By Salil Gewali
Two letters, one by VK Lyngdoh titled “The True Essence of Diwali” and another, “When Diwali Turns Raucous” by Hamarbakyntiew Jyrwa, (ST, October 24), should make many of us pause and think a little more seriously. No wonder people come out to express their displeasure when the situation goes from bad to worse. After all, Diwali is meant to illuminate the soul, a celebration with profound spiritual significance, not to turn midnight into a battlefield of explosions.
The main concern on everyone’s lips now is, why do some people feel so insanely crazy to burst fireworks not just at midnight, but at two, three, four, even five in the morning and mess up other people’s sleep for days together? Why is the Police Department silent? Many complained of choking pollution that makes it hard for the elderly and the sick to breathe. Certainly, we may celebrate, but our lungs and hearts may not. They suffer in silence which we may know later.
At this point, I feel compelled to write down a few lines from my personal experience and studies, especially about Laxmi Puja and other sacred Hindu festivals and their primary objectives. This feels especially important, given the growing concern among many non-Hindu friends. Of course, as I grew older, I began to understand more clearly what our ancestors truly meant by the festival of light. True, there is no scriptural mention of firecrackers in these celebrations, as VK Lyngdoh rightly pointed out.
It should be borne in mind that Hindu scriptures speak again and again of one’s inner ignorance, because of which arise a whole lot of problems in one’s life. They remind us with emphasis that the real obstacles to human growth do not come from outside, but from within. The Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and even the Yoga Sutras echo this truth: one who conquers the mind and its vices becomes the master of all external adversities!
Indeed, our effort in decorating our homes with oil-diyas, now dazzling electric string lights, in celebration of the joyous return of Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshman to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile and their victory over Ravana is highly exhilarating. But the true emphasis, however, should be to cultivate inner purity and reverence through fasting, keeping away from the sensory world, offering ritual with extreme devotion, not in setting off crackers with reckless pride. Please take no offence — this is not to say that we must abandon fireworks altogether in celebration, but we may enjoy in moderation, with mindfulness and within the “bounds of dharma”.
Waking up sleeping neighbors with thunderous bangs and songs and dances does not summon divine blessings. Causing ear-splitting noise, frightening innocent animals, and disturbing the sick cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be considered an act of worship by the Hindu scriptures — which I will discuss below. Those who are blindly obsessed with bursting crackers, putting others’ health at risk or disturbing their sleep, should turn to the holy texts for guidance. One of my neighbours retorted, “how can we call it a puja celebration when the asthmatic next door cries for breath, or sleeping babies and elderly people are shaken out of sleep, terrified by deafening blasts at midnight –or even at one, two, or three in the morning?”
Amidst this noisy cacophony, it is equally painful to hear many non-Hindu friends passing negative comments about Hindu culture, which they feel has been increasingly distorted in recent times. These non-Hindus are people who always hold their faith as a “sacred path” and naturally feel disillusioned when they see their Hindu friends getting caught up in unethical excesses under the guise of religious practice. I therefore feel bound to touch on a few fundamental dos and don’ts, and also wisdom, laid down in Hindu scriptures, to help dispel these misunderstandings.
Emphasis on Ecology |in pujas not to be undermined
Before setting off on a long journey we carefully check whether a vehicle is fit or not, making sure the engine runs smoothly, the four-tyres are in good condition, the brakes/accelerator function properly, and all parts are in working order and so on and so forth. Exactly in the same way, prior to commencing any Hindu rituals, be it Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja, Krishna Janmashtami, Vishwakarma Puja, name any, Hindus are traditionally required —as a prescribed necessity —to ensure that everything is in perfect order, not just externally but within oneself. For this reason, they are required to recite an “invocation” known as the “Shanti Path,” (peace chant) that begins with “oM dyauh shantir antarikSaM shatih…..”, which all perform, many may have overheard it being chanted by priests, without ever understanding its meaning and purpose.
Among the many peace chants in the Vedas and Upanishads, this particular peace invocation is a solemn call for universal harmony that encompasses ecological, cosmic, and spiritual dimensions. It seeks peace in the physical world, including nature and all living beings, peace from divine or cosmic forces which is beyond human control, and peace within oneself, in both mind and soul. Only when such harmony is genuinely invoked can one enter the heart of devotional rituals with utmost sincerity and focus. In fact, pujas are primarily intended to cleanse the inner self and nurture spiritual growth, helping one rise above material cravings and worldly distractions in pursuit of self-realization.
If this is the sacred intent behind Hindu pujas, then turning them into spectacles of noise and indulgence is nothing less than a sinful act (Hindus may refer to the Gita 3/37–41 for clarification).
Incidentally, there is a deeply intriguing fact as to this “peace chant” which I must not miss mentioning here. While the West was beginning to toy with the idea of ecological interdependence in the 19th century, the sages of India had envisioned, many, many millennia ago, the universe as one vast, interconnected family. This vision is echoed in numerous peace chants and other texts that proclaim everything —from living beings to inert matter, from planets in solar systems to galaxies beyond count, as intrinsically linked within an infinite cosmic web.
What makes this even more remarkable in modern times is that Alexander von Humboldt, famously regarded as the “father of ecology,” was profoundly moved to discover this very worldview, and a call for ecological harmony and interconnection among all forms of existence, through a secondary source — the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa’s famous drama ‘Meghaduta’. Humboldt was so amazed that he spoke of it with deep appreciation in his seminal five-volume work Cosmos. To Humboldt, this poetic rendering of nature’s interconnectedness was not merely literary; it carried the force of revelation and immensely inspired his further research.
Let me touch upon an even more profound fact. Many of us probably know that “The Waste Land” was the most read and most celebrated poem of the 20th century. Amazed by the depth of Indian philosophy and, particularly for its “approach to the truth”, the Nobel laureate poet TS Eliot thought it most fitting to end his epic poem with the peace-chant “Shantih Shantih Shantih.” What’s more, to sum up the poem Eliot included the profound ideas of “self-restraint, charity, and compassion” directly from the Upanishads in the final section of ‘The Waste Land’. The poet was deeply concerned about the rise in moral and spiritual bankruptcy after the First World War. Eliot was not alone in this quest —W. B. Yeats too sought to enrich his work with the wisdom of the East.
There can be no greater irony than the fact that while the East once showed the West the way to “Shanti” (peace), sections of people in the East are now embracing mindless revelry and noisy confrontation, putting themselves and others in “Ashanti” !
Come what may, let’s fear the bomb, not the light of knowledge; let’s reject hatred, not the brilliance of wisdom! True knowledge, free from prejudices, purifies the heart and makes prayers possible for peaceful coexistence. Unity in Diversity is the fundamental law of nature!
