Hare Krishna to all Devotees!!! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!
Diwali is a very big festival, I used to celebrate Diwali with a great pomp and show (obviously without crackers as i have pets in my home) till last year...... Is Diwali a Vaishnawa's festival????? and how should a devotee celebrate Diwali????? In my opinion Godess Laxmi is not a Demi god she is the consort of Lord Narayana. So being in connection with Narayana, Lakshmi is completely spiritual. She is an expansion of Narayana. Like Radha is an expansion of Krishna, so Radha is completely spiritual... then why Diwali is not a Vaishnawa's festival?? Please advise.....
Your Servant
Amit Mehra
Replies
Lakshmi Devi is same as Radharani.its the same power.Only materialists worship her for money.Devotees must always conduct service to her.she is full with motherly love and affection for us.It is only when she accepts our service that the lord accepts us and take us out from samsara-conditioned life. sita,radha,rukmini,satyabama n lakshmi is the same.Yes you must conduct pooja on Divali its the day when she appeared from the churning of the ocean if im not mistaken its on this day itself.we are so sinful and the father that is the lord want to punish us but by the grace of the divine mother we are not subject to every punishments as she takes the responsibility of making us better souls with more sattvic-good qualities and bring us to the spiritual world.Divali is same as Radha ashtami.
Hare Krishna Hansveer Prabhu ji and Bharat prabhu ji!!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!!!!
Thank you for ur wonderful replies......yes prabhu no doubt Mother Laxmi and Goddess Radha Rani both are very merciful.... and without their grace we wont be able to achieve Lord and sometime we devotees take extra advantage of their kindness.... and yes every Vaishnawa should celebrate Diwali with equal gusto...
Your Servant
Amit Mehra
Hare Krishna
Why Diwali is vaishnav Festival ?
1. Tradition of lighting of lamps and decorating etc traces back to Treta yuga when lord Rama came back to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. So this is a highly joyous celebration when Lord reunites with his devotees, brothers, mothers in his kingdom. This is vaishnav festival
2. Naraka Caturdashi is again Lord Krishna killing Narakasura again this is related to lord's pastimes
3. Govardhan Puja - Obvious
Although Lakshmi is eternal consort of Vishnu, most people don't worhsip her in that mood. How can we know it, they may not have Vishnu's picture or Deity when they perform lakshmi puja. They generally worship only lakshmi devi. They may do this for getting wealth and they worship her in that capacity. Vaishnavas never worship energy of the lord separate from the lord. They worship both together.
For those who are cultivating devition to Krishna ,performing Lakshmi Puja for sake of wealth is not recommended
Diwali is surely a vaishnava festival with the aim to receive lakshmi devi blessings to advance in bhakti.She has the same power as Radharani.Only if she wants you can enter Vaikuntha.she forgives even more quickly due to her motherly affection for us.
Hare Krishna Mataji,
PAMHO!!
Thank you for the valuable reply, indeed the doubts has been cleared....actually one of the acharya ji told me that Diwali is not really our festival. At the same time we are celebrating the Govardhan / Anukuta Festival... that creates a bit confusion in my mind... but its all clear now and m very much happy to celebrate it...
Your servant
Amit Mehra
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
Diwali is festival of lights, it comes on amavasya of Kartik/ Damodar month, where we have to show lamp to the lord. So on Diwali, we show more lamps and light up our house with lamps.
In my community, diwali is a 5 day celebration - it starts 2 days before diwali - Dhanteras (13th day of the moon), we buy gold/ silver/steel utensils, some asset for the house that day. By keeping one day for this purpose, it ensures that some asset is added to the family every year. One lamp with a small sankh is worshipped late night, called Yama's lamp and kept out of the house. Next morning, that small sankh is to be taken out from the lamp. It is said that by praying to Yama, we are protecting the family members from his wrath. We can always chant the Mahamantra while doing this puja - Yama is one of the mahajans, it will only please him. So far, I dont see anything against vaishnavism in the rituals.
Next day is roop chaudas - (14th day of the moon). This day we concentrate on beauty of the self. This day, 7 lamps are lit in the evening and worshipped. This signifies the victory of Krsna and Satyabhama over Narakasura. It is also called Naraka Chaturdasi. Again, knowing taht we are celebrating Krsna's victory over Narakasura and His subsequent marraige with 16,100 girls, who would not be accepted by anyone else, including their fathers, there is nothing against vaishnavism. We are praying to the Supreme Lord.
Next day is the main Diwali festival. This day, 21 or 31 or 51 lamps are lit and prayed to. There is puja of Lakshmi Ganesh and also Kuber (some families keep 11 or 21 or 31 or 51 silver coins with Lakshmi Ganesh engraving and pray to them also). As far as lighting the lamps and worshipping them are concerned, there is nothing against vaishnavism. We can do that chanting the mahamantra all the while. Lakshmi should be prayed to with Narayan.
Next day is Govardhan puja, completely vaishnava, no problems. It is considered new year for some communities, therefore there shoudl be no issues in visiting elder relatives and taking their blessings. Nothing against vaishnavism.
Next day is Bhai Duj, where brothers will go and eat in the sister's house (it started by being lunch, now it is as per mutual convenience). Sisters can prepare a feast, offer to the lord and then give to the brothers. Brothers in turn can give donation or any gift to sister as per mutual understanding.
In the whole thing mentioned above, I dont see anything that is against vaishnavism. We can celebrate, even burst crackers (why not). The idea is to remember Krsna always - so we can celebrate keeping Krsna inthe center. All the worship part can be done with chanting/ kirtan of mahamantra. All the feasting can be done of mahaprasad. Every activity that we do, we can keep Krsna in the centre.
If any one has any comment or feedback, pls give me. All of you are senior to me, so I will learn. Have told you waht is my limited understanding.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi