demon Shakatasur by Sri Krishna and the Bliss experienced by the multitudes of women He liberated from the demon's clutches. It also said Yama went to meet his sister Yumana on this day hence it is celebrates the divine bond of love between brother and sister.
Our culture tells us that every day of Deepavali represents the conquest of good over evil, piousness over immorality and virtue over vice; all illuminated by the Deepavali lamps.
Today, Deepavali is celebrated in such a way, that it shows, that all the above has unfortunately either been forgotten or just remained as a namesake. Hence we are losing on an opportunity of getting the full benefit of the divine consciousness (chaitanya) that is integral to all our festivals and celebrations.
Gambler’s Excuse to Gamble
One of the not-so-great aspects of Diwali is gambling. It goes back to a dice game that the goddess Parvati played with her husband. She said that on this night, any gambler should do well. On top of that, there’s also saying something about the threat of being re-born as a donkey if you do not gamble during Diwali. As a result, gambling is very popular for this week.
