By Pundit Jaidath Maharaj, President of SWAHA and Spiritual Leader of SWAHA Gyaan Jyoti Mandir of Madras.
Pt. Maharaj delivered the feature address at the Office of the Ombudsman on October 24, 2019. Also featured at the ceremony was Ms. Shalini Juteram, highly experienced dancer of SWAHA who has represented Trinidad in India, USA, Canada and other Caribbean countries.
Divali or Deepavali means ‘rows of light’. It is used as a term to refer to the most auspicious five- day period in the month of Kaartik, where devotees celebrate through various religious and festive practices. The auspicious occasion of Maha Lakshmi Puja is observed on the third day of the five-day period or the Amawas (new moon) in the month of Kaartik. The occasion is marked by an outpouring of devotion to Maha Lakshmi Maataa followed by giving of gifts, entertaining of guests and the lighting of millions of deeyas across the world. Divali is celebrated in different parts of the world for various reasons. Key amongst them is the appearance of Mother Lakshmi from the ocean of milk, Maha Lakshmi Puja and the return of Shri Ram to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.
Divali has both a religious and a festive element. The religious element consists of the performance of Lakshmi Mata Puja, singing of bhajans, offering of havan, religious dances and the offering of prasad to Maha Lakshmi. The festive aspect consists of the lighting of deeyas, various bazaars and fairs, decoration of homes, streets and communities, plays, folk dances and the joining together for various delicacies. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a melting pot society. It is a hodgepodge of various religious and ethnic traditions, beliefs and practices that blend to form a unique culture that represents the best of all the various groups that live in harmony in our blessed land. As Hindus, we have contributed to this unique cultural landscape and our contributions have been recognized with the award of a public holiday to celebrate Divali. It is a national holiday and so applies to all citizens of the land regardless of race, gender and ethnicity. Given the two elements of Divali, vis-à-vis the religious and the festive, there is an opportunity for all to participate in the occasion.
Central to Divali is Mother Lakshmi. She is a female aspect of divinity and considered Sagun Brahm (God with qualifications). She is the giver of prosperity and Goddess of light. Wealth and prosperity are essential for life since basic physiological needs are met through the use of wealth. Maslow speaks about the hierarchy of needs and identifies existential needs such as food and safety as fundamental and, therefore, must be met before higher order needs can be pursued. Therefore, we pray to Lakshmi Maa as the giver of wealth as a recognition of the value of material wealth to our lives.
Material wealth cannot be attained, however, without certain virtues. Lakshmi Maa represents spiritual wealth, also known as Shat Sampati or the six forms of wealth. These are as follows: control of the mind and senses, forbearance, independence, faith and transcendence. The balance between the material and the spiritual ensures we are able to gain success in this world both in the secular and spiritual realms.
As Goddess of Light, Lakshmi Maataa represents human and spiritual virtues that are needed for any society to progress. These include, inter alia, morals and ethics, love, respect, forgiveness, acceptance, tolerance and compassion. These virtues are the light that is needed to dispel the darkness that has descended upon our society in the form of hate, discrimination, intolerance and corruption. And so on this occasion of Divali 2019, we wish Lakshmi Maataa’s choicest blessings upon our nation and pray that the light of Divali dispels all darkness and illuminates our path.
The Gyaan Jyoti (Composed by Pt. Jaidath Maharaj)
Darkness descends upon you and me,
Our lives tossed and turned, like a ship, upon this mundane sea.
But the flame of the Deeya, like a light house will guide our sight,
Towards the shores of enlightenment, salvation from the darkness and delusion of the treacherous night.
Mehindra
Hello, can you let me know where its written that Divali is connectec with the return of Shri Ram .
If shri Ram left for the forest in the month of chaitra, would 14 years not end in that same month?
I await your response, thank you.