October: Clarity in minds, Sanctity in the airs

Greetings,

“Man is a social animal”, we all have read or heard this old saying countless times in our lives, and found it relevant too. Since inception, man has realized the significance of life and sociality and hence he blended the essence of both and came out with the concept of ‘festivals’. The very basic idea of celebrating festivals was to keep the family and societal bonds intact; but there was also a bigger picture involved, to celebrate them in order to pay tribute to our surroundings, i.e. nature and the astronomical events, for instance Chhath, Makar Sankranti, Baisakhi and so on, to thank for the rewards of life and other sources that we receive from them.

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Rangoli making is an integral part of many festivals, bringing the women of  the house/society together

And then there were the Gods themselves, who in times of adversities and darkness, redeemed this world to a new dawn. In honor of their incarnations, their unprecedented works, and their beneficence, we named festivals; so that the future generations too remember and honor them in apposite way and learn from their legends as well.

October month celebrated one such festival, an event that marks the most prominent step in human history, Diwali. Deepawali or Diwali is unarguably the most famous festival of India. It was this day when Bhagwan Ram, seventh incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu returned to his native kingdom Ayodhya after finishing his fourteen year exile, and ending the menace of a tyrant, Raavarn; finally, serenity was installed not only in Lanka, but the regions of Dandkaranya as well where his men had spread his tyranny on a larger scale. It was the very first time in human history when all the regions and cultures were unified by a single man and the values of Aryavarta hence spread everywhere evenly, for progressive world.

The people of Ayodhya welcomed their beloved prince by lighting diyas in every corner of the kingdom so that there was no place left for darkness, and so the world witnessed the Ram-Rajya, era of perfect governance.

Even today, after the millenniums have passed, people celebrate the grand festival with utter joy. People host pooja on their homes and work places for auspiciousness and prosperity. The lighting of diyas still continues along with some new rituals that gradually become a part of this joyous eve viz. bursting of crackers, playing cards and so on. Children specially, enjoy the fireworks that make them go merry go round with merriment seeing crackling sounds and colored sparkles all around.

But the headline that attracted whole world’s attention was the celebration of Diwali in its host city, Ayodhya. It was the first time in centuries of foreign ruler-ships and post independence; the city was ornamented like a queen. Our hearts were overwhelmed looking at Ayodhya’s splendor that was lost in the war of words, whether Ram was in actual, or not. But, like it’s said, one can’t deny the actuality:

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प्रमुदित है, प्रफुल्लित है

बलिहारी ये मन प्रसन्नचित्त है

वर्षों से थी जो वंचित

उस अयोध्या का वैभव देख हृदय मुदित है

- अवध पधारे अजिर बिहारी  🙏

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Parivartan/Changes always work better for the society if they are initiated with good intent. Another change or rather step was taken this October, Cracker ban. Honorary Supreme Court passed an historical judgment, banning cracker sale in Delhi-NCR, to keep a check on increasing pollution. The move was welcomed in anticipation of a clean future; albeit, it came with controversies. It wasn’t the ban, but the timing and duration that didn’t go down well with people. Questions and concerns were raised for associating pollution with a festival. What we need to understand, is that every religion inspires its followers for peace, love & clarity, in our minds and surroundings. Social media was flooded with reactions in support and protest of the judgment.

Even today, in spite of corruption everywhere, the apex court and its judgments are welcomed for its fairness; such is our faith on our judiciary system. Then why the controversies, may be because of the following:

·        In reality, on a global level, cracker burst happens in manifolds with comparison to Diwali, especially on the occasion of New Year. Lifting the ban post Diwali won’t improve the situation.

·         A complete ban is what could have helped to curb the rising problem, starting with one city and then whole country which would have inspired other countries to learn

·         Over urbanization and consumerism is leading towards increase in air pollution; air conditioner, cars for instance.

·         Absence of an ideal and fair system that can keep a check on carbon emission by industries.

·         Lack of awareness among the farmers leads to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides that not only harms our health but also releases ammonia, one of the most hazardous gases in the atmosphere.

In our greed for growth, we sometimes become irrational and lose track of where we are heading to, devastation.

This is the time we must look towards our nation builders whose legends teach us to keep rationality over personal interest.

02^nd of October, Mahatma Gandhi & Lal Bahadur Shashtri ji’s birth anniversary; they taught us the significance of persistence, fight till the right is achieved, with the aim for nation & world welfare.

Apart from Diwali, October had a lot more festivals, adding to our joy. Click on  the pic below to visit my page on Facebook and experience the vividness of ancient Bharat, the heritage we should be proud of.

Here we end this maiden blog-post, hoping you have liked it. Do comment/write mail if you have any suggestions or remarks. Visit my website : www.srirom.in to access my other blogs and social profiles.

See you next month!

'सियाराम'

[Visit my website: www.srirom.in to access my social profiles]