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Deepavali (or Diwali) is the festival which broadly celebrates the triumph of good over
evil primarily symbolized in the mythological epic of Ramayana in
which the Hindu God Rama defeats his demonic adversary Ravana.
The word Diwali has been derived from Deepavali which in turn is
formed by dipa (light) + avali (row). Deepavali is thus a line or a row of
lamps. During Diwali, lamps are lit everywhere. It is celebrated on
four consecutive days.
Customary traditions include offering prayers to the Gods in the
morning and exchanging sweets with friends and neighbours.
During the night the houses are adorned with small-lit oil lamps and
colourful lights and then the entire family participates in the
display of fireworks.
Though the dazzling fireworks add to the enthusiasm and fervour of
the spirit of Diwali, there also exists a group of anti-cracker
campaigners. They are of the opinion that crackers are responsible
for environmental pollution, child labour, and also cause loss of
crores of rupees which could be put to constructive use.
Resist
bursting Fire Crackers in Diwali
During Diwali one can acquire the grace Shri Lakshmi by performing
Her worship on the day of Lakshmi-Poojan. At the same time one can
see the pictures of deities printed on the crackers like the Lakshmi-bar, Krushna-bar, Vishnu-bar. Even the pictures of great men
of India like Netaji Subhashchandra Bose who fought and gave their
life for Independence are found on the crackers. When the
crackers are burst, these pictures are also torn to pieces. The
pieces of the pictures of deities and great men thus fall
scattered on the road. They are trampled upon by people, ridden over
by
vehicles and thrown in the dirt and gutter. This is a rank
denigration of most revered deities and national heroes.
Those who burst firecrackers are Anti-Social, Anti-national and
Anti-religion! H.H. Dr. Jayant Balaji Athavale
Physical: Burns, deafness. Many people die in explosions in
factories manufacturing fire-crackers. Sometimes,
rocket-crackers set fire to huts, heap of dry grass etc.
Economic: Terrorists in Pakistan collect funds from people in
the name of ‘Jihad’ (Religious War), saying they will purchase
bullets to kill ‘Kafirs’ (non-believers). The cost of each
bullet is Rs.10/-. With the situation so grim and also because
the nation is on the brink of insolvency, it is a sin to burn crores of Rupees on bursting fire-crackers every year.
Spiritual: Devotional songs (Aarti) or sattvic sounds attract
Divine energies and deities. But noise from crackers, full of
‘tama’ component, attract distressing energies. This is what we
are witnessing today in the country. The Tama-charged
environment affects the human mind adversely and man becomes
Tama-oriented. Hence we must impress the ill-effects of crackers
upon the young minds and stop them from bursting crackers.
Diwali: Festival of
Lights symbolizing the triumph of the good over evil
Tradition says that
the illumination of homes with lights and the skies with
firecrackers is an expression of obeisance to the heavens for the
attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and prosperity.
Fireworks come in
different varieties: from the delightfully visual ones to the ear
deafening noisy ones.
Loud and percussive
fireworks harm people, animals, property and the environment and
many of them are toxic.
Consider the
dangers & effects of fireworks
and help good to continue to triumph over evil.
Fireworks are a gross
waste of money
Cultural researcher
Raj Govender says fireworks are “a waste of time”, particularly in
observing Diwali. “It is a gross waste of money. Nowhere in
ancient scriptures was the use of fireworks emphasised. Fireworks
and dynamite were later discoveries in modern history” he said. Sunday Times June 11 2006.
Quote by a Member of
Parliament in KwaZulu-Natal:
"I always support the
right of people to celebrate cultural events - but I also recognize
that other people and animals have rights too."
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