Diwali is now getting closer and the preparations are in full swing. In India Diwali or Deepawali is the biggest celebration of the year and I like to compare it to Christmas. In half of the country it is also the night in which the New Year starts. In the last days a lot of cleaning was going on in the Ashram. Old things were thrown away and everything that stayed is now clean and nice for the festive time. Diwali is the festival of light and everybody lights a lot of candles in the house and around the house. Everywhere you see lights and we also started decorating the Ashram today. My mother and grandmother started making sweets because on Diwali there have to be lots of sweets and a big variety.
In March I told you about Shivaratri and told that it is one of the four important nights in the Indian belief. The night of Diwali is another one of the four. It is called Kal Ratri and it is always on new moon. This year it will be on the 28th October. In every house there will be pooja ceremonies and people will worship and pray to Ganesha and Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Ganesha stands for wisdom and is also the God who removes all obstacles from your path. With the strong energy of the new moon night these prayers shall be more effective. We will of course have a ceremony, too. It is a special night and everybody is looking forward to it. Of course children are more excited than everyone else and that is how it seems in these days that the Ashram is even more full of life and joy and cheerfulness. It is a wonderful atmosphere that started spreading now.
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Swami Ji,Celebrations at the Ashram are always filled with a strong sense of giving, love and joy. I hope that I get the chance to take off work during Diwali one year and celebrate with the ashram family.
Diwali is the best!
How lovely and exciting! I always love hearing how you at the ashram will be celebrating all the festivals as well as a bit of background about where the festival came from. I hope you all enjoyed and had a lovely evening.