Significance Of Dipawali (Sent By a Member)

Dipawali is one of the most important festivals of India which has both social and spiritual significance. Dipawali is celebrated in autumn.

According to Pauranic scriptures, on the night of the new moon, when Dipawali is celebrated, the Goddess of Prosperity, Maa Lakshmi, descends on earth and visits everyone's home to find the ones worthy of having the priviledge to provide Her with shelter. How does Lakshmi decide which is the right place for Her to stay? According to the Pauranic scriptures, the Goddess says: "I live in the house of those who are good in moral appearance, who have good character and are wise in their actions, those who are always ready to fulfill their duties, those who never misuse their energy on anger, those who have faith in God, are grateful and have control over their senses, those who follow the path of righteousness carefully and serve the elders and gurus with devotion, those who have full control over themselves in all kinds of circumstances and are confident, those who have the forgiveness in their hearts and have the passion to help others." According to the scriptures, the Goddess says: "I love those women who care for their family's unity and who have character and discipline."

We can assume that the female form signifies a safe and warm shelter. Whereas the male form might suggest a atern father. This is just the case when young children are upset. They need a female form to feel safe again. In the meditation, the smiling Lakshmi gives courage to Her restless children. She shows them the path to tranquility, away from the restlessness of amabasya. She shows them her four hands. The first hand (lower right) has all five fingers joined together and there is the sacred swastik on the palm. The swastik symbolizes nobleness of character. The enjoined five fingers signify that all five senses are under control. In the upper right hand, Maa Lakshmi is holding a red lotus. The flower again represents character, and the colour represents materialism and warmth of sentiment. The interpretation can be that we are reminded that even in material aspects we must maintain the character of a lotus. Only then can the five senses come under control.The lower left hand of Maa Lakshmi is releasing the eternal river of wealth. This signifies that we must release the material world from our minds. This can only happen when the heart is pure. In Her last hand, Lakshmi holds a pitcher that symbolizes true wealth and prosperity, not the material sort that most believers mistakenly expect from the Great Mother on this auspicious day. Hindus erroniously believe that we perform Lakshmi puja to receive material wealth. Many of the nights of Dipawali are spent gambling, in the opes of inspiring Maa Lakshmi's generosity. This must be far from the truth, She must surely be leery of and tire from those of us who simply crave Her presence for the sake of material gains. The wealth and prosperity that we associate with the Goddess Lakshmi is supposed to be the evolution of the soul, mind, character, and therefore behaviour. On Kartika Amabasya, Lakshmi forearms Her devotees with the advise to leave the path of worldly comforts and pleasures and to move towards the paths of purity, generosity, and compassion.

Happy Dipawali to all of you!