LETTER TO EDITOR | MALAYSIA |
Dear Editor,
EVEN though there are various religious and cultural significance in Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, the essence of the festival of Diwali is still – to celebrate the victory, enlightenment, knowledge and wisdom.
Whether one celebrates
> Lord Ram’s homecoming after the victory over the demon Raavan or
> Lord Krishna’s victory over the demon Naraka or
> the wisdom of the sixth Sikh guru, Guru Hargobind Ji in releasing Emperor Jahangir’s prisoners or
> the attainment of moksha and nirvana of Lord Mahavira,
it is a grand pan-Indian, multi-faith and cultural festival to illuminate the positive over the negative.
However, for me, what I love so much of this festival is the beauty of enlightenment and happiness that follow.
Therefore, I appeal to all, to celebrate this festival by focusing on lighting up the life of others, instead of, blindly on firecrackers. The air and noise pollution in our humble housing areas at midnight is just not a right thing to have. Just think of the poor pets and those small sensitive animals.
We should celebrate this festival of lights by lighting up the diyas, and not getting into further darkness with a ‘smoke-full’ of ignorance.
With the special greetings of Diwali di lakh lakh vadhaiyan to Malaysia’s first ever Punjabi Sikh Minister- Mr Gobind Singh, I hope the Communications and Multimedia minister would make Malaysians enlightened with this knowledge and help make Diwali, a much happier occasion for all.
Also, this year it is interesting to note both the South Indian Hindus and North Indian Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist communities are all observing the festival on the same day, on Oct 27.
DJ BOMBAY SINGH
George Town
RELATED STORY:
Diwali and Sikhi (Asia Samachar, 26 Oct 2019)
Bandi Chhor Divas – Sikh Divali: The harbinger of Enlightenment and Freedom (Asia Samachar, 21 Oct 2019)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
It may be timely to remember that Sikhs in Malaysia used to celebrate Diwali as a cultural rather than religious festival up to 1984 when the Indian army invaded Darbar Sahib and other Sikh Gurdwaras while the mostly hindu population of India looked on with glee. Now many Sikhs have simply stopped celebrating diwali for any reason while some celebrate the cultural aspect, some celebrate Guru Hargobind ji’s release from prison, and some simply celebrate because others do.
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