Lights of Life
Devika Ghai
Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: Campus Life
This year, Diwali was celebrated with great enthusiasm on the Whittier College campus. Students from the all-new 'Indian Club,' PARIVAR, celebrated in the traditional way by lighting candles, making the Campus Center sparkle with over a hundred of them on Friday and Saturday night. The following morning, over a dozen students paid a visit to the new Swaminarayan
Temple in Chino Hills to find out just what this whole Diwali thing is really about. Indian food just happened to be an extra bonus, of course.
As one of the students on the trip, I was given a special guided tour of the whole temple complex, including jump-the-line entry (no small advantage in a place teeming with thousands of devotees!) into the haveli, or shrine, where the idols had been placed. Within the shrine we saw literally mountains of Indian sweets (called mithai) that had been donated by the local Hindu community, and even got a chance to buy some on the way out. But before that, we were escorted through an immense assembly hall as volunteers from the community - mostly young ladies dressed in exquisite traditional dress - explained the five days of Diwali to us, concluding with a short talk on Indian values, Hindu rituals and typical temple architecture.
The very fact that Diwali is celebrated over five days (the third day being the day of Diwali itself) came as a surprise to most of us, so it was very helpful to have each day presented at a different booth and its significance in the Swaminarayan tradition explained separately. We began at the booth of Dhan Teras and were told that as 'Dhan' literally means wealth. This day is celebrated by buying new things, especially kitchen utensils and gold and silver jewelry, to welcome wealth into our lives. Of course, wealth refers to more than material wealth and it is important to understand that, although Diwali is celebrated with an outward show of opulence and extravagance, each one of its days has a deeper meaning, with the rituals themselves attempting to convey a message and a moral lesson.
Temple in Chino Hills to find out just what this whole Diwali thing is really about. Indian food just happened to be an extra bonus, of course.
As one of the students on the trip, I was given a special guided tour of the whole temple complex, including jump-the-line entry (no small advantage in a place teeming with thousands of devotees!) into the haveli, or shrine, where the idols had been placed. Within the shrine we saw literally mountains of Indian sweets (called mithai) that had been donated by the local Hindu community, and even got a chance to buy some on the way out. But before that, we were escorted through an immense assembly hall as volunteers from the community - mostly young ladies dressed in exquisite traditional dress - explained the five days of Diwali to us, concluding with a short talk on Indian values, Hindu rituals and typical temple architecture.
The very fact that Diwali is celebrated over five days (the third day being the day of Diwali itself) came as a surprise to most of us, so it was very helpful to have each day presented at a different booth and its significance in the Swaminarayan tradition explained separately. We began at the booth of Dhan Teras and were told that as 'Dhan' literally means wealth. This day is celebrated by buying new things, especially kitchen utensils and gold and silver jewelry, to welcome wealth into our lives. Of course, wealth refers to more than material wealth and it is important to understand that, although Diwali is celebrated with an outward show of opulence and extravagance, each one of its days has a deeper meaning, with the rituals themselves attempting to convey a message and a moral lesson.
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